I went to see this tonight and really didn’t know what to expect, as the film’s reviews had varied so terrifically. I knew that it was going to be something I either loved or hated intensely but wasn’t prepared for anything like I was about to experience.
Though the film has the most simple of premises at its centre—beautiful young middle class couple become the quarry of a group of kids whose violent behaviour seemingly has no bounds—but writer/director James Watkins cranks up so much tension that the film becomes almost unbearable to endure. EDEN LAKE is, without doubt, the most violent film I have ever seen in the cinema. That said the film’s violence, while unflinching, is never gratuitous and is an essential element that allows the audience to sympathise with the protagonists and more importantly, understand that the aggressors—or at least their leader—know no limits. Many would criticise Watkins for merely tapping into the tabloid hysteria that surrounds knife crime in the UK today and the demonising of hoodies but EDEN LAKE is so much more; it’s that rare type of film that seems to channel the public’s fear du jour and apply it to an exploitation narrative, but manages to do it successfully. It may not be the most original film in the history of cinema—there were several times during the film that recalled either Wes Craven’s LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT or one of its Italian rip-off pictures—but EDEN LAKE is a visceral, and more importantly, emotional rollercoaster ride of a film. It is completely unrelenting in its pacing and depiction of the depravity that human beings are capable of. It’s also the best fright picture to have come out of the UK in years.
