Sunday 3 June 2012

Eden Lake (2008)


Starring Michael Fassbender before he really made it big and Kelly Reilly who most people will probably recognise as Mrs Watson in the Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes films. I had heard of this film and all I had heard was that a couple go to the lake and are terrorized by feral teens. It really is about this but is so much worse because of how it is delivered and how it goes as the film goes on. There is a reality within the delivery that actually disturbed me when watching it. You can believe the situation and when the escalation starts the reasoning is believable even if they are extreme, however you can see the reasons for the decisions being logical to the people making them.

You follow Steve and Jenny a nice couple who in very few words and actions you come to understand their relationship and their personalities and then you see their first few interactions with the youths. Before that you have also had a perception of society that can create children like those in the film. The pub scene and the beer garden are very important for the message the film is delivering. This film is disturbing in a tension building way as you know something is going to go down. When it does I think that it is delivered excellently and it is scary in it's reality.

The situation escalates for all involved, this is part of the story, how one decision leads to the next. There is the fact that being in a gang is cool but following a leader who you do not know where they will go can lead to many issues. There are some issues I have with what the main characters choose to do, I understand why they do it but it is not how I would have reacted and not the choices I would have made. Overall if you want to see a well made terror filled film with a disturbing message give this film a go, I would give this 4 out of 5 stars.

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