Directed by:
James WatkinsScreenplay:
James WatkinsCinematography:
Christopher RossComposer:
David JulyanCast:
Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender, Jack O'Connell, Finn Atkins, Bronson Webb, Thomas Turgoose, Tara Ellis, Alyssa Cooper, Thomas Gill, Eliza Elkington (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
Nursery teacher Jenny and her boyfriend Steve escape for a romantic weekend away. Steve, planning to propose, has found an idyllic setting: a remote lake enclosed by woodlands and seemingly deserted. The couple's peace is shattered when a gang of obnoxious kids encircles their campsite. Reveling in provoking the adults, the gang steals the couple's belongings and vandalizes their car leaving them completely stranded. When Steve confronts them, tempers flare and he suffers a shocking and violent attack. Fleeing for help, Jenny is subject to a brutal and relentless game of cat-and-mouse as she desperately tries to evade her young pursuers and find her way out of the woods. Exhausted and distraught, she finally arrives back to the safety of the town. And meets the parents. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (9)
The islanders strike back at the French, who have had no competition in the exploitation field recently. It takes place in the traditional backdrop of a deep forest, where a young couple go for a romantic weekend. This time they’re not terrorized by a sweaty redneck, but rather by a bunch of rude brats. The plot, based on a clear model, is disrupted by several impressive twists and turns, an excellent pair of protagonists, a twisted party boss with the visage of a hockey player, and, above all, a surreal ending that pushes the despair even further. Some moments (the thorn, the game with fire, the ending) make me want to give it full stars, but the slight aftertaste from the mix of Frontier(s) and Them keeps me at a four, albeit a very strong four. Keep it up!
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Every horror fan should sit up and take notice, this is the gem many of us have been waiting for in vain all this year – a very intense and disturbing experience. The trodden basic storyline of a couple in the woods who run into psychopaths that want to hurt them is portrayed in such way that it feels incredibly realistic, making you wonder whether you haven’t recently read about something similar in a newspaper. In many films I end up rooting for the villains, at least in part (especially in slashers), but Eden Lake made me literally wish for a happy ending or at least a properly cruel punishment for the underage ruffians. Really, I don’t have any major complaints. The ending is good, the torture scenes have the effect they are supposed to have, and the heroes are almost surprisingly likeable. Basically, Eden Lake is a slasher enriched by a lot of exploitation elements that cements the exceptional position of modern European horror (that beautifully incorrect scene by the campfire could never be made in America today).
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A trip to a lake turns into a fight for survival when a loving couple pisses off a bunch of local teenagers. An unoriginal but very impressive and suspenseful film that people with weaker stomachs may not be able to handle, but fans of the British new wave of horror will definitely be very satisfied.
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Eden Lake is a very intense experience that cannot be recommended to everyone because it's simply not suitable for the faint-hearted. Yes, towards the end, it becomes a bit overdone and perhaps unnecessarily concludes the way it does. However, as long as the film unfolds in the forest, it is truly oppressive and intense. People are monsters, and even though the film is purely fictional, you easily realize that something similar could happen. Justice is just an assumption; only family and an eye for an eye exist. A pretty dark message.
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Poor old Michael Fassbender makes a fatal mistake and takes Dr. Watson’s wife on a trip to a lake. To a lake in Britain. Toa lake in Britain where youths are playing youthful games. Despite a couple of weird things about the behavior of the characters (even though, let’s face it, people are fundamentally idiots and don’t behave logically, especially where emotions are involved) and a couple of weird situations, this is an excellent example of how things can go really frickin’ (“mind your language") wrong. No shortage of brutality and the ending is a lot to take. Powerlessness... a loss of morale, conscience and rules. Americans can go jump in a dumpster with their would-be survival horrors and thrillers.
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