Kate Middleton isn’t the only princess in potential trouble that royal watchers are buzzing about.
Millie Bobby Brown stars in the new dark fantasy adventure “Damsel,” now streaming on Netflix.
Set in a colorful fantasy land, the film follows dutiful damsel Elodie Bayford (Brown) who agrees to marry a wealthy, handsome prince in the kingdom of Aurea as a way to improve her modest family’s station in life. After arriving by ship for a palace wedding, she is horrified to discover that the royal family has recruited her as a sacrifice to repay an ancient debt. Don’t worry, this isn’t a spoiler; it’s literally in the IMDB logline of the premise.
The 20-year-old Brown is beloved by millions of fans for her Emmy-nominated, Eggo-eating, telekinetic role as Eleven in Netflix’s “Stranger Things” (2016-present). After the pandemic and Hollywood strikes caused long breaks in between seasons, Brown has publicly expressed being tired of that show and wanting to explore new roles like “Enola Holmes” (2020) and now “Damsel,” which is a real showcase for her action-hero abilities.
She’s surrounded by Brooke Carter as her sister Floria, Ray Winstone as her greedy father Lord Bayford, and Angela Bassett as her loving stepmother Lady Bayford, a nice flip from the evil stepmothers of Disney classics. She’s betrothed to Prince Henry (Nick Robinson), while the evil in-laws are played by Milo Twomey as King Roderick and Robin Wright as Queen Isabelle. Not only is it “The Princess Bride” (1987), it’s Antiope from Themyscira in “Wonder Woman” (2017) versus Ramonda from Wakanda in “Black Panther” (2018).
Similar to those fictional comic-book kingdoms, “Damsel” spends its first half-hour with wondrous world building, painting lush visuals of horses galloping through green valleys alongside flowing rivers and majestic mountains leading to a lavish castle in the kingdom of Aurea. It’s all a sneaky setup by director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (“Intacto,” “28 Weeks Later”), who is giddily waiting to yank the rug out from under us at the 30-minute mark.
As the royal family wears creepy masks and robes for an ancient ritual, the premise recalls themes of horror masterpieces like “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968), “The Wicker Man” (1973) and “Midsommar” (2019). The film it most recalls is “Ready or Not” (2019) where Samara Weaving’s bride was hunted by her spouse’s wealthy family in a bloody wedding-night ritual. “Damsel” is a similar concept, only set in the fantasy genre of fire-breathing dragons.
Screenwriter Dan Mazeau (“Wrath of the Titans,” “Fast X”) consistently creates swashbuckling adventure in the dragon’s cave as Elodie leaps across a chasm, uses a dagger for rock climbing, and bags glowing leeches to create a lantern. Granted, there’s a lot of unnecessary panting and moaning (male gaze B.S.), but the final third of the film elevates with a montage of Elodie proudly displaying her newfound wisdom on how to tackle the cave’s obstacles.
These aren’t Biblical puzzles or tomb-raiding tests like “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989), but rather wall carvings by past victims like “The Black Phone” (2021). Sure, some of the action is unrealistic, but this is the fantasy genre and we’re willing to suspend our disbelief on certain things in order to go on a rollercoaster ride.
Through it all, the taunting dragon remains an ominous threat. After “Game of Thrones” (2011-2019), it’s initially weird to hear the dragon talk, voiced by Shohreh Aghdashloo (“Renfield”) with a deep voice like Mercedes McCambridge in “The Exorcist” (1973) or Susan Sarandon in “Enchanted” (2007). However, we quickly get used to the dragon dialogue, realizing it’s necessary to give the beast a motive as to why it’s so pissed at the royals.
The breakneck movie is not without its flaws, but watching a damsel in distress has rarely been more fun.
“Damsel” currently tops the Netflix Global Top 10 chart with 35.3 million total views.
Could such massive viewership launch a Young Adult fantasy franchise for Netflix?
Stranger things have happened.
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