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Eden Lake - Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender, Jack O'Connell, James Watkins

Threat advisory: Elevated - Significant risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

City couple Jenny (Kelly Reilly) and Steve (Michael Fassbender) are eager to get away from it all. The idyllic, picturesque surroundings of Eden Lake seems like a perfect spot for a secluded, romantic weekend in the country until they realise the remote woodland isn't as deserted as they'd originally hoped. Soon their paths cross with a gang of local youths, who begin a campaign of terror on the couple. Suddenly the weekend begins to evolve into a sadistic game of survival and escalating violence, with a surprising and shocking climax.

The UK answer to Funny games - Eden Lake is an intense and provocative horror/thriller that relentlessly feeds on modern fears and crosses over into territory that most contemporary films wouldn't dare to tread. Visit at your own risk.

Theatrical propaganda posters

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

Film horror thriller UK country holiday wood terrorise yuppie weekend away youths

Persons of interest

Kelly Reilly .... Jenny
Michael Fassbender .... Steve
Tara Ellis .... Abi
Jack O'Connell .... Brett
Finn Atkins .... Paige
Jumayn Hunter .... Mark
Thomas Turgoose .... Cooper
James Burrows .... Harry
Thomas Gill .... Ricky
Lorraine Bruce .... Tanya
Shaun Dooley .... Jon
James Gandhi .... Adam
Bronson Webb .... Reece
Lorraine Stanley .... Nat
Rachel Gleeves .... Mel
Mark Devenport .... Ashley
Alex Palmer .... Paul
James Watkins .... Screenwriter
James Watkins .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Eden Lake official movie sites:

Australia
International

Eden Lake film production notes
Eden Lake QuickTime movie trailers
Awards and film festivals:

British Independent Film Awards 2008: Nominated: Best Actress (Kelly Reilly), Douglas Hickox Award (James Watkins)
Empire Awards, UK 2009: Won: Best Horror; Nominated: Best British Film
Fantasporto 2009: Won: International Fantasy Film Award Best Direction (James Watkins)
London Critics Circle Film Awards 2009: Won: Young British Performer of the Year (Thomas Turgoose); Nominated: Breakthrough British Filmmaker
Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival 2008: Won: Special Prize of the Jury Feature Film (James Watkins)

NB: © 2008 Rollercoaster Films
Studios and distributors:

Madman Entertainment

Intelligence analyst

Agent Billy Brown-Dargan

Theatrical report

Gritty. Eden Lake started off boring, and as it went along it seemed to drag on and on, but eventually - after about an hour - it started getting exciting. There were a few instances where the film was too predictable, cancelling out the scary atmosphere from the previous tension-building moments. The film is very familiar, in a sense that some scenes were cliché. The deaths were brutal and quick, and some scenes made me cringe at the carnage. The ending was jaw-droppingly fantastic. It was pretty realistic, but shocking just the same.

The plot was about surviving at all odds, and it was successful in drawing me in, but it failed to keep my attention. The first hour had some intriguing moments, but it just dragged on a lot of the time, and that was disappointing. The character work was good, but I would've liked to have had a little expansion on some of the leads.

The acting was average. There was key scenes in the movie in which Kelly Reilly shone, for example when she was in agony. I thought that the lead characters should've been a bit younger, which would've made it more appealing, but on second thought, that would somewhat ruin the realistic factor that makes the film enjoyable.

Overall Eden Lake is a survival thriller that is brutally realistic, but drags on for the first hour.

The horror, thriller, UK movie Eden Lake is directed by James Watkins and stars Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender, Jack O'Connell.