Despite topping Netflix charts, the streamer botched Damsel’s viewing experience ahead of its release.
Since its release on Mar. 8, 2024, Damsel has risen to the top of Netflix’s Global Top 10 chart. With more than 35 million views in the week of its release, the film has clearly been a hit with viewers. The film follows its titular character, Elodie, played by Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown, as she embarks on what she thinks is her fairytale come true. Little does she know that she is about to be thrown, literally, into her worst nightmare.
Despite Damsel‘s viewership, the film has attracted mixed reviews and has a mediocre rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing. Most of the criticism has been aimed at the film’s dialogue and scripting. However, Damsel‘s predictability in terms of plot progression has also come under fire. Some of the film’s predictability stems from Netflix’s trailer and snippet releases ahead of the film, spoiling the overall movie experience for viewers.
A Major Twist Revealed in Damsel’s Trailer
The first teaser trailer for the film was released in November 2023. Spanning just about two minutes, the glimpse establishes that viewers will most definitely not be walking into a fairytale. It shows Brown in all her warrior princess glory and hints that her marriage is what pushes her into horror-filled circumstances. However, the teaser does nothing more than kindle the excitement of viewers, arousing their curiosity.
The official trailer, released in early February 2024, took a different path than its predecessor. Instead of simply offering viewers glimpses that were just enough to have them look forward to the release of the film, the trailer revealed a few key details of Damsel. The trailer depicts Elodie preparing for her wedding to Prince Henry of Aurea in a bid to save her people. It also takes viewers to the ancient ceremony of honoring their ancestors, as the Prince explains to Elodie in the movie. The eerie scene of people in masks waiting for her establishes that a happy marriage is not in Elodie’s cards. Going a step further than merely signaling the horror that awaits the new princess, the biggest twist revealed comes when the trailer fully shows viewers the scene of Prince Henry throwing his newly-wed bride off a bridge and into the dragon’s lair.
Moreover, the trailer shows Elodie’s gruesome battle to escape the fire-spitting dragon and how she transforms into a damsel who is most definitely not in distress. Fighting for the countless women sacrificed before her, the trailer establishes that Elodie emerges victorious. The quick snippet of the dragon’s shadow falling over Elodie as she works also alludes to the fact that Elodie may have befriended the dragon. Essentially, the trailer almost becomes a summarized version of the full film. In addition to the trailer, Netflix released a full clip of the scene in late February when Henry throws Elodie into the cave on their social media platforms.
Dimming the Viewing Experience of Damsel
With Netflix revealing one of the film’s biggest shock moments ahead of the film’s release, viewers, from the get-go, eagerly anticipate the moment when Henry throws Elodie off the bridge. Being aware that this precise moment is when the film’s thrilling action begins, audiences are merely brushing past the initial events of Damsel. As such, the plight of Elodie’s family, the wedding preparations, and the intent of the wedding become less significant, taking away from the full viewing experience.
Moreover, depicting the scene of Elodie being thrown off in its entirety prior to the film’s release also takes away from the performance of the cast. Nick Robinson’s portrayal of a conflicted, hesitant husband about to throw his wife into the mouth of the dragon, despite having promised her that she’s safe, becomes less convincing, with audiences already aware of what will take place. The horror-filled shock and chilling scream emitted by Brown’s Elodie also loses a part of its effect on viewers, given that they anticipate her fall. The dramatic impact the moment could have had on its audience truly moving their emotions as viewers, is thus dimmed.
Making the Narrative of Damsel Increasingly Predictable
In addition to dimming the viewing experience, Netflix’s decision to include many of Damsel‘s key moments in snippets released ahead of the film also lends to the movie’s predictability. Viewers know that Elodie’s marriage is a sham and that instead of a husband, comfort, and a new kingdom, she will ultimately get a dragon, fire, and hardship.
Audiences can also predict that it is highly likely that Elodie will escape the dragon’s clutches, making it out victorious. Furthermore, with Elodie’s voice in the trailer stating, “This is the end of your story,” against Queen Isabella’s, which claims that Elodie does not know their story, it becomes a given that the queen will likely not have a happy ending. Viewers are also sure of the fact that Elodie likely makes the dragon her ally instead of killing it thanks to the clip of the flying dragon’s shadow falling over Elodie as she victoriously walks out of her ordeal.
The snippets of Elodie providing for herself, tearing up her wedding dress to create protection, and using a princess’s crown to scale a crystal wall also make it evident that the film will primarily be based on a revisionist fairytale trope. The awareness that the princess will save her own self, without a knight in shining armor doing so for her, is a given with Damsel. The feminist roots of the film, depicted clearly in the trailer, ready viewers for a watch that is mainly female-centered, with stars such as Brown, Robin Wright, and Angela Bassett in the limelight.
Netflix’s decision to reveal some of the key moments of Damsel was likely made with the intent of kindling the eagerness of viewers. While the revelations may have achieved this purpose, as can be ascertained by the viewership that has propelled the film to the number one spot on the streamer’s charts, it has also spoiled what could have been an impactful moment of the movie for audiences. With viewers heading into the film knowing exactly what would take place, the viewer experience was certainly taken away from, and the film’s plot was made increasingly predictable. The culmination of these effects is that Damsel becomes an undoubtedly entertaining, thrilling watch with a stellar cast but falls short of exploring its true potential and being truly great. Damsel is streaming on Netflix now.
