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.

Director:

James Watkins

Writer:

James Watkins

Stars:

Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender, Tara Ellis

9 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kelly Reilly	...	Jenny
Michael Fassbender	...	Steve
Tara Ellis	...	Abi
Jack O'Connell	...	Brett
Finn Atkins	...	Paige
Jumayn Hunter	...	Mark
Thomas Turgoose	...	Cooper
James Burrows	...	Harry
Tom Gill	...	Ricky (as Thomas Gill)
Lorraine Bruce	...	Tanya
Shaun Dooley	...	Jon
James Gandhi	...	Adam
Bronson Webb	...	Reece
Lorraine Stanley	...	Nat
Rachel Gleaves	...	Mel

Storyline

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

lake | forest | camping | husband wife relationship | british horror | 

---

Taglines:

A weekend by the lake, with views to die for.

---

Genres:

Horror | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal violence, pervasive language, some nudity and brief drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [UK]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 September 2008 (UK)

Also Known As:

Little Terrors

Filming Locations:

Black Park Lake, Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£192,027 (United Kingdom), 14 September 2008, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,824, 2 November 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$5,824, 2 November 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rollercoaster Films,Aramid Entertainment Fund

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS (5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

[All trivia items for this title are spoilers.]

---

Goofs

After Steve crashes his car into the tree, resulting in him being pinned between his seat and the tree branch coming through his side window, he could have reclined his seat and exited the vehicle through the rear passenger side door.

---

Quotes

Steve: I promise, the quarry's fucking stunning.
Jenny: The quarry is stunning. No 'fucking'.
Steve: [getting closer to her] Please, miss.

---

Connections

Referenced in Midnight Movie Review: Halloween Horror Top 25, nr. 16: Eden Lake (2010)

User Reviews

Ridiculuous Divisive Nonsense.

Truly awful, implausible from every conceivable plot angle or character motivation, this piece of pretentious trash also has the nerve to come across like a 'comment on society'. What it really does is to demonise, and deepen the perceived rift between 'us decent folk' and the imagined threat of the so-called 'underclass', especially their out of control children. I'm not denying that some children are out of control, but they're not all killers; and this tawdry film cashes in on a media-warped perception of parts of British society, and thereby reinforces it.

As a Horror film it fails on every level. Dumb, misconceived scenes are punctuated by sloppily predictable 'twists'. The teenage gang are all cardboard cut-outs or lazy caricatures, as are the young couple, with whom I suppose the audience is meant to empathise. Of course, the whole thing is basically a 'Deliverance' rip-off, but it also pilfers a couple of riffs from 'The Descent', (by no means a great film, but compared to this it's 'Citizen Kane'). Save your money.