Welcome to Knockout Horror and to day 28 of our 31 Days of Halloween 2024 feature. For the most part, we have been looking at recent releases this October. I decided to wrap things up with, at least, a few older movies. One of which is the title we are looking at today, Eden Lake from 2008.
Eden Lake follows the story of a couple who head to the English countryside for a weekend by the lake. After having a tense encounter with a group of teens, Jenny (Kelly Reilly) and Steve (Michael Fassbender) get back to what they came to the lake to do, relax and have fun. A later act of vandalism, however, sends Steve into a rage that will prove to be only the start of a horrific nightmare for the pair.
A Huge Horror Hit
I have featured this movie in a couple of lists before but never actually gotten around to reviewing it. Funnily enough, it has been over 15 years since I watched it last. Being perfectly honest, back in 2009, I didn’t really get the hype. I couldn’t understand why everyone raved about this movie so damn much. It appeared in “Best Recent Horror Movie” lists, “Scariest Horror Movie of the year” lists and always seemed to be on the tip of people’s tongues when recommending shocking films to watch.
What I considered to be a fairly serviceable tragedy horror with an atypical ending seemed to have completely grabbed an entire group of genre fans. I didn’t really get it. Still, I could appreciate the controversy this movie caused.
Being part of a group of movies that could best be described as “Hoodie Horror”. Eden Lake was the flag bearer for the “Broken Britain” movie trend. Indeed, this film came off of the back of a good decade of fear associated with so called “chavs” and “hoodies”. Working class teens who dressed in tracksuit bottoms, Rockport boots, tucked their trousers into their socks and wore branded hoodies.
Keyed in on a Very Real Tragedy
Eden Lake felt incredibly timely after the August 2007 murder of Sophie Lancaster. A goth girl who was brutally slain by a group of teenage boys who fit the hoodie stereotype. Sophie, and her boyfriend, were attacked due to their choice of fashion in a case that could, ostensibly, be described as a hate crime.
This crime received a ton of media coverage and it represented something of a tipping point when it came to people’s views surrounding hoodies. We were at the precipice of “broken Britain” and people, widely, held the view that the youth of the country were being led astray by poor parenting, drugs and violence and there was no turning back.
In 2024, I wouldn’t say that things have changed a great deal. Britain is still broken and the kids are still violent, albeit with broccoli haircuts now and driving brand new hot hatches rather than ancient Saxos. But to say movies like Eden Lake hit a nerve would be an understatement. Its depiction of a group of ultra violent, working class teens with thick Northern English accents pulled no punches when it came to the message. Middle class people were sick of the working class and were more than a little keen to tar them all with the same brush.
How Does It Hold Up?
Naturally, none of this was very fair. I grew up in an extremely poor area around a bunch of “hoodies” including my own brother. And while there were problems, many were totally decent people who just followed a certain style of clothing and liked a certain type of music. No different from myself who has been alternative for a long time. To be perfectly honest, I find the youth of today are a lot more hostile towards alternative fashion than they were back then but there were, obviously, outliers.
For anyone who grew up in this era, however, Eden Lake is going to resonate just a little bit. The depiction of a group of teens walking around with large dogs, playing music, and generally being an intimidating nuisance is all too familiar. It’s so well done here, as well, that it is believable enough to feel genuinely real. All of the “hoodies” are tremendously well acted and entirely convincing. Meaning when the violence starts it feels brutal for its legitimacy.
An Annoying, Yet Sympathetic, Couple
Steve and Jenny certainly aren’t innocent in this situation. Steve seems to be a violent hothead and Jenny eggs him on to see how macho he is. Indeed, the entire situation escalates because of Steve’s inability to exercise self preservation. But the resulting situation they find themselves in is horrifying. People discuss the original version of Speak No Evil when talking about horribly brutal films but Eden Lake is far worse.
This is a movie that puts its characters through hell and still manages to find new ways to torture them. It is horribly violent, quite harrowing, and, often, deeply unsettling. That fact hasn’t been muted at all in the 16 years since its release. I still found myself wincing at this movie more than I have for any other horror in quite a long time. The realism of it all makes this a legitimately uncomfortable watch in a way that few other horror movies are. Poor Jenny goes through literal hell and still keeps on fighting. Throw in some fabulous practical effects, as well, and you have a movie that is stark for how real it feels.
Plenty of Issues
With that being said, this is still a movie with a bunch of problems. The escalation is utterly farcical. While the early stages of the movie are, somewhat, believable for how they play out. The further the movie goes on, the worse it gets with the violence and murder hitting a point that is way beyond ridiculous. Eden Lake burns through all of its credibility in around 45 minutes and from there on it is just a bit silly.
The presentation of Jenny and Steve as this saccharin, overly sweet, perfect couple is fairly laughable. I really enjoyed Kelly Reilly’s impression of Mia Farrow but this couple kinda suck, just a little bit. There is a definite attempt to portray them as completely devoid of blame and it feels a bit pathetic. Especially given Steve’s hotheadedness and Jenny’s lack of care for what he does even when he is burglarising a home and attacking people.
The portrayal of the working class is horribly offensive. This is Deliverance but in Northern England and there is no way to sugar coat just how mean it all feels. Still, this is the stereotype that was perpetuated a lot in the UK. These things were happening and it is the reality that some people recognise. If you have had bad experiences with Chavs this movie will resonate with you. It’s not at all entertaining, it is completely grim and the ending is one of the bleakest in horror history. This is not a movie you watch to feel good or even have fun. It is unrelentingly brutal and entirely designed to shock and upset.
Should You Watch Eden Lake?
In a lot of ways, no you shouldn’t watch Eden Lake. This isn’t a movie you will walk away from feeling good. It may leave you feeling extremely angry and full of rage towards people in general. It is designed to be brutal, uncompromising, affecting and sad and it accomplishes all of that. As a horror movie aiming to shock, however, you definitely should watch Eden Lake. It is frighteningly well acted and rather realistic in parts. The escalation is farcical and the ending will infuriate many but this is still a movie with plenty to praise. Just don’t go into it expecting to have fun.
