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Eden Lake (2008)

tomatometer

83

Average Rating: 6.7/10
Reviews Counted: 23
Fresh: 19 | Rotten: 4

A brutal and effective British hoodie-horror that, despite the clichés, stays on the right side of scary.

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 1
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 0

A brutal and effective British hoodie-horror that, despite the clichés, stays on the right side of scary.

audience

65

liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 33,710

My Rating

Movie Info

A romantic weekend in the woods turns into a bloody struggle for survival when a vacationing couple finds their campsite surrounded by an aggressive gang of obnoxious adolescents in the feature directorial debut of My Little Eye screenwriter James Watkins. All nursery school teacher Jenny and her boyfriend, Steve, wanted was a quiet weekend alone, and what better setting for such a romantic retreat than a quiet lake surrounded by a vast forest? Just as Steve is preparing to propose to Jenny,

R, 1 hr. 30 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Horror

James Watkins

Jan 6, 2009

Third Rail Releasing

Cast

All Critics (25) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (20) | Rotten (4) | DVD (6)

An effectively harrowing Brit thriller-cum-horror pic whose yuppie protags' weekend getaway runs violently afoul of the local youth.

November 3, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Well acted, well directed, and totally intense, 'Eden Lake' is the best horror film to come out of the UK in years.

December 22, 2008 Full Review Source: ESplatter | Comment (1)
ESplatter

It's not your typical "wooded horror" movie, but Eden Lake works exceedingly well, and will probably stick in your gut for a little while.

November 6, 2008 Full Review Source: FEARnet | Comment
FEARnet

A well acted, smartly directed horror flick that's gory, disturbing, terrifying and topical.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: ViewLondon | Comment
ViewLondon

A gruelling, grimly effective British chiller.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Screen International | Comment
Screen International

...while Eden Lake is effective, something feels not quite right about cheering for prepubescent kids to get their fatal comeuppance.

October 13, 2008 Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | Comment
L.A. Weekly

It is impossible not to admire the way Watkins ratchets up the tension in his debut as director (he wrote My Little Eye) and keeps his tale strictly to 90 minutes.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: This is London | Comment
This is London

Daily Mail scaremongering? Possibly. But formidably well-made, all the same.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Independent | Comment
Independent

Eden Lake: pursuit, persecution, violent death.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Financial Times | Comment
Financial Times

It is not often that The Sneak feels like walking out of a movie. But this exploitative, patronising and nauseatingly violent take on Britain's yob culture had your critic eyeing up the exit.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Sun Online | Comments (2)
Sun Online

It's not long before the claret starts to flow. And it won't be too long before you start eyeing the exit sign.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | Comments (3)
Daily Mirror [UK]

It doesn't fight shy of a truly frightening final twist, which makes it not only bleaker but also more truthful than virtually every other movie in this genre, which all too often is over-populated and under-humanised.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | Comment
Daily Mail [UK]

Frustratingly, there is potential in Watkins' claustrophobic, back-to-nature setting, but, in trying to play 'edgy' with contemporary anxieties, his cooked-to-formula script merely sinks to the level of the gutter press exploiting those fears.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Total Film | Comment (1)
Total Film

Dispiriting and unpleasant, a trip to Eden Lake will leave most viewers feeling the need for a hot shower and a tetanus jab.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Sky Movies | Comment
Sky Movies

For all the brutality of the confrontation with knife-weilding, car-nicking local scum - think Stanley knives gouging out tongues - it's never far off ludicrous.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | Comment
Daily Telegraph

This looks to me like the best British horror film in years: nasty, scary and tight as a drum.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | Comments (3)
Guardian [UK]

It's a claustrophobic marvel, and an impressive debut by Watkins.

September 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Times [UK] | Comment
Times [UK]
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Eden Lake

Complete waste of time. Thought the fact that Michael Fassbender was in it might have given it some credibility...but I did not. Ridiculous premise that just gets more and more unbelievable as it progresses (and I use the word "progresses" very loosly here). The ONE star is an homage to the fact that it avoided the

October 3, 2011
RCCLBC
Robert C

Super Reviewer

Eden Lake is one of the most disturbing horror films I have seen in recent times. A well crafted horror film, Eden Lake is quite possibly the most intense horror film in quite some time. The story is simply horrifying, and the actors are excellent on screen. Eden Lake is a disturbing film that will make every viewer

August 16, 2011
TheDudeLebowski65
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski

Super Reviewer

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August 8, 2008:
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