Damsel (2024): A High-Stakes, Dragon-Slaying Thrill Ride

Millie Bobby Brown sheds her detective hat and telekinetic powers to don a wedding dress only to promptly tear it off and get to work. Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later), Damsel takes a gleefully dark approach to the fairytale genre, swapping "happily ever after" for a brutal game of survival against a fire-breathing beast.

This isn't a story about a princess waiting for her prince. It's a high-stakes, claustrophobic thriller where the only hero is the girl who refuses to die.

(Souce: Wikipedia)

The Fairytale That Isn't

(Source: Netflix)

The story introduces us to Elodie (Millie Bobby Brown), the dutiful daughter of a poor kingdom, who agrees to an advantageous marriage with the handsome Prince Henry (Nick Robinson) of the wealthy kingdom of Aurea. The enormous dowry promises to save her people from starvation.

The courtship is sweet, the wedding is grand, and for a brief moment, it seems like a true storybook romance. However, the royal ceremony quickly leads to an ancient ritual in the mountains, where Elodie is brutally betrayed by the royal family, led by Queen Isabelle (Robin Wright). She is hurled into a massive chasm, a living sacrifice to appease a ferocious, ancient dragon.

The rest of the film is pure, primal survival. Trapped in the dragon's complex, deadly lair, Elodie must use her wits, resourcefulness, and sheer will to navigate the dark tunnels, evade the constant danger of fire and falls, and ultimately, find a way to escape or conquer the beast that guards her prison.

Subversion and Survival

The most compelling parts of Damsel are its laser focus on two core elements: the subversion of the titular trope and the intense, grounded nature of the survival sequences.

(Source: Netflix)

The film’s entire premise is a trap designed by Queen Isabelle. It’s an immediate, aggressive rejection of the romantic fantasy genre. The prince is a tool of betrayal, the royal family is the villain, and the bride is literally a disposable pawn. Damsel flips the script by making resourcefulness Elodie's true weapon. She doesn't have combat training; she has intelligence. We watch her use a shard of crystal to create light, tear layers from her wedding gown to make ropes, and piece together clues left by previous victims to map the lair. Her journey is about shifting from a sacrificial object into an autonomous agent. By the end, the word "Damsel" is an ironic joke, a label she has earned the right to destroy along with the monarchy that imposed it.

(Source: Netflix)

Forget grand-scale battlefield action. Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (known for the terrifying 28 Weeks Later) grounds the action in tense, high-pressure survival. Much of the film is spent in the dragon’s lair, where the primary threat isn't a clash of swords, but the crushing darkness and the silent, terrifying hunt. The dragon, voiced powerfully by Shohreh Aghdashloo, is not a mindless beast but a presence of intelligent fury. The best action sequences are based on evasion, watching Elodie silently creep past the slumbering or hunting dragon, using waterfalls and shadows for cover. The film works best when it functions less like a fantasy epic and more like a high-stakes horror movie, where the monster is everywhere and your greatest ally is a piece of bone or a well-timed echo.

Recommendation: Is it Worth the Watch?

Damsel is a tight, satisfying action-fantasy that delivers exactly what the title promises: a story that puts a woman in distress and then gives her the reins to save herself. While the world-building outside the cave feels somewhat rushed, the core journey of Elodie's survival is consistently engaging. Millie Bobby Brown gives a physically demanding and emotionally convincing performance, carrying the majority of the film alone. If you enjoy dark, modern takes on fairytales, tense survival thrillers, and stories centered on female agency, Damsel is a highly entertaining watch. If you're looking for a sprawling, complex fantasy epic, you might find the plot a little too streamlined, but you won't be bored. It's the perfect popcorn action film for anyone who believes true princesses wear cuts and bruises, not glass slippers.

Have you watched Damsel yet? Did Elodie's journey of self-rescue feel earned, or did you wish the film had explored the kingdom's history more? Drop a comment below and let me know your final rating!