Damsel (2024)
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A young woman must survive a deadly betrayal and a dragon's wrath after being sold as a royal sacrifice.
The story
Elodie, the daughter of Lord Bayford, accepts a marriage proposal from Prince Henry of Aurea to help her impoverished people. Upon arriving in Aurea, she and Henry initially bond over a shared desire to travel. However, her stepmother, Lady Bayford, grows suspicious of the Queen's motives. Following their wedding, the couple participates in an ancient ritual in the mountains. During the ceremony, the truth of the ritual is revealed: Elodie is not a bride, but a sacrifice intended to appease a dragon. After being cast into a chasm, Elodie must navigate the treacherous terrain and survive the dragon's pursuit to escape the royal family's betrayal.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Centuries after a king's failed attack on a dragon, Elodie accepts a marriage to Prince Henry of Aurea to save her people from poverty. During a mountain ritual, the Queen reveals the truth: Elodie is a sacrifice to the dragon. After being thrown into the chasm, Elodie survives the fall and finds a cave of glowing silk worms that heal her. She follows a map and eventually escapes the mountain after a rescue party is slaughtered by the dragon. When the Queen attempts to replace Elodie with her sister, Floria, Elodie returns to the mountain to save her. She confronts the dragon, revealing that the royal family's ritual actually linked their bloodlines to the dragon's. After a fierce battle, Elodie tricks the dragon into burning itself and heals both creatures with the worms. She then returns to the palace, exposes the royal family's treachery, and allows the dragon to burn the palace and the royals. Elodie, Floria, and Lady Bayford eventually sail home, accompanied by the dragon.
- First release year
- 2024
- Runtime (minutes)
- 110
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
- Writers
- Dan Mazeau · writer
- Cast and characters
- Millie Bobby Brown · Elodie; Ray Winstone · Lord Bayford; Nick Robinson · Prince Henry; Shohreh Aghdashloo · voice of the Dragon; Angela Bassett · Lady Bayford; Robin Wright · Queen Isabelle; Brooke Carter · Floria
- Genres
- dark fantasy
- Themes
- Betrayal; Sacrifice; Survival
- Tone and mood
- Dark; Tense
- Premise and plot tags
- Fantasy; Action; Adventure
- Source material / true-story basis
- Novel by Evelyn Skye
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 46 · scale: 100 · review count: 28
- Production trivia
- The film's score was produced by Hans Zimmer.; The soundtrack includes a cover of the Johnny Cash song 'Ring of Fire' by Lykke Li.; The production cost $145.1 million, which came down to a net cost of $109.2 million after UK tax incentives.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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