Eden Lake (2008)
*** (out of 4)
Brutal and intense thriller has a man (Michael Fassbender) taking his girlfriend (Kelly Reilly) to Eden Lake for a weekend getaway but their peaceful time turns to terror when they encounter a group of young kids who decide to stalk and try to kill them. EDEN LAKE comes from writer-director James Watkins and there's no question that the story is far from original but I say you can repeat a story as many times as you want as long as there's someone talented to make everything work. Watkins certainly makes for a very intense movie and I think what he does best is make you feel as if you're watching real people in a real situation. What makes the film so creepy is the fact that you really do feel as if you're watching this stuff happen to real person and the violence is just so strange and needless that it packs even more of a punch. The film is certainly in the same genre as THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, DELIVERANCE and STRAW DOGS but what this film also goes for the recent wave of "torture" movies. The violence here doesn't happen often but when it does its done in such a graphic way that you can't help but feel it. Each time a blade hits one of our leads it really does feel as if you're also getting slashed. The director's screenplay makes the right choice is letting us get to know the leads so that way we can feel for them and it really makes us want to see them get out of this mess. Both Reilly and Fassbender are very believable in their parts as are the actors playing the thugs. Reilly really makes for a very strong lead even when the screenplay falls short and leaves her with a few dumb decisions. As intense as the movie is I must say that I felt cheated by the ending. I'm not going to give anything away but the big twist is just horrible and it's not a bit believable. I'd also argue that the kid's lack of a motive was another thing that bothered me. I can believe one or two sickos but I think it goes a bit over-the-top and more of a reason would have helped things. With that said, EDEN LAKE certainly delivers and while it's not going to be for everyone if you do enjoy this type of thing then it's a must see.
