Friday Flicks: ‘Damsel’, ‘Incident in a Ghost Land’, ‘Distorted’
The 2018 indie Western black comedy Damsel has settled into a quiet but steady afterlife on streaming, far from the limited theatrical window that greeted it in June of that year. The Zellner brothers crafted a sly, off-center take on frontier tropes, and their follow-up to Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter still rewards viewers who like their genre films with a crooked smile.
Critical Reception and Legacy
Critics greeted the film with measured enthusiasm. It earned a 67 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where reviewers highlighted the humor, narrative twists, and striking cinematography while noting its deliberate, almost stately pace. Metacritic placed the score at 63, indicating generally favorable notices. The modest box office total of roughly $323,000 worldwide reflected its limited release strategy rather than audience rejection. Over time the picture has found a modest cult following among viewers who appreciate its willingness to upend expectations about who gets to be the hero in a Western.
Streaming and Home Viewing Availability
After its brief theatrical run, Damsel moved to streaming platforms within months. It remains accessible on major services, making the 2018 title easier to locate in 2026 than it ever was in multiplexes. Home media editions have also kept the film in circulation for collectors who prefer physical copies of Zellner projects.
The Zellner Brothers’ Filmography Context
The directors built their reputation on deadpan character studies and genre reinvention, and Damsel sits comfortably in that lineage. Their prior feature Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter established the same mix of melancholy and absurdist humor that reappears here, now transplanted to the American West. The brothers continue to favor small-scale stories that reward close attention to tone and performance over spectacle.
Note on Title Similarity
Viewers searching the title should note that a separate 2024 Netflix fantasy film also called Damsel exists, starring Millie Bobby Brown. The two projects share nothing beyond the name. The 2018 Zellner film remains a distinct Western black comedy with its own cast, tone, and production history.
The core story follows Samuel Alabaster, an affluent pioneer played by Robert Pattinson, who travels deep into the frontier in 1870 to marry his intended, Penelope, portrayed by Mia Wasikowska. A miniature horse named Butterscotch and a traveling parson named Henry add to the strange company. As the journey grows treacherous, the film steadily blurs the lines between hero, villain, and damsel in distress. Magnolia Pictures handled the limited release, and the same company has kept the title available for later audiences. The Zellner brothers wrote and directed, bringing their signature deadpan sensibility to a story that refuses to settle into conventional Western morality. The result is a film that feels both of its moment and oddly timeless, a reminder that the oldest genre stories can still be told slantwise when the right filmmakers take them on.
