Eden Lake (2008)

Refusing to let anything spoil their romantic weekend break, a young couple confront a gang of loutish youths with terrifyingly brutal consequences.

Eden Lake is a 2008 British horror film written and directed by first time director James Watkins, who has since gone on to direct ‘The Woman In Black‘ on the back of the success of Eden Lake.

Nursery teacher Jenny (Kelly Reilly) and her boyfriend Steve (Michael Fassbender) escape for a romantic weekend at an idyllic remote lake. The lake is hidden away in an old quarry, and fenced off from the public as it will soon become a new housing project. After sneaking in and locating the little beach area by the lake, the couple attempt to enjoy a relaxing day, but they are harassed by a gang of teenage hooligans.

Steve tries to make a peaceful resolution with the kids, but they aren’t interested so Steve walks away like the grown up he is. The couple decide to stay the night on the beach as planned, and not be pushed around by the gang.

Naturally, as the hours wear on, the confrontation gets worse, with the kids stealing the couples car for a joy ride. Then they get into a knife fight over the car and some other stolen properties, and this leads to the death of the kids’ pet Rottweiler. Then things start to get very nasty, with our couple on the run for their lives. Crashing their car, they are left alone in the woods with the children, led by the homicidal and merciless Brett (Jack O’Connell). The rest of the story will remain unspoiled, as if you haven’t seen this film you are in for a treat.

There are some very violent moments in Eden Lake. One scene in particular toward the end really escalates fast, and whilst I felt this was maybe out of character even for the deranged Brett, it really pushed the film into the extreme territory.

Considering this was a relatively low-budget British film, made by a first time director, Eden Lake really excels on pretty much every level. The performances from the actors here are all excellent. Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender both make us relate to them, and root for them, and ultimately make us care for them and their survival. Jack O’Connell plays the ring leader of the group Brett, and he really shines. Playing a merciless hateful character is not the easiest thing to do, and the fact that a grown man like Steve shouldn’t be frightened of a kid but is, shows what a presence Brett has, and the rest of the gang either idolize or fear him and do as he says. One of the gang is played by Thomas Turgoose. I have been a big fan of his since he was in ‘This is England’ and he doesn’t disappoint in this film either, despite only having a small role.

The ending will either be seen by people as brilliant and controversial, or coincidental and contrived. I’m probably in the latter group to be honest, as while I liked the nature of it, I just felt there was such a slim chance of this actually happening. I loved the fact the director went for this ending though, certainly not a generic film ending by any means!

The ending aside, my only other complaints would be that there were a few moments of the typical ‘horror clichés’ apparent in Eden Lake. No one called the police, the scene in the house early on in the film felt like something no one in their right mind would do, the way the kids knew the woods like they were perfect hunters, and a couple of really lucky ‘coincidences’. Yet for whatever reason they barely detract from the film, and I was happy to overlook them as the rest of the film was tight and excellently done, from the script right down to the look and feel of the woods.

Maybe the scariest thing about the movie is not the gore or the suspense. The scariest thing is that it is so believable and is a sad reflection of some aspects of our modern society. Those kids are real. Those parents exist. For example, here in Britain only a few months ago there was a story eerily similar to the plot from Eden Lake.

A man was captured by a gang on the streets, then taken and beaten up with a bat. His bank card was stolen from him and taken to a cash machine where the gang withdrew £20. The gang then returned and tortured him to death in the kitchen of a flat using fists and feet, stabbing him with broken bottles and kitchen knives. The next day the gang wheeled the guy in a blood-soaked carpet through the streets in wheelie bins before finding a metal bin on an industrial estate, where they proceeded to douse his body in petrol and set him on fire.

I don’t want to sound like I’m here to preach, but a human life taken away for the sake of £20. That is just one example of how messed up society is. So when people say Eden Lake is too far-fetched, unrealistic or not something kids would do, they need to do some research and watch the news, as sadly this kind of thing is far too frequent and the film highlights how bad society and the whole youth/gang/knife culture has become.

In conclusion, I would say Eden Lake is excellently acted and directed, and totally intense. It may just be the best British horror film in years, and if you ever get chance to check it out I would urge you to do so.

Posted by Tysoncarter182 on October 18, 2012

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