Thordur Palsson’s The Damned comes to UK Cinemas this week and Nordic Watchlist got the opportunity to speak to the Icelandic director, along with his star Australian actress Odessa Young.

Nordic Watchlist: Thordur, Icelandic folklore plays a very significant role in The Damned. We are aware of all the stories of elves and the hidden people; how important was it for you to remain true to those cultural elements and when did the story come to you?

Thordur Palsson: As an Icelander you study all these things in school, you hear the myth of the draugr which translated today would mean ghost. But this is a different type of ghost, not one that walks through walls. It is actually rotting flesh and bone coming back to get revenge on those who have wronged them.

There was also the true story about a ship that had sunk off the shores of Iceland, which belonged to people from the Basque region of Spain. They all survived, but when they got to the Icelandic shores they were all murdered so the islanders could get hold of all their loot.

So The Damned kind of becomes this marriage of the two; the reality, the myth, and the genre elements. Adding to that was that I lived in one of the places where we shot the film and got stuck there for three months – when you are isolated and things are covered in snow and looking a bit bleak – that is where the first ideas came together for the film.

Nordic Watchlist: Odessa, the Icelandic landscape can be very harsh and cruel, which mirrors the internal struggle of your main character. How did that shape your performance and how did you get on with the Icelandic weather? Was it kind to you when you were out there?

Odessa Young: It wasn’t very kind to me but I loved filming in Iceland. The weather there is fascinating and so insurmountable, it can ruin all your plans and I think that had a big influence on me when I was making the film.

We would wake up with a very loose idea of what we were shooting that day and then a storm would come in which would wreck the day, so we would head back to the studio. We were at the whim of nature.

I think that was an interesting inspiration for the character and for me – it doesn’t do what you think it’s going to do, and it isn’t going to happen the way you want to plan it.

Nordic Watchlist: Odessa, you genuinely looked freezing in the film, we were convinced that your character was struggling with the cold.

Thordur: She was freezing! The poor woman was having to look at this director who was all wrapped in warm gear, and here she was wearing this period costume.

Odessa: I found out in the first costume fitting that Icelandic women did not wear coats because they were not supposed to go outside. My character, however, goes outside a lot, and as we were being period-accurate, that was an interesting thing to learn in my first week in Iceland.

You have to remember I am Australian so this cold was quite a shock for me, and we were filming in February too which was incredibly cold.

Nordic Watchlist: Thordur, the film leans heavily on psychological horror and the unraveling of its characters. How did you approach working with the cast to bring out the intensity?

Thordur: I was incredibly lucky with this cast and with them wanting to be part of this project, in which they portray people who are working very closely together on a very isolated fishing station.

We were able to get people together early on to do a couple of things. We did a great table read in this open-air museum, where they were surrounded by old Icelandic houses.

We talked about Icelandic weather – we were supposed to fly up to the West Fjords but that got cancelled so we had to drive up there which took eleven hours in the middle of the night so that was a great way for everyone to get to know each other.

By the end of that drive everyone was just so comfortable with one another they were singing the sea shanties, so they were building that relationship and I felt that everyone brought their own flavour to each character.

Odessa: It was a very special way to start the shoot because some of us hadn’t been to Iceland before, except Joe (Cole) and Rory (McCann), and here we were on this long bus ride looking out for the northern lights – little did we know we would end up seeing them every single night!

I think because Thor and the producers were so worried we would all be pissed off because we couldn’t fly and were stuck on this bus, they supplied us with copious amounts of alcohol and it worked!

Nordic Watchlist: Lucky they didn’t get you on the Brennivín!

Odessa: I think there was! The next day I was so hungover, maybe one of the worst I have had. I just remember getting to Isafjordur at four in the morning, I stumbled off the bus and looked up then kept looking up realising how high the cliffs were and the fjord next to us – it was incredibly disorientating and terrifying.

Nordic Watchlist: Odessa, were there any Icelandic or Nordic films or series that you watched in the build-up to filming The Damned with Thordur?

Odessa: I had seen Thor’s previous work with The Valhalla Murders and several series with that Nordic noir theme. So it was good to have seen those to understand the tone of things and mood, this very pervasive specific mood so it was nice to have that context.

In terms of watching films as cultural research, I don’t like to watch films when I’m making one because I don’t want to get an idea in my head. So I tried to stay away from any influences.

I had seen Beautiful Beings and Heartstone by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson, both of which I adored – and Guðmundur co-produced The Damned too.

The Damned is out now in UK & Irish Cinemas