Review of Eden Lake (2008) by Deli000 — 15 Jan 2022
If you can suspend your disbelief - that this film's cast of villains is exaggerated and borderline comical - then this film will leave you shaken to the core with its succulent doses of tensity.
The film follows Michael Fassbender and Kelly Reilly acting it out as a couple looking to spend time together in a secluded lake. They arrive there, seeking to relax, and for Fassbender's character, it is the perfect time for him to push their relationship further with a special plan. As with other horror films of this nature, the couple's romantic trip derails quickly into violence as their collision with a group of teenagers (led by Brett, played by Jack O'Connell) fuels a fight for survival.
Eden Lake operates on the same fundamental level as its contemporaries, fulfilling its role as dirty violence. The film is tense, gory, and conclusively upsetting, but that's what makes it work so well. Forget about moral complications and deeper thematic constructs. Maybe there's something interesting here with the way it tackles the moral decay of the working class and its unchecked youth. It's clear, however, that the film is less concerned with its ideas and is more geared towards serving a fine slasher horror. And that's where its strength lies.
It's fun to have a film that can be both delicious in its bloody imagery and utterly dreadful in its bleak story. Kelly Reilly gives out a performance that allows much of the film's straightforward plot to remain engaging, as her role as the girlfriend leaves a memorable portrayal of one's thirst for survival. It's Reilly's performance that evokes an appeal that compliments O'Connell's unrelenting brutality. At the end of the day, the film is strictly linear in regards to following a conventional formula. But sometimes, it's all you need for this type of work. Besides, it is tightly executed and provides an explosive ending.
If anything, Eden Lake packs a delicious sucker punch to the stomachs of its audience. And that - is good enough.
This review of Eden Lake (2008) was written by Deli000 on 15 Jan 2022.
Eden Lake has generally received positive reviews.
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