In this interview with director Thordur Pallson about his debut film The Damned, we discuss his influences, creating sets from scratch, icy filming locations and more.
January has a track record for being the month where the horror films that are released in cinemas are sub-par. All of that has changed this January, though, with Thordur Pallson’s debut feature film The Damned. There’s eeriness around every corner, with each shot filled with an even more sinister silhouette than the last watching the characters from afar.
Odessa Young stars as Eva, a widow in 1870s Iceland who navigates cut-throat choices when a ship sinks on nearby waters. Eva and the rest of her crew (Joe Cole, Francis Magee) must make the hardest decision of their lives: do they help the survivors of the shipwreck and risk losing all of their supplies? Or do they put themselves first and try and make it out of winter alive?
We sat down with Thordur Pallson on a cold morning in London to discuss his horror inspirations, his love for There Will Be Blood and crafting a story based on his own Icelandic snowstorm experiences. Read our interview below!
Thordur Pallson on his influences for creating The Damned and the difficulties of making his first feature film
Hi! I wanted to first congratulate you on this terrifying amazing film. I absolutely loved it.
Thordur Pallson: Oh thank you! That’s so nice to hear.
How long did it take you to make The Damned from the concept to the actual production of things?
T.P.: From the initial idea to delivering the film, it was eight years. I think if you speak to filmmakers, some people have been working on things for 15 or 20 years. But eight years still felt like a long time. It all kind of started when I was living in a small seaside village in Iceland. I got snowed in for the winter, not exactly like in the film [in The Damned, the cast are trapped for the entire winter in the Arctic with no escape due to freezing conditions and limited supplies]. But my car got stuck in the driveway and I could kind of feel what that was like, to be stuck somewhere where I didn’t know anyone in the town.
That’s where I wrote the initial idea. I met some people there and heard really interesting stories from fishermen about what happens when ships are stuck in very dangerous storms, and how it’s actually not allowed to go about and save them: you have to stay ashore and wait until the storm passes. And then, I also heard stories of people moving the light from the one lighthouse and putting it on a cliff, or making the ships hit the rocks, and all kinds of old Icelandic stories. That’s where the ball initially started to roll.
The Damned is your first feature film. How different was it from making The Valhalla Murders?
T.P.: Making this film was the hardest thing of my life. One of the differences between this and the TV Show is that they are different genres. I was working in psychological horror in the 1870s [The Damned], and then I was doing Nordic Noir in present day [The Valhalla Murders]. I guess I would say the world building is very different. You have to find the right collaborators. I was very lucky to have Frosti [Fridriksson], the production designer, Eli [Arenson], the cinematographer, and Sophie [King] in hair and makeup. All of these things come together.
We also had to build the house from scratch. We built both the exterior and the interior on a set, but it wasn’t a real set because this is an indie film. We created a set in a fishnet factory. It was just all the ways we could figure out how to save money.
There were the little things that I never did in The Valhalla Murders, like the little frozen snot in the characters’ beards [whenever the characters spent too much time outside they would start to visibly freeze] and all these little things that add to the reality of the time. And the authentic Icelandic language of the time. I worked with Jamie Hannigan on making sure the language was right.
We were trying to create an atmosphere with The Damned. It has a particular atmosphere: I couldn’t tell you what it is [laughs], but it definitely is particular.
Thordur Pallson on icy locations and working with a great cast and crew
It’s a full circle moment at the end. The whole film is so icy and cold and then you’re hit with the fire. Then there’s the twist. How was it filming on location? How did the cast and crew adapt to that?
Thordur Pallson:: It was really cold, and I think a lot of the cast had never worked in those kinds of conditions. You know, this is an indie film, and there were no assistants. It was everyone just taking care of themselves. You have the freezing cold of Iceland. You have period costumes, and there’s not a lot of padding you can put underneath those costumes. And then, they have to look at their director wearing a really nice jacket! [laughs] I think it was great. It really added to what the film looked like and what the actors were going through. I think it kind of translated a bit to the screen.
It took 11 hours to drive to the middle of nowhere, where we shot. We just stayed in the Westfjords of Iceland. I think it made everyone more like a little family. No one really knew anyone, so they had to get to know their fellow cast members and the crew. This really interesting, warm kind of dynamic came out of that. There was no difference between a cast member or a crew member, or a runner. At the end of the day, we were all eating dinner together, going for drinks together, and it was really nice to see all those people hanging out on the weekends. I think it was actually sad for some of the cast members when they had to leave, because they had been there for almost six weeks and they had to go back to a warm reality.
You could tell that the cast gelled really well together, which is really nice to see on screen, especially in a film like this which is so isolated. It’s nice when the characters actually have good chemistry even though they’re almost fighting against each other and not necessarily agreeing with everyone.
T.P.: It is interesting you say that, because sometimes you watch films with characters who are meant to have been married for 30 years, but you can tell they met that day. Sadly, because of people’s timelines and what actors are doing, they just can’t find the time to meet before. We were very blessed that we had the time to make everyone gel.
Inspirations, Gorgeous Visuals and Movie Marathons
I love the visuals as well. I think some of the shots are going to stick with me for a really long time.
Were there any particular horror films, maybe any of your favourites, that played in the back of your mind whilst filming, and if any directly inspired you for The Damned?
Thordur Pallson: There were certain period films that influenced me and Eli Arenson [cinematographer]. It’s almost like two categories: the horror films that influenced me, and then the visuals of period films. I was very influenced by There Will Be Blood by Paul Thomas Anderson: that’s a period film, but there’s no snow. But the way he moves the camera, the interiors, the way everything is lit: I love how certain scenes in There Will Be Blood are just one shot. That kind of directing really turns me on: seeing people taking those risks when they’re telling stories. We looked at The Piano a bit, too, which was shot in a very classical manner.
Horror-wise, I was very influenced by The Shining. I guess one always goes back to The Shining. I mean the deterioration of a person: that that definitely is there. There’s also Jacob’s Ladder that had an effect on me for the same reason. And The Others with Nicole Kidman. I really love watching that. Oh, and The Orphanage. I’m just throwing out names here! [laughs] I guess what all of these films have in common is that they’re all rooted in a character, a point of view, and a psyche. I think about them now and I realise that they’re all psychological horror films. They’re all about something that has happened [to the characters] in the past, or some kind of grief or trauma. I wouldn’t compare myself to anywhere near those films. They’re classics! But it is interesting to watch them. If you watch The Others again, pay attention to how the camera moves and the techniques they use. It’s very old school. I definitely recommend people going back to it.
One thing I love doing is having mini movie marathons. What two films would you pair with The Damned for that perfect movie marathon?
T.P.: What a difficult question, oh my god!! I almost want to throw that to you because I made the film. I have no clue. I think the only one who knows how to pair films with other films is Quentin Tarantino. I mean, what do you think would be a nice little marathon with this film?
I’d pick The Shining because it has that same icy feel to it, as well as the psychosis. And then maybe I’d throw in something non-horror, like Society of the Snow which deals really well with characters that are isolated, and who are trying to make the same decisions as the characters in The Damned. They’re just trying to get out and survive. I feel like sitting and watching those back to back with The Damned would be great.
T.P.: I think that’s a nice pairing. J. A. Bayona, who did Society of the Snow, is the same director who did The Orphanage. He’s a master of storytelling. I don’t think I could watch my film one more time. I’ve seen it so many times [laughs], but hopefully that could be interesting for others.
Thank you so much for speaking with me today. This has been a really really nice conversation.
T.P.: Thank you. You had great questions so it was really nice.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
The Damned was released in UK & Irish cinemas on January 10, 2025 and is available on VOD in the US from today. Read our review of The Damned!
Header Credits: A still from The Damned (Vertical) / Thordur Palsson of poses for a portrait at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival (Justin Bettman/Contour by Getty Images)
