Damsel is a 2024 American dark fantasy film directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and written by Dan Mazeau. Millie Bobby Brown stars as Elodie, who accepts a marriage proposal only to realize that she is being used to repay a royal family's ancient debts, and must now escape while surviving attacks from the dragon lurking in the chasm. The rest of the principal cast consists of Ray Winstone, Nick Robinson, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Angela Bassett, and Robin Wright.

Damsel was released by Netflix to mixed reviews on March 8, 2024.

Plot

The first king of Aurea leads a futile attack on a dragon residing in his realm. All the king's men are killed, leaving the king at the dragon's mercy.

Centuries later, Elodie, the adolescent daughter of Lord Bayford, receives a proposal from Queen Isabelle of Aurea to marry her son, Prince Henry. On her father's urging, Elodie agrees to the marriage to help their impoverished people. Upon arriving in Aurea, Elodie and Henry initially both seem uninterested in each other, but begin to bond as they share a desire to travel. Elodie’s stepmother, Lady Bayford, fails to befriend Queen Isabelle, leading her to futilely implore Elodie to end the engagement.

After the wedding, Elodie and Henry take part in an ancient ritual in the mountains, supposedly to celebrate their union. Isabelle describes the pact between the first king and the dragon, where he had to sacrifice his three daughters for peace. Following a ceremony where their hands are cut and held together, Henry carries Elodie across the narrow path over the dragon's lair, then throws her into the chasm.

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Recovering from the fall, Elodie realizes that she is the actual sacrifice. She escapes the dragon after it burns her leg and discovers an illuminated cave filled with glowing slugs, which she collects as a light source. Elodie reaches a chamber with the note "Safe Here She Cannot Reach," the names of past victims and a map carved into the wall. While Elodie is asleep, the slugs heal the burn on her leg.

Elodie follows the map, but it leads to a dead end at a high vertical drop on the mountainside. She discovers the remains of dead dragon hatchlings, providing the reason for the royal sacrifices. A rescue party led by Lord Bayford arrives. The dragon kills them, but the distraction allows Elodie to escape the mountain. She takes one of the rescue party's horses and hides under a rock as the dragon burns the surrounding area in an unsuccessful pursuit.

The conflagration alerts Isabelle that Elodie's sacrifice has failed, forcing her to kidnap Elodie's younger sister Floria as a replacement. After Lady Bayford rides out and informs her, Elodie returns to the mountain to rescue Floria, who is left alive as bait.

Elodie creates a diversion for the dragon to reach Floria. Telling her sister to hide, she confronts the dragon and tries to convince her that they were deceived by the Aureans: by joining their cut hands at the wedding, the blood of the brides and the Aurean royals mingled, making the dragon think of the princesses as Aurean royalty. The dragon refuses to believe Elodie, stating that the first king's assault was unprovoked, and then attacks her, but Elodie tricks her into burning herself. With the dragon at her mercy, she heals both of them with the glowing slugs.

Elodie then interrupts another wedding at the palace, exposing the Aureans' treachery. Elodie advises the new bride and her family to flee, and the dragon burns the palace with all the Aurean royals and nobles inside. Days later, Elodie, Floria, and Lady Bayford sail home, loaded with supplies and accompanied by the dragon.