Eden Lake

Fierce and thought-provoking ‘survival horror' with a shocking twist Discuss this article

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This fierce, thought-provoking ‘survival horror’ movie from My Little Eye co-writer James Watkins sounds like a tabloid headline: Lovers’ Lakeside ‘Hoodie’ [Brit slang for riff raff] Horror. The romantic peace of Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender’s remote idyll is shattered by a gang of kids with a loud beat-box and a boisterous Rottweiler. Verbal confrontations escalate into knife-wielding violence, then the couple are hunted and tortured in the surrounding woods.

This is not, however, a rant about feral youths. Instead, Watkins uses stomach-knotting tension and tongue-slicing horror to explore the complex dynamics of anti-social violence. We identify with the victims throughout, but Watkins also depicts the complex peer-group pressures within the gang and the pain and confusion behind its leader’s eyes. The film’s one major fault is that Reilly’s character repeatedly acts in ways that serve the plot, but which run contrary to rational human behaviour. By contrast, the shattering downbeat ending is well earned and genuinely shocking.

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