The Damned

With its snowy seaside scenery and crisp cinematography courtesy of Lamb’s Eli Arenson, The Damned is certainly a well-made slice of indie horror. But little else of note rises to meet these confident technical details, leaving viewers wondering why they bothered watching.

Set in the 1800s in a remote Icelandic fishing community, director Thordur Palsson’s latest feature is steeped in appealing folk horror centering on shipwrecked sailors’ potential to return as undead Draugurs, bent on murdering the entire village that’s semi-responsible for their demise.

As is often the case with films featuring such paranormal odds, victims are picked off in fairly repetitive ways, slowly killing whatever momentum The Damned originally possessed.

Within this compromised milieu, windowed boat owner Eva (Odessa Young) and loyal employee Daniel (Joe Cole) come closest to making a lasting impression, but ultimately prove to be anonymous pawns in this hackneyed game.

At least it looks pretty.

Grade: C-minus. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.

(Photo courtesy of Vertical)