Release Date: 1/6/09 (US)
Eden Lake was written and directed by James Watkins and was released in 2008. Going into this film I knew nothing about it other than it’s a Dimension Extreme release which either meant that it would be amazing or complete crap. The poster art reminded me of Them (Ils) a bit for the shadowy figures, and the woman hiding from them.
The film stars Kelly Riley and Michael Fassbender as young lovers Jenny and Steve. Steve plans on taking Jenny to a remote lake for a romantic weekend before popping the big question. Once they get there, they start to relax when all of a sudden they are interrupted by very loud teenagers and even louder British Hip-Hop. When Steve asks them to keep their music down they reply very rudely and turn their music up louder. Steve and Jenny ignore them until they leave, but once they do leave you see from a first person perspective someone watching Steve and Jenny from the woods.
The next morning the young couple plan to drive into town as this mysterious first person view once again appears form the woods watching them. Steve soon realizes that his back tire has been punctured by a broken beer bottle and angrily knows deep down it was the kids. After changing the flat, they realize people in town aren’t as friendly as they expected when they order breakfast at the local diner.
Fast forward a few hours later…Back at the beach they notice their beach bag and Jeep are missing. Upon tracking their Jeep down, there is a slight struggle, then a chase pursues. Who is doing the chasing? Is it the smart-ass teenagers, or is it someone else, the same someone that was gazing upon them from the woods? Watch it and find out!
I freaking LOVED this film! I haven’t cared so much for the cast of a film in a very long time. I was intrigued by this film from start to finish. It is is very graphic and realistic. There isn’t excessive blood or outrageous special effects. What it does have gets the job done! I was absolutely shocked at the way it ended. Definitely not what I was expecting from this film. I fully recommend it to everyone! In all honestly, if I would have gotten a chance to see it when it was released in 2008 it would have made my Top Ten Films of 2008! But, since we are in WV, we don’t get half of the films that come out in theaters so I resort to picking up the DVD.
DVD Extras include:
The Making of Eden Lake
Trailers