unity768
02-14-2009, 02:10 AM
http://www.britfilms.tv/images/news/eden%20lake%20poster.jpg
The horror genre, oh how I loathe this medium of storytelling when it's done correctly. But most of the time these days, it's a staple for bad acting, a contrived plot, and an excuse to create torture porn. Their also seems to be a lack of originality amongst the genre. I dare you to take a trip to a horror movie website and observe just how many remakes/reboots are planned, in progress, or have already been released in the past ten or so years. Plantinum Dunes' Friday the 13th remake just came out yesterday while its Nightmare on Elm Street reboot just snagged its feature director. A director who's only directed music videos, although they're good ones at the at. Nonetheless, it's hard to find good scares these days. Eden Lake, a British hoodie-horror is a pretty good find if your searching for buried treasure in this pile of remake dung.
Writer/Director James Watkins seems to embrace a few too many horror cliches in the films first half. A young couple, played by Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender take a weekend vacation away. You aren't told too much about them personally, only subtle hints but they're far and few between. They stop at Eden Lake where they clash occupying space with a gang of kids. Grim and chaos follow. While the first half may seem lackluster, Eden Lake is really a film that needs to be seen in its entirety. It's not till its second half where plot plays a pivotal role, where characters start to change, and where themes about adolescent pressure, bullying, upbringing, and basic human survival begin to spring forward. Everything starts to take shape into a very well constructed horror gem that's a whole lot smarter than what it appeared to be. Their are two or three suspenseful moments, but nothing in horror has been able to really effect me emotionally since Neil Marshall graced the screens with The Descent some three years ago. The score is fantastic, while the acting is solid from our two leads to the gang of misfit teens. Eden Lake is a disturbing, suspenseful, and societal based horror film from writer/director James Watkins. For all its cliche in the beginning, this is a horror item that's worth the patience and time effort.
B+
The horror genre, oh how I loathe this medium of storytelling when it's done correctly. But most of the time these days, it's a staple for bad acting, a contrived plot, and an excuse to create torture porn. Their also seems to be a lack of originality amongst the genre. I dare you to take a trip to a horror movie website and observe just how many remakes/reboots are planned, in progress, or have already been released in the past ten or so years. Plantinum Dunes' Friday the 13th remake just came out yesterday while its Nightmare on Elm Street reboot just snagged its feature director. A director who's only directed music videos, although they're good ones at the at. Nonetheless, it's hard to find good scares these days. Eden Lake, a British hoodie-horror is a pretty good find if your searching for buried treasure in this pile of remake dung.
Writer/Director James Watkins seems to embrace a few too many horror cliches in the films first half. A young couple, played by Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender take a weekend vacation away. You aren't told too much about them personally, only subtle hints but they're far and few between. They stop at Eden Lake where they clash occupying space with a gang of kids. Grim and chaos follow. While the first half may seem lackluster, Eden Lake is really a film that needs to be seen in its entirety. It's not till its second half where plot plays a pivotal role, where characters start to change, and where themes about adolescent pressure, bullying, upbringing, and basic human survival begin to spring forward. Everything starts to take shape into a very well constructed horror gem that's a whole lot smarter than what it appeared to be. Their are two or three suspenseful moments, but nothing in horror has been able to really effect me emotionally since Neil Marshall graced the screens with The Descent some three years ago. The score is fantastic, while the acting is solid from our two leads to the gang of misfit teens. Eden Lake is a disturbing, suspenseful, and societal based horror film from writer/director James Watkins. For all its cliche in the beginning, this is a horror item that's worth the patience and time effort.
B+