Eden Lake

2008

Eden Lake

Critics Consensus

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

79%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 28

66%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 37,161
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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, however, their blissful moment of peace is rudely interrupted when their campsite is encircled by a gang of particularly unruly teens. After the kids provoke the couple by stealing their belongings and vandalizing their car, the situation turns deadly serious as Steve attempts to confront them and suffers a terrible beating. Now it's up to Jenny to flee from her tormentors under the shroud of darkness and make her way to the nearest town, though what she finds there may well be worse than what's waiting for her back in the woods. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
  • Rating:
    R (for strong brutal violence, pervasive language, some nudity and brief drug use)
  • Genre:
    Horror, Mystery & Suspense
  • Directed By:
    James Watkins
  • Written By:
    James Watkins
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    Third Rail Releasing

Cast

Kelly Reilly
as Jenny
Michael Fassbender
as Steve
Tara Ellis
as Abi
Jack O'Connell
as Brett
Finn Atkins
as Paige
Jurmayn Hunter
as Mark
Thomas Turgoose
as Cooper
Thomas Gill
Bronson Webb
as Reece
James Gandhi
James Burrows
as Harry
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Critic Reviews for Eden Lake

All Critics (28) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (22) | Rotten (6)

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

    Nov 3, 2008

    Dennis Harvey

    Variety
    Top Critic

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

    Oct 13, 2008

    Luke Y. Thompson

    L.A. Weekly
    Top Critic

  • 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.

    Sep 12, 2008 | Rating: 3/5

    Derek Malcolm

    London Evening Standard
    Top Critic

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

    Sep 12, 2008 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    Peter Bradshaw

    Guardian
    Top Critic

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

    Sep 12, 2008 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    James Christopher

    Times (UK)
    Top Critic

  • 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.

    Sep 12, 2008 | Rating: 4/6 | Full Review…

    Nigel Floyd

    Time Out
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (28)

Audience Reviews for Eden Lake

  • Aug 10, 2015
    As harmless as this film starts out, it soon becomes one of the most ruthless, sadistic and mean horror thrillers of recent years. Once you reach the end you'll be pissed off and never want to see it again. But the road there is admittedly pretty exciting. If you're ignoring the unlikeliness of the hunted and perpetrators running into each other over and over in the forest.
    Jens S Super Reviewer
  • Apr 06, 2013
    This film may be the most frustrating thing I've ever seen since France's "Them". It's entertaining in a bad way. It makes me wanna construct some chemical formula and create a vortex from my screen to the film and b*tchslap each and every character here--and maybe shove my kitchen knife in some of them, too. It's like the world's most clueless set of characters met (by some unexpected trick of fate) and put them in a predicament that kept on twisting and twisting towards worse because of their sheer irrationality and idiocy. If I have to give this film points for being a film, I'll give it quite a good score for its disturbing nature and entertainment value. But as I said, it is very very frustrating and it only left me depressed after watching it so I'll give it one star out of five.
    August S Super Reviewer
  • Aug 30, 2012
    Possibly one of the most disturbing films I've seen, it''s not graphic or gory or anything like that, but psychologically haunting my mind. Moral of the story: beware of hicks.
    Sylvester K Super Reviewer
  • Aug 03, 2012
    [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] Ironically I think it's good to see a grindhouse torture movie that actually suggests it has a fraction of intelligence. Director James Watkins doesn't execute an "Eli Roth" and end up with Hostel but gives us something slightly smarter. There are elements of subject matter through out Eden Lake adressing the horrors of twisted adolescents and deciding who is to blame for the crimes seen depicted in the film. However some of the characters react unrealistically to some circumstances in the plot and consequently the story can never be believable to the fullest and cant be taken seiously as it wants to be. Although admirably Eden Lake does have something to say, it never fully manages to grasp it's ideas and be anything more than a wince inducing gore flick. In terms of that it's damn well difficult to sit through and could earn the title as one of the most revolting and sickening horror movies of the last few years. Originality is also not it's strongest point, there are many familiar scenes that look like they were taken from Last House on The Left and other chase in the wood's flicks. But putting aside the fact it's not as smart as it think it is, it too often resorts to cliche's, and runs out of steam eventualy, there's enough twisted gut churining torture and skin slashings that it works at best as a date movie, with the added bonus of a suggestion of substance.
    Directors C Super Reviewer
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