DAMSEL, starring Millie Bobby Brown of Stranger Things fame, is not a fairytale, or so the trailer tells us.
This dark fantasy film, now streaming on Netflix, sees the young British actress play the part of Elodie, a dutiful damsel who agrees to marry a handsome prince to save her own kingdom from ruin. But as it turns out, the royal clan she is to wed into are the in-laws from hell, and have really just recruited her as a sacrifice to repay an ancient debt.
However, the Enola Holmes star is no damsel in distress and doesn’t need any saving from some tedious Prince Charming type.
After saying her ‘I do’s’, Elodie’s wedding day takes a turn for the worse. The startled bride is tossed into a deep, dark, cavernous pit with a fire-breathing dragon that likes to toy with its food before chowing down on its favourite snack — freshly married young princesses.
Elodie must rely on her wits and will to survive if she is to make it out of this disaster of a honeymoon, if even just to put some manners on her spineless excuse for a spouse.
Damsel hits on many of those predictable Hollywood fairytale tropes, ticking the box for talking dragon and even casting Ray Winstone, Robin Wright, and Angela Bassett as the lord and ladies of this faraway realm.
The plot and script leave a lot to be desired but Millie Bobby Brown does enough in her own right as the capable and brave heroine to keep us riveted to a screen that, for the most part, is hers alone to fill.
In fairness, I had expected nothing more than just another predictable tale about a misunderstood and lonely monster, along the lines of Eragon or Dragonheart.
Thankfully, this turned out to be a far more dynamic and thrilling beast.
(4/5)
