Damsel

Stream on Netflix

Runtime: 1 Hour and 49 Minutes

Rated PG-13

Based on the novels by Elana K. Arnold

“There are many stories of chivalry where the heroic knight saves the damsel in distress. This is not one of them.”

Elodie, played by MIllie Bobby Brown of Stranger Things fame, is a princess from a poverty ridden kingdom that is married off to another Kingdom’s prince in hopes that his kingdom will help her’s. She longs to marry for love, but understands that this arranged marriage will save her family and her people. Unfortunately, Elodie discovers that her marriage was a ruse and her new husband and inlaws plan to offer her as a sacrifice to a dragon!

Themes:

Damsels, distress, family, arranged marriage, royalty, dragons, strength, seeing the world, sacrifice, feminism, heroism, kingdoms, betrayal, fathers, overcoming all odds, family love, teamwork, second chances, children, fire, a father’s love for his daughter, cover ups, pacts, and princesses.

Language:

D*mn - 1 (yeah, there was only one curse word!)

Stuff to be aware of: (some of this is spoilers, do beware)

Grossness - A dead person who is slightly burnt up is seen briefly. A person’s very burnt and icky leg is seen. There is a burnt up skelington. A man is squashed under a dragon’s foot. A dragon’s eye gets stabbed and blood gushed out. Multiple burn wounds are seen throughout the movie.

Scariness - A group of royals wear creepy, gold masks. There is a dragon, who knew? There is a bird that is on fire and flaps around. When picked up the bird is chared. A flock of birds on fire fly around. The dragon has a creepy sounding voice.

Violence - Several soldiers burn up in dragon’s fire. You can see their bodies squirming. A dragon’s tail kills multiple soldiers. Two people’s hands are cut open for a pact and blood flows out. A woman is thrown down into a pit. Baby dragons are stabbed to death off screen, but later their corpses are seen. Men fall from very high up and die. A man is stabbed with large dragon claws and blood comes from his mouth and pools underneath him. A horse gets burnt up, but it is not fully seen. A woman is stabbed with a knife. A dragon gets half its body burned. One woman is seen burning up and metal melting down her face. This scene is pretty graphic, but is brief.

Overall:

I was surprised by the lack of sexual situations and innuendos throughout the film and only one curse word! I will say that this is possibly the creepiest looking and sounding dragon I have seen/heard in a movie. There is also a lot of “burn baby burn” in the movie as people get fried by dragon fire and receive severe burn wounds.

The story is pretty basic and you will likely be able to predict the plot and story twists before they happen, but it is a fun popcorn flick. It’s worth a watch, especially if you just want an exciting movie that you don’t have to think about to hard.