The 2008 British horror movieEden Lakeis one of the most unnerving stories about a vacation gone horribly wrong. The movie features a great performance from Micheal Fassbender, who is known for theX-Menfranchise and action films likeInglourious Basterds.It doesn’t shy away from tough topics, which makes it equally thought-provoking and hard to watch. It’s an incredibly sad story that will stick with anyone who watches it.
Eden Lakeis one of the best British horror movies and is an underrated gem that needs to be watched by more horror fans. What happens inEden Lakeand why is it considered one of the scariest films in the genre?
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What Is Eden Lake About?
There are manyunderrated British horror TV showsand the same is true of scary movies. InEden Lake, Steve Taylor (Michael Fassbender) and Jenny Greengrass (Kelly Reilly) on what should be a romantic date in the country. He’s going to ask her to marry him and the getaway should be a celebration. But when teenagers who are dangerous and violent find the couple, their nice vacation is over. They have to struggle to survive. And like some scary horror movies likeThe Strangers, it seems that Steve and Jenny are being targeted because they happen to be in this specific place at this specific time. The teenagers would torture and attack anyone who came to this area, which is a terrible thought since it seems that they have done this before.
Eden Lakeis ahorror movie with perfect pacing and tension. Things start going wrong gradually and then all at once for Steve and Jenny. When they go into the woods to ask the teenagers to stop taking their things, the gang members tie up Steve. Jenny does what she can to save her partner, but they kill him anyway.
Eden Lakeis proof that ahorror movie’s setting is crucial. If Jenny and Steve had traveled somewhere else, they wouldn’t encounter a gang, and they would have survived. This one choice to go into the countryside changes their lives forever, which is a chilling thought.
What Makes Eden Lake So Terrifying?
WhileEden Lakemight not be one of thescariest movies according to science, there’s no doubt that it’s incredibly tough to watch. And that’s because of the cruel nature of the teenagers and the violence that they engage in. The movie is meant to be a social commentary on disenfranchised youth and crowd mentality. And for that reason, it can be considered anexample of the elevated horror subgenre.
Eden Lakeis also so terrifying because after Steve is brutally killed, Jenny is on her own for a good portion of the movie. It’s easy for audiences to put themselves in Jenny’s shoes and imagine grieving this terrible loss while fighting for survival. It’s also clear from the start that there’s no real way that they can escape as there are too many other people and they are too powerful. Steve and Jenny can tell that the teenagers in this British countryside are sad and angry but don’t know enough about them to figure out the real reasons why. And that’s definitely the point of the movie.
How Does Eden Lake End?
The ending ofEden Lakeis just as unnerving as the rest of the movie. Jenny wakes up in a house and realizes that it belongs to the parents of the kids who have been terrorizing her and her now-late partner. Brett (Jack O’Connell) tells the other characters that Steve and Jenny murdered the teenagers, and Jenny knows that she won’t be able to escape.Eden Lakeends with audiences being aware that the gang members are going to kill Jenny.
While Paige (Finn Atkins) took a video of what the gang did, Brett gets rid of it and decides to start wearing the sunglasses that belonged to Steve. As he looks at his reflection, it’s unclear what he’s thinking, but it’s likely that he doesn’t have any guilt or remorse for what he has done.
In contrast to thesatisfying endings of other horror movies, it’s heartbreaking to watch Jenny die after she loses her partner Steve. It’s unfair that this happened to them when they just wanted to go on a quick trip. It’s tempting to want Jenny to survive and escape, but she would miss Steve for the rest of her life and be traumatized by what happened. That wouldn’t necessarily be a more effective ending. It makes sense thatEden Lakeends with Brett not feeling bad about what he has done at all. This proves how cruel the characters are.
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