The Damned
After suffering the recent loss of his wife, David Reynolds decides to take his family on a cathartic trip to her home village in Columbia. While en route, they get into a car accident and seek refuge in a secluded inn. While there they find a mysterious young girl, Ana Maria, locked up with cryptic symbols painted on the walls of her cell. Shocked by the treatment of her caretaker, the family sets Ana free only to realize that she is possessed by an evil spirit from centuries past. What’s worse, the spirit can jump from person to person, creating a deadly dynamic amongst the once loving family. Now, David must figure out a way to lock the spirit up for good before it destroys him and his family.
Working with a limited budget of $3.0M, the film achieved a modest success with $5.8M in global revenue (+92% profit margin).
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
The Damned (2014) showcases precise story structure, characteristic of Víctor García's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 27 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.3, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes David Reynolds travels through Colombia with his fiancée Lauren and estranged daughter Jill to attend his wedding, the group including Jill's boyfriend Ramon and Gina and her son. Their relationships are strained but functional as they journey through the Colombian countryside.. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 10 minutes when A violent flash flood destroys the bridge and road, killing their driver and stranding the group in the remote Colombian countryside with no way forward and rising waters threatening their lives.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 22 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This indicates the protagonist's commitment to After hearing desperate cries from the basement, the group breaks open the locked cellar door against Felipe's frantic protests, releasing Ana Maria, a young girl who claims to have been held captive. This irreversible act unleashes the supernatural evil upon them., moving from reaction to action.
At 44 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat The true nature of Ana Maria is revealed: she is possessed by a malevolent entity that has been imprisoned by Felipe for decades. Felipe explains the entity jumps from host to host when the current body dies, and now it is loose among them. The false rescue becomes their doom., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 65 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Most of the group has been killed, and the entity has possessed Lauren, David's fiancée. David faces the horrific reality that to save anyone, he may have to kill the woman he loves. Jill is critically endangered, and Felipe reveals there is no way to truly destroy the entity., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 70 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. David realizes the entity can only be contained, not destroyed. Someone must sacrifice themselves to trap it forever. He understands that his role as a father means protecting Jill at any cost, even becoming the entity's eternal prison himself., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
The Damned's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping The Damned against these established plot points, we can identify how Víctor García utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish The Damned within the thriller genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional thriller films include Eye for an Eye, Lake Placid and Operation Finale.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
David Reynolds travels through Colombia with his fiancée Lauren and estranged daughter Jill to attend his wedding, the group including Jill's boyfriend Ramon and Gina and her son. Their relationships are strained but functional as they journey through the Colombian countryside.
Theme
The theme of past sins and their consequences is introduced through early dialogue about family secrets and the dangers of disturbing what should remain buried. A warning suggests that some things are locked away for good reason.
Worldbuilding
The setup establishes the fractured family dynamics: David's contentious relationship with Jill, his upcoming marriage to Lauren, and the group's vulnerability as outsiders in rural Colombia. A devastating flash flood destroys the road ahead, stranding them.
Disruption
A violent flash flood destroys the bridge and road, killing their driver and stranding the group in the remote Colombian countryside with no way forward and rising waters threatening their lives.
Resistance
The survivors struggle through the storm and discover a remote, deteriorating inn run by the elderly Felipe. Despite Felipe's strange behavior and reluctance to help, they take refuge. Felipe warns them to stay away from certain areas, particularly the locked basement.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
After hearing desperate cries from the basement, the group breaks open the locked cellar door against Felipe's frantic protests, releasing Ana Maria, a young girl who claims to have been held captive. This irreversible act unleashes the supernatural evil upon them.
Mirror World
Ana Maria's presence reveals the thematic heart of the story. She appears innocent and victimized, mirroring Jill's feelings of being controlled by her father, but Ana Maria's true nature will expose the difference between genuine protection and imprisonment.
Premise
The group settles in believing they rescued a victim, but strange occurrences begin. Ana Maria exhibits disturbing behavior, people begin acting out of character, and the entity inside Ana Maria starts possessing members of the group one by one. The horror premise unfolds as they realize what they've truly released.
Midpoint
The true nature of Ana Maria is revealed: she is possessed by a malevolent entity that has been imprisoned by Felipe for decades. Felipe explains the entity jumps from host to host when the current body dies, and now it is loose among them. The false rescue becomes their doom.
Opposition
The entity possesses group members in sequence, turning them against each other. Each death allows it to jump to a new host. The survivors struggle to identify who is possessed, trust breaks down completely, and attempts to escape are thwarted by the storm and the entity's manipulations.
Collapse
Most of the group has been killed, and the entity has possessed Lauren, David's fiancée. David faces the horrific reality that to save anyone, he may have to kill the woman he loves. Jill is critically endangered, and Felipe reveals there is no way to truly destroy the entity.
Crisis
David grapples with impossible choices. The entity cannot be killed, only contained. Felipe explains the original sin: villagers killed Ana Maria decades ago as a witch, but her vengeful spirit cannot rest. David must choose between killing possessed loved ones or sacrificing everyone.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
David realizes the entity can only be contained, not destroyed. Someone must sacrifice themselves to trap it forever. He understands that his role as a father means protecting Jill at any cost, even becoming the entity's eternal prison himself.
Synthesis
The final confrontation unfolds as David works to save Jill while combating the possessed. The entity jumps between remaining survivors. In the climactic struggle, a sacrifice is made to contain the entity, but the horror ending suggests the cycle may not be truly broken.
Transformation
The ending reveals the entity's survival and continuation. Jill escapes but carries trauma and possibly the entity itself. The transformation is one of corruption rather than redemption, as the cycle of possession threatens to continue beyond the inn, subverting the rescue the group attempted.