Eden Lake

Plot synopsis:
Nursery school teacher Jenny (Kelly Reilly) and her boyfriend Steve (Michael Fassbender) escape for a romantic weekend at an idyllic remote lake somewhere in the green English countryside. They meet a young boy along the way who is reluctant to talk to them. When they arrive at beach they attempt to have a relaxing day, but a group of teenage delinquents and their dog appear. Steve stubbornly decides that he would much rather stay put, enduring their loud music and obnoxious dog, than be "bullied" by them into leaving.They stay overnight in a tent, and in the morning discover that their food has been infested with insects. Hungry, they return to the car to find someplace to eat, but unfortunately, they run over an empty bottle the hooligans left behind. Steve luckily manages to fix the tire, and they set off for the town. While in town, Steve sees the unruly teens riding around on their bicycles, and angrily follows them. Unable to keep track of them, Steve finally gives up, and they go looking for some breakfast. In they diner they settle for, Steve asks the waitress if she has seen the kids riding around on bikes. The waitress jokingly asks if they have been terrorising Steve and Jenny. Steve laughs, and states they have only been "hassling" them, and continues by saying that he wanted to inform their parents they had punctured his tyre. The waitress then becomes strangely defensive, saying "Not my kids".When they leave, though, he catches sight of a group of bicycles sprawled out on the front lawn of a house, and stops the car. Jenny pleads for him to stay, but Steve determinedly gets out. After receiving no answer to his calls at the front door, Steve enters the house, but almost gets caught by the owner - the father of one of the teenagers - who returns. Steve manages narrowly to escape out of the window, and he and Jenny hastily head back to the lake.Once back, Steve goes scuba diving whilst Jenny sleeps on the beach, but when Steve returns they realize the beach bag, containing the car keys and Steve's phone and wallet, has gone missing. Hurriedly, they go to check on the car, and much to their dismay, see that it is gone as well. Making their way back to town on foot, they narrowly avoid being hit by the car as the gang drives it wildly through the woods, stopping only for Brett (Jack O'Connell) - the leader - to smirk at the couple.Later at nightfall, Steve and Jenny come across the gang in the woods. Steve, against Jenny's will, confronts them. He demands the car keys and his possessions back, but Brett denies any knowledge of stealing their camping equipment or their car. Unfortunately for him, the phone goes off in his pocket, prompting a scuffle, during which one of the boys produces a knife. Steve manages to grab the knife, but in the confusion ends up stabbing - fatally - Brett's dog. Brett evidently saddened by his dog's death, throws the car keys to the ground and tells them to leave. Steve and Jenny manage to find the car and start driving away, but get stuck on a steep slope. Meanwhile, Brett has decided he wants retribution after all, and the gang catch up with them and start throwing rocks at the car, breaking the windshield and smashing the headlights. Terrified, Steve and Jenny luckily manage to get the car moving again, but with the headlights out, Steve ends up crashing the car. Finding himself trapped by a tree branch which has come through the windscreen, he tells Jenny to run and to try to find help. Jenny escapes and finds somewhere to hide, where she spends the night.The next morning she cautiously returns to the car but finds Steve gone. Following a trail of blood, she comes across the gang in a small clearing, with Steve tied up with barbed wire. She watches in horror as the boys - goaded by Brett - take turns torturing Steve with their knives as Paige (Finn Atkins), the girl of the gang, is told to record the whole thing on her phone. Jenny, realizing they are about to kill him uses the bluetooth on her GPS to connect with Steve's phone. Brett notices this, realizing she must be close and orders the gang after her.Jenny flees, the gang close behind her on their bikes. This gives Steve the opportunity to free himself from the barbed wire, and he also sets off running. Jenny manages to evade the gang, and eventually finds Steve, injured and bleeding heavily. She helps him to a shack where she tries to treat some of his wounds. She finds a wedding ring in Steve's clothing and he tells her he'd planned to propose. The gang turns up and enter the shack but they find nothing as Jenny managed to conceal both herself and Steve underneath the construction in the water. The group leaves, and Jenny pulls Steve out of the water. They decide she should go on alone, leaving Steve concealed under some leaves. Following the power lines Jenny treads on a spike and hides, for fear her screams have alerted the gang to her location. She comes across Adam (James Gandhi), the little boy she and Steve had encountered earlier. She pleads to him for help, but he instead leads her straight to the gang who knock her out.She awakens to find herself and Steve, who has already died, about to be set alight by the gang. Pouring petrol over them, Brett forces Adam to light the fire with a match. Again Brett commands Paige to film the whole scene with her phone. The rest of the gang are noticeably disturbed at this point. The ropes binding Jenny burn through and she escapes. Brett, in his fury, covers Adam in petrol and threatens to set light to him if she does not return. Jenny though, is already too far away, and can only look on in horror as Adam is burnt alive.Eventually she finds a trail map, which she removes to help her escape. Narrowly avoiding Brett and Ricky (Tom Gill) by hiding in a large bin, she arms herself with a shard of glass, but before she can go anywhere she encounters another of the gang; Cooper (Thomas Turgoose). Having evidently realized things have gone too far, Cooper seems as if he is about to offer her his help, but before he can do so, Jenny stabs him with the glass. Although the shock of what she has done immediately strikes her, she can do nothing but hold Cooper as he dies in her arms. Finding the body, Paige screams, bringing Brett running. Another member of the gang confronts him, and begins to call someone on his phone, prompting Brett to beat him savagely. Paige then runs off, terrified by Brett's seemingly uncontrollable brutality.Meanwhile, Jenny finally reaches the road, managing to flag down a van, she gets in, telling the driver she has been attacked. Worried, the driver explains he is looking for his brother, who is also in the forest. His brother 'Ricky'. The driver stops the van and gets out, leaving the keys in the ignition. Jenny, scared that she will be caught again, resolves to steal the van, and speeds off towards town, running over Paige as she does so.She makes it to town, only to crash into the front garden of a house. Making her way around the back of the house, she finds a party in progress, she pleads for help and collapses. Coming to, she finds herself inside the house, with a woman comforting her. As she looks around and listens to the phone call the parents received from their children, she comes to the realization that she is, in fact, in Brett's house and asks to be shown to the toilet. Brett's father at this point notices the van crashed on the lawn. Finding no escape, Jenny arms herself with a razor. As the commotion builds outside, the door is kicked in and she is confronted by psycho Brett and his psycho father, along with the other party-goers, some of them evidently the parents of the other gang members (including the waitress from the café). Jenny realizes that the gang's parents are just as psychotic and murderous as their kids and they hide and protect them from prosecution. Brett's father orders Brett to his room violently as he and another parent push Jenny back into the bathroom. As the film closes, Brett deletes the videos from Paige's phone and looks into his mirror and makes a very evil smile as Jenny's screams ring from downstairs as she is apparently beaten and killed by his and the other evil parents of the evil gang members.

Tags: dark, suspenseful, depressing, murder, violence, horror, plot twist, insanity, revenge, sadist

Review:
You're sucked into the whole atmosphere, to the characters - both the good and the bad -, and it really eats you up and leaves you with this bundle of emotions that catch you off guard and in the end, leave you empty-handed.I'm sorry for not being very precise about the plot and the characters, but I simply can't write an ordinary "this film opens with..." review, the experience was just too much.I highly recommend it, but not for the weak-hearted..
A lot of horror films similar to this lack realism so the audience cannot connect with the protagonist as easily, but Eden Lake has been made with a great deal of empathy for the couple and hate for the young kids.
As for the couple they were perfectly cast and they have great chemistry, I have been a fan of Michael Fassbender (who plays boyfriend Steve) for a while but I had never really noticed Kelly Reilly before (who plays girlfriend Jenny) but she plays the character very well and hits the right emotions at the perfect time.All in all the film draws you in, keeps you captivated, shocks you with the gore and blows you away with emotion.
A few minor logic problems but you'll get over it, they don't ruin the mood at all.I have to praise the script because it works in the boundaries of the real world and does not go over the top in any scene, and I know some may disagree in this but I think you'll like it never the less.All in all, it is good and it is for you if you truly like horror.
From start to finish this film is a masterclass in confronting our views on revenge and on how we choose which 'side' to be on in any given situation.The two adult leads are almost immediately plunged into a nightmare where children have the upper hand and where respect for adults is thrown out of the window yet the adults still view the amoral, feral youth as children (at least initially).Eden Lake plays as virtually a documentary of Britain in 2008 and as a film gives us a stark reflection of what is happening in this country today.
So many UK horror films come with great expectations and so many fail, but with Eden Lake, Watkins has crafted a contemporary film that is instilled with the nastiness and vicious spirit of 70s/early 80s horror such as 'Last House on the Left'.Disturbing, challenging, thought provoking and downright electrifying in places, this is one of the best horror films of the past few years and one of the best British films this decade..
Very few movies will leave you feeling such anger and sadness after they end.Even though "Eden Lake" doesn't have a truly original plot it manages to look fresh and non-predictable.
The acting is truly superb with the standout performance by Kelly Reilly as Jenny.The movie has some gore which is used brilliantly without making Eden Lake look like some cheap exploitation movie.
Everything that happens in "Eden Lake" is believable and this, powered by great use of suspense, is what makes this movie so scary.
It contains scenes of torture and death, however not exploitable but necessary for the plot line and its characters, and in that way not too strong or too long.A good movie for me is one which evokes strong emotions within the film (not against it ;-) ).
Still at this point that could be overlooked as this is the kind of movie you've picked to watch after all.However, very quickly the story takes a huge unreasonable turn and just keeps going downward in a path were nothing can be explained by any rules of reason whatsoever, to the point were you are enraged with being taken advantage of in this way and having your nerves wrecked for no reason.As luck would have it, things don't even pick up near the end and just when you think this movies has hurt your mind enough, you will be tossed into an unbelievavle blackhole of mental torture, and then some.
If you thought that Hostel was tough, think twice before buying a ticket.Eden Lake may not have the rich subtext or cultural significance of Craven's seminal 1970's output, but it does unmistakably have that same raw cynicism, energy and sense of purpose.This is easily the finest pure horror movie since Switchblade Romance, and is absolutely not to be missed..
Throughout the movie created a tension that's all right....but the conclusion is worthless....it did not fulfill the expected expectation......the whole thing had very less manners which is simply not desirable.....it has no moral values rather it effects nourishing minds.........I couldn't extract any exact motive of the movie....I am thinking the whole movie all these people has seen but nobody sees its problem.I agree that the thrilling part is there and starting is quite excited but there is no meaning in finishing up the movie in harsh manner.Where ever the lady goes there that boys family and relatives are there....is not it nonsense.
A couple bored me to tears on their way to some romantic lake camping trip.The said couple do stupid things such as the boyfriend going swimming while his girlfriend sits beside some obvious thugs.The girlfriend inexplicably falls asleep despite the fact that the thugs have a marauding rottweiler running around beside her.The boyfriend - after having his tire punctured by the thugs - effectively breaks into their home and has a little nose around upstairs.Obviously, there was a pattern of badness that prompted me to turn this nonsense off.
All of these combined with the questionable judgment of virtually all of the cast from beginning to end makes for a underwhelming and disappointing experience.The reason I gave the 1-star-above-the-minimum is because the acting was great from everyone involved, and the production quality is very high, it's just a shame it's for a poor script and film, it could have been so much better.To sum up my experience (tl;dr) - follow the opinion of the disillusioned, they often went in with mediocre expectations, or through a recommendation from a "professional critic", only to be so disappointed they had to voice their opinion such as with me.2/10.
please for God sake if your time really matters do not waste it by watching this movie....even if your time is of no value still this movie is not worth watching....believe me its just a silly plot narrated and directed without any plot and idea...even a 5 year kid would have done better if just given the idea of a lake , a couple, and some psychopathic kids....the movie has no fun, no ideas, no lessons , no plot , no poetic justice and not even a single act of nature that can touch an instinctive soul...this type of movies have destroyed the cinema and its glory...how a person can be so stupid directing such a movie.....and i am surprised how these good actors play this role...i guess they must not have read the plot...please for sake do not watch this movie...its is neither horror nor thriller nor any fun movie....i give it 1 out of 10....it does not even deserve 1 but there is not any option....it is better to go in the bathroom think of someone pretty rub oil on your hand and rub your genital...at least you will get relaxed by seeing that white matter coming out of your organ than watching this movie...please forgive yourself and do not waste your time....
i mean i have seen movies like hostel,vacancy and i have enjoyed but this is a complete waste of time .through out the whole movie i was waiting that when this couple is gonna fight back but it didn't happen But movies like Eden Lake are too real I guess you could say and I don't need to be reminded of how the world works sometimes - There is violence in the world and there is no justice.
And, to make it worse the poor lady finds a house but its where the parents of these children are partying and they find out she killed a couple of the kids that were torturing her so of course a few of the guys take her in the bathroom and kill her and the movie ends.
This film's plot displays some of the worst qualities that humans possess without offering any substantial sense of redemption.The actors were convincing and the production quality was as good as any contemporary film...But as far as entertainment goes, if I wanted to feel this way, I could have just read the newspaper or watched the news.
A more modern example of this kind of film would be Wes Craven's 1972 "Last House on the Left," which was later copied in Deodato's "House on the Edge of the Park," and the extremely entertaining "Last House on the Beach." Nowadays, we get movies like "Wolf Creek," "The Strangers" and this piece of absolute drivel, "Eden Lake," in which the viewers are treated to an unrealistic onslaught of violence and cruelty performed by the most unimaginable villains.
The viewer is left with no sense of anything, just wasted time.I'll sum it up for you: extremely unlucky and stupid British couple get harassed and killed by a group of children who were raised by irresponsible parents.For a WAY better film of this type, check out "Who Can Kill a Child?" Now that's a good one.Maybe you have to be British to 'get' this one, but I found it laughably bad and not in a good way.
Naturally, the couple won't allow their weekend to be spoiled by a bunch of kids, but as the situation escalates; the couple begin to realise that the youngsters are rather more dangerous than first thought, and their trip soon turns into a nightmare.Eden Lake would be best described as 'survival horror' and works mainly due to the realism.
Overall, this is a fantastic horror movie that fans of the genre won't want to miss, and it also stands tall as one of the best British films in years!
I cant turn myself out of the story until i found some backers here.I hardly believe that most of the guys would support this desperate movie..How could the director make the youth problem so positive.How could you convince us that the kid would be that brutal.I fell this movie cross the line.We don't need this kind of education.And the devil wins at the end with a disgusted smile!There's no virtual rules in this film and how will it tell the children all over the world?It's not like the imagined ghost film that won't influence the public thought..Its just a try to be focused film without any thinking!Maybe I'm too serious to a "horrible" film,but i have to say that as a director has to be responsible to the public!.
little torture bit in it isn't too bad, i don't usually like torture films, this wasn't one of them as it was needed for the plot and done with some taste, the hoodie boys are brilliant, superb acting they were pretty believable actually, and the lead actress Jenny was good, end sequence is pretty CHILLING!- which is a rarity these days..
Not sure if I've seen a more stupid, aggravating movie -- the characters (both the "good" and the "bad") all behave so idiotically and nonsensically, and also often in bizarrely psychotic ways, that I quickly had a very hard time caring about anything that was happening on screen.
Some might argue "but people like this exist!" and while that seems debatable to me, it's also beside the point, because the manner in which this film depicts its characters and drives its plot forward utterly fails to connect to the audience in a meaningful way.
Steve, who has reasons for wanting this to be the perfect weekend, approaches the youths with a polite request for them to tone down their behaviour, what he gets is pure ignorant hostility, but it is merely the start of what will become terror unbound.Eden Lake quite literally could have come from the pages of the tabloid newspapers that land on the doorsteps daily of millions of homes in Great Britain.
Interesting that writer/director James Watkins has said that he wrote Eden Lake long before the depressing number of incidents involving knife crimes started making front page news, but what he has failed to mention is that the incidents, and the unruly violence perpetrated by Britain's youth, has been escalating since the early 1990s.
It's just not sticking its head in the sand is all.Anyway, the film is excellent, the sub-genre that encompasses your every day folk coming under attack from the unruly is hardly a new thing, think Straw Dogs, Hills Have Eyes, Deliverance, Them and etc, but Eden Lake manages to homage the best of those influences whilst adding impetus with gritty realism and darkly disturbing acts of violence.
Lackluster acting is coupled with poor music and sound effects, and made all the worse by a director more interested in getting people to scream as loudly as possible than to get any suspense going.Eden Lake isn't entertainment, just something to get future serial killers all hot and bothered.
I think a horror is at its best when the actors convey real emotion to whats going on in the surroundings with a script to follow a some what logical path epically as the films plot takes a realistic approach to horrifying situation.
I like harrowing shockers as much as the next gorehound - there's a niftily nasty little British movie at the moment called 'Mum & Dad' that shows how the genre can work - but pretty much everything about 'Eden Lake' stinks to high heaven (I'm tempted to say 'would you Adam and Eve it?') Shame, shame, shame on you, James Watkins..
This is a dark drama more than a horror film as we know it and where it scores over recent films in this genre is a strong sense of realism, easily identifiable characters, and a totally unexpected ending.While Eden Lake poses uncomfortable questions about gang culture, it's not just about the adult fear of children.
So, if you want to enjoy the evening with a horror movie, settle yourself in the sofa and just watch another film..
ile start by saying i like horror films and have seen my fair share of nasty brutal stuff ,but this film was just bad not a lot of story line and gives the impression that its OK to kill people if your a chav and the worring thing is that there are people out there who would think just that after watching this sh#t, in a world were 11 year old kids can stab each other for a mobile phone do we really need a film like this to make it seem OK cos thats what they will think I've met people who thinks this film is awesome and they are scum to say the least.i only give this film 2 stars for the actors they did a good job and the makeup was good this film could have been so much better i know its not suppose to be very nice and as i said i watch a lot of horror films but it was to close to home for me and maybe that was the point but i just thinks we see enough of that for free on the news ..
so please don't be a fool and buy it, you will regret it.The writer/director of this crappy little movie (James Watkins) about a gang of teen thugs terrorising a young couple, clearly has NO IDEA at all about pleasing his audience and in fact leads the viewer to conclude that it is possible to get away with violent torture and murder with no punishment or consequence whatsoever.OK, so maybe he didn't want to turn his heroine into Ripley or Sarah Connor, but mate, your audience sure did, and consequently the lame and utterly disappointing ending completely spoilt what could have been a good movie and so served only to totally waste 90 minutes of my life.
I expect Watkins thought he was being 'clever' or different with the hopeless conclusion to Eden Lake, but he was instead simply pi**ing all over his audiences expectations which is why I would never recommend this garbage to a soul and would never watch it again.It wouldn't need Einstein to tell Watkins that people like to see the bad guys get what they deserve, but this bloke obviously has no idea what audiences want so I would also steer well clear of any of his future efforts (but let's hope they are few if at all).And if you're thinking that Tom Ripley (The Talented Mr. Ripley) got away with murder and I didn't mind, well, me neither and that's because Tom Ripley, despite what he was, was a very likable character whereas none of the surviving scumbags in Eden Lake are.Avoid this movie like the plague unless you like being angry and hugely disappointed!!!!!.
They are the lost ones who belong no where and think that they should have everything that they want simply because they want it.The "Youths" portrayed in this film are shockingly well done and their interactions are so true to life it feels like looking into the real world.
Eden Lake is just one of those films that is just so brilliantly done, and the movie is just so gripping, and just defines horror.
I feel like many of the makers of the aforementioned films deserve a royalty check from Eden Lake.Plot: Couple harassed by delinquent kids in rural area.
When are we going to get to the part where the girl escapes and goes Charles Bronson on these people?" That's usually how most films that play like Eden Lake end up!