Eden Lake

I don't normally choose to watch British films anymore. Not only do I find the locations dull and too familiar, I also find that British acting, on the whole, is pretty laughable. The cockney efforts found all too often in Gangster films are embarrassing, rom coms are full of Hugh Grant-esque stutters and cheesy nods to the Royal Family, and we just can't do horror well.

It was only by sheer luck then, that I came across Eden Lake, a film I mistakenly believed was set in North America, for some bizarre reason. Playing one of its leads was Michael Fassbender, whose work I had already sampled in Fish Tank, a grim tale wherein he has sex with an underage girl. He wasn't anything other than good, so I could see no harm in going further.

The film itself involves a quite couple who try and spend a romantic couple of days together in a nearby abandoned - and closed off - piece of beach. Upon arrival and during the previous day, they encounter a group of troubled and mischievous youths who have nothing better to do. As the film moves on, this couple soon find themselves being preyed upon by the teenagers whose only motivations seems to be to harm this couple, who accidentally kill their dog in the early chapter.

What ensues is a chaotic game of cat and mouse, as Jenny (Kelly Reilly) and Steve (Fassbender) find themselves at the mercy of a now vengeful gang, lead by a brutal and bloodthirsty Brett (Michael O'Connell, of Skins fame). For the remainder of the 85-minute film, the once-innocent couple are robbed, hounded and tortured as they try to escape for their lives.

The film essentially relies on, at the very most, three incredible performances, and manages to send shivers down the spines of those who watch it. I've seen my fair share of horror films and torture scenes in my time, but somehow Eden Lake manages to pluck emotion from almost every scene, as the audience wills on the plucky couple who are being terrorised by a group of teens who know nothing better and will seemingly stop at nothing.

Perhaps what is even more terrifying is the film's ending, the part of horror films where it is assumed the protagonist is guaranteed to find safety. Not here, and what takes place in the final moments is perhaps more harrowing than the hour and twenty minutes which precede them.

A suspense-driven 'horror' which extrapolates as much heart-racing emotion and panic from its willing audience as the victims themselves. A must-see, and a surprisingly credible British flick.

9/10