It has been confirmed that principal photography wrapped last month in Iceland on The Damned, a new psychological horror from award-winning director Thordur Palsson (The Valhalla Murders).
The film stars Odessa Young (Mothering Sunday, Shirley) in a leading role. Newly announced cast includes Joe Cole (Gangs of London, A Small Light), Siobhan Finneran (Happy Valley, The Stranger), Rory McCann (Game of Thrones, Slow West), Turlough Convery (Killing Eve, Belfast), Lewis Gribben (Somewhere Boy, Deadwater Fell), Francis Magee (KIN, The Tourist), Mícheál Óg Lane (The Guard, Calvary) andAndrean Sigurgeirsson (A Song Called Hate, When We Are Born). The script was written by Jamie Hannigan. It was developed with the support of Screen Ireland and is based on a story by Thordur Palsson.
Protagonist Pictures, who arranged financing for the film, is handling worldwide sales. The company is co-repping US rights with CAA Media Finance. Protagonist will be sharing exclusive footage with buyers on the Croisette.
A tense psychological horror, The Damned follows Eva, a 19th-century widow who is tasked with making an impossible choice when, in the middle of an especially cruel winter, a ship sinks off the coast of her isolated fishing post. Eva and her crew must choose to either rescue the shipwrecked or survive the winter with their last remaining food. Facing the consequences of their choice and tormented by their guilt, the inhabitants wrestle with a mounting sense of dread and begin to believe they are all being punished for their choices…
“Thor is an exceptionally exciting filmmaker who has delivered on his promise to thrill and terrify audiences in this stunning debut feature,” said Protagonist Pictures CCO George Hamilton. “His vision for the film put chills up our spines from the start, and we can’t wait for audiences to see how he and his fiercely talented cast brought this elevated and smart take on the genre to life.”
The film is produced by Vision Award winners Emilie Jouffroy and Kamilla Kristiane Hodøl for Elation Pictures, John Keville and Conor Barry for Wild Atlantic Pictures and Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page and Nate Kamiya producing for Ley Line Entertainment. The Co-producers are Iceland’s Join Motion Pictures, Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson and Anton Máni Svansson and Belgian’s Wrong Men, Benoit Roland.
Protagonist Pictures executive produced the picture with Chief Commercial Officer George Hamilton and Chief Operations Officer James Pugh serving as executive producers alongside Luane Gauer.
Ley Line Entertainment is financing, alongside BCP. David Darby and Lauren Shelton are the Executive Producers for Ley Line, John Gleeson and Oisin O’Neill for BCP and Niamh Fagan for Screen Ireland. The film has received support from Screen Ireland, Wallimage and the UK Global Screen Fund financed by the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport and administered by the BFI.
