THE DAMNED
NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Shane
Recently widowed Eva (Odessa Young) owns and operates a remote fishing outpost on the Icelandic coast. It’s the 19th century, and this jagged thumbnail of an island is in the grip of a particularly brutal winter.
The close-knit skeleton crew is composed of power-hungry Helmsman Ragnar (Rory McCann), headstrong and noble Daniel (Joe Cole), cynical Skuli (Francis McGee), brutish drunk Hakon (Turlough Convery), devoutly religious Jonas (Lewis Gribben), Hagnar’s untested son, Aron (Michael Og Lane) and superstitious cook, Helga (Siobhan Finneran). Despite a near non-existent catch, they agree to press through the season, mostly in deference to Eva’s departed husband, Magnus.
One morning, before disembarking for the day’s work, the crew notice a schooner nearby. Having sailed too close to shore, the vessel has ripped its hull on the rocks and is slowly sinking. Hearing the cries of the doomed crew, Eva suggests helping them. The fishermen (Ragnar, especially) argue that supplies are already stretched thin; additional mouths to feed will ensure surviving the season will be impossible. Reluctantly, Eva agrees.
Later, supplies from the schooner wash ashore. Realizing there’s more where that came from and taking the stance that the sailors aboard that ship have surely perished, the crew from the outpost venture out that night to salvage what they can from the wreckage.
Once there, they discover that six sailors have survived by hiding in a small rock face. Tensions mount as the sailors rush the boat, threatening to overturn it. They pull Ragnar overboard to his death. Initially sympathetic, Eva panics as one sailor grabs her. Daniel comes to her aid and cleaves the sailor’s head in two with an axe. The remaining outpost crew manages to fend the sailors off and heads back to the island, abandoning them to their fate.
Back at the outpost, Eva and the others are awash in guilt but justify what they did by again stating that they wouldn’t have survived the season with the extra mouths to feed. The following day, the sailors’ bodies begin to make the shore. While inspecting them, the stomach of one lurch, causing Jonas to think the sailor is still alive. Daniel disproves this by slicing open the belly of the sailor, revealing two eels slithering amidst the exposed viscera.
Helga advises binding the wrists of the dead, driving silver nails through their feet, and turning their coffins three times, less they return as Draugr, undead creatures seeking vengeance from beyond the grave. Though rattled by her words, the crew ignores her words but seals the bodies in makeshift caskets.
That night, while visiting the final resting place of Magnus, Eva hears the crunch of snow behind her footfalls, signaling that she’s being followed. Shining her lantern in the shadows, she sees a dark figure crouched. The figure rises, and Eva flees, only to lose her footing and fall. When she looks back…she finds she’s alone. Daniel brings her back to the outpost, where they reminisce about Magnus and nearly kiss.
The next day, the crew heads out. While alone, Eva finds a strange bundle of sticks wedged against the roof of the outpost. Inspecting it, she finds runic symbols carved into the foot. Eva asks after it to Helga. The older woman reveals it’s meant to ward off the Draugr.
Helga asks Eva if she’s starting to see the Draugr yet. Eva tries to change the subject, but Helga presses on. She says she’s not only seen the Draugr but is also hearing it. She says they can’t let it get to the men, or they’ll start turning on each other. When that happens, the Draugr will take them—one by one. The only thing that can stop it is fire.
That day’s catch is bountiful, causing the men to celebrate. A drunken Hagnar taunts Aron about his father, causing the boy to leave the outpost. Later that night, Eva dreams about the Draugr and a raging fire. She wakens to a commotion in the outpost. Hagnar is delirious with fever, pleading with the men to “keep it away from me.” He lashes out, attacking the men and attempting to strangle Daniel. Aron is forced to kill Hagnar by braining him with a hammer.
The day’s catch goes missing, and Helga is nowhere to be found. It appears that she robbed them of the catch and stole all the food in the outpost. Leaving the island is ruled out due to weather and lack of supplies. That night, Eva thinks she sees the Draugr inside the outpost while half asleep. When she sits up, she again finds that she’s alone.
The next day, Daniel is injured by a severe blow to the head while hunting sea lions on a nearby ice shelf. It seems he slipped and fell on the ice…after witnessing a man-sized shadow waiting for them. Eva tends to Daniel’s wounds.
Later, Jonas suggests erecting a cross from driftwood so they can beg for God’s forgiveness. Eva doesn’t respond, prompting Jonas to awkwardly apologize and head back inside the outpost. After a moment, Eva follows, only to find a prone and wounded Jonas next to a now-empty table.
Daniel, seemingly possessed by a dark force and armed with a knife, attacks her. Eva pleads with him. Daniel relents and slices his own throat, committing suicide.
Fearing Helga was right, Eva takes the men to where they stored the bodies of the sailors. They open the coffins up, finding one empty. She tells the other survivors to find the Draugr and destroy it. Following tracks further up the cliffs, the snow begins to fall harder. Disoriented, Eva loses sight of the others. She spots Skuli and calls out. He ignores her and tosses himself to his death off the cliffs.
Eva goes to find his body, only to see a dark figure behind her. She turns, and a bird flies off the figure. Getting closer, Eva finds that the figure is Helga’s seated, frozen body. Eva finds Jonas and Aron, and the three of them return to the dead sailors, going through Helga’s suggested routine.
Eva catches the Draugr sneaking into the outpost via the roof that night. She wounds it with Magnus’ rifle, douses it in accelerant, and sets it ablaze. As the Draugr screams in agony, Eva flees into the night. She finds Jonas and Aron, who attempt to calm her.
