Samuel L. Jackson leads a venerated European cast off a cliff in an absurd, mindless, and macabre serial killer thriller. Damaged strains credulity from the start and proceeds to lower IQ points with each passing frame. The seemingly straightforward plot of an American detective helping Scottish police find a Satanic murderer has numerous critical flaws. The biggest problem, and central to the supposed mystery, is the competence of the investigators. A melodramatic subplot further muddies these dreadful waters. Every psychotic murderer would be running loose like rabbits with these guys on the case.
Damaged opens in Edinburgh, Scotland, with a young woman (Nicolette McKeown) leaving her synagogue after worship. She doesn’t see a mysterious man in a raincoat following from a distance. The shrouded figure knocks on her door with malicious intent. She foolishly opens to a frenzy of stabbing. The killer removes a hacksaw from a bag to begin his grisly work.
In Chicago, a drunk detective, Dan Lawson (Jackson), stumbles into a crime scene. His inebriated state doesn’t affect an uncanny ability to easily deduce what’s happened. He continues drinking in his car until a fateful knock at the window. He’s being summoned to Scotland immediately by their authorities. A woman has been savagely murdered and dismembered in the pattern of a satanic cross. The crime is eerily similar to the murders of five Chicago women several years prior. Lawson never found the killer. His longtime partner, Walter Bravo (Vincent Cassel), retired after the case, and Lawson descended into alcoholism.
Damaged Quickly Goes Off the Rails
1/5
Release Date April 11, 2024
Director Terry McDonough
Runtime 92 Minutes
Writers Paul Aniello , Gianni Capaldi , Koji Steven Sakai
Studio High Five Films, BondIt Media Capital, Extra People
Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, DCI Glen Boyd (Gianni Capaldi) has been assigned to the case. Boyd’s life is in shambles after his son’s death. Marie (Laura Haddock), his heartbroken wife, has not recovered from the loss. Boyd’s superior, Laura Kessler (Kate Dickie), hopes one of her best officers can pull himself together and solve the case. Boyd picks up Lawson and briefs him. They return to the bloody crime scene. Lawson notices a clue the Scottish investigators missed. There’s something different here than what happened in Chicago. Lawson knows more victims are coming. He decides to summon Bravo out of his retirement.
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Damaged tries to mislead the audience with obvious feints. The script, co-written by Capaldi, leaves a false trail of breadcrumbs à la Hansel and Gretel. This doesn’t fool anyone. The identity of the killer would never have been that easily revealed. This is the first sign of something more devious afoot and the point where Damaged goes completely off the rails. The opportunity to build a coherent and believable mystery is lost. What happens next is borderline laughable.
The focus on Boyd’s personal life sucks the air out of the narrative. It’s done for a contrived reason that you can see coming from a mile away. This meandering takes up space in a relatively short runtime. It’s obvious the filmmakers had a paper-thin plot and needed to drag out the story as much as possible. Boyd is actually the primary character. He’s underwhelming and never inspires confidence. His domestic issues are meant to fuel his motivation to find the killer. This is patently ridiculous given his job as lead investigator.
Boozy Detectives and a Wasted Vincent Cassel
Jackson’s turn as Lawson is equally confounding. There isn’t a chance in hell a drunken detective would be allowed on duty or anywhere near such a high-profile investigation. Boyd and Kessler automatically defer to his expertise over the smell of whiskey, the assumption being that his experience with similar murders will hopefully shed some light on their killer. They never ask about his failure to solve those crimes. Important details are glossed over for cinematic laziness. Boyd and Kessler should have had problems with Lawson’s demeanor.
Lawson calls in the cavalry to no avail. Cassel’s Bravo randomly pops up like a groundhog. He’s somehow never with Lawson and Boyd as they investigate other killings. Then, in the scenes with Boyd and Bravo, Lawson is nowhere to be found. Aren’t these guys supposed to be working together? There’s something rotten in Edinburgh, and it isn’t the smell of the decomposing victims. The gang isn’t on the same page.
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A Great Cast Has Nothing to Work With
Damaged builds to reveals that aren’t shocking. The supposed twists and gotcha moments land with an epic thud. The film’s poor exposition broadcast its intentions, which only makes its excruciating B-movie climax that much worse. It boggles the mind that such an esteemed cast, which also includes John Hannah in a critical supporting role, could make such a bad film across the board. British television director Terry McDonough (The Expanse, The Street) has decades of experience. There had to have been some disconnect between the script, shooting, and post-production. Everyone involved collected a paycheck, but certainly didn’t meet expectations.
Damaged is a production of Grindstone Entertainment Group, Red Sea Media, BondIt Media Capital, and Tartan Bridge Films, et al. It is currently available on demand and digital from Lionsgate. You can rent or buy it from platforms like YouTube, Apple TV, Google Play, and on Prime Video through the link below:
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