The Damned Lands Blu Ray Review (Burning Bulb Publishing)

The Damned Lands is a 2024 slasher written and directed by Ben Pramuk (Harvest Hospital, Meat the Kings, and Hospital of Dreams). For generations, a family lead by Papa (played by: David Ogrodowski from Batshit, Beginnings, Clay Zombies, Children As Giants, Blowback, and Chasing Zombies: A George Romero Tribute) and Mama (played by: Michelle Gibson from Sudden Death, Freak Out, 56 Days, Nutcase, and Spellbound) has protected their land from all outside trespassers by any means necessary. 6 friends lose their planned reservations on a camping trip. So they decide to take a chance on this presumed isolated location but they are not alone here. Will they be able to survive this demented family that’s willing to kill whoever crosses their paths???? The Damned Lands is a very mysterious project and production. I never heard of it until it showed up for coverage. I can’t find almost any information about it’s director and writer Ben Pramuk so it kinds adds to it’s vibe. I guess it works for something like this, it almost feels a little real that way. This slasher is clearly influenced by The Hills Have Eyes and Wrong Turn with some Texas Chainsaw Massacre thrown in. It does manage have an interesting opening to get the audience curious. Then it goes into character development with the unlucky strangers that are all at the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m not really familiar with any of the cast that includes David Ogrodowski, Michelle Gibson, Sophia Beigi (Selenolatry), Brynn Pallone (Hospital of Dreams), Mya Favata (Little Rich Lives 2025), Kain Davis (Little Rich Lives 2025), A.J. Gross (My Demon), Robert Starzynski (Temple Pilots), Raymond Leichliter (Hospital of Dreams), Dylan Gibbs (The Monkey Claw), Dennis Carr, Bri Bodzer, Shana D Fischer, Ronnie Smith, Josh Johnston, and Rob Barnhart for The Damned Lands. Sometimes independent features look bigger than what they are but this isn’t one of those. It looks like it’s lower budget for the most part. I don’t mean that as an insult, it probably fits it’s backwoods atmosphere better that way. It feels like an 80’s slasher. I will say that the best thing about this is it’s nasty unrated special fx from artists Sarah Nichol Burke (Batshit, The Haunting of Prince Dom Pedro de Alcântara Francisco António João Carlos Xavier de Paula Miguel Rafael Joaquim José Gonzaga Pascoal Cipriano Serafim, Fire, and AbSolved Episodic Narrative) and Delaney Gatenby (Selenolatry, Little Rich Lives 2025, Forte, and The Fountain of Youth). I love the look of all the villains in The Damned Lands. Sometimes it’s honestly better than that they are silent psychopaths and I think it would have been more effective if they did that here because it’s more distracting than anything. I do like their logic, they have their reasons what they do. They are not murdering for fun, they feel violated with these outsiders around them. They are not looking to eat or rape any of their victims either. It’s something different which makes them stand out compared to all of the others in this sub-genre. The Damned Lands has it’s fair share of flaws but it was better than than I thought it would be. I enjoyed it’s destructive ending and it has the potential for a possible sequel. It goes straight to the movie with no menu. There’s no extras on the disc. It’s a professionally made on demand BD-R from Burning Bulb Publishing. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!