Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Kelly Reilly | ... | Jenny | |
Michael Fassbender | ... | Steve | |
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Tara Ellis | ... | Abi |
Jack O'Connell | ... | Brett | |
Finn Atkins | ... | Paige | |
Jumayn Hunter | ... | Mark | |
Thomas Turgoose | ... | Cooper | |
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James Burrows | ... | Harry |
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Tom Gill | ... | Ricky (as Thomas Gill) |
Lorraine Bruce | ... | Tanya | |
Shaun Dooley | ... | Jon | |
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James Gandhi | ... | Adam |
Bronson Webb | ... | Reece | |
Lorraine Stanley | ... | Nat | |
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Rachel Gleaves | ... | Mel |
Nursery teacher Jenny and her boyfriend Steve, escape for a romantic weekend away. Steve, planning to propose, has found an idyllic setting: a remote lake enclosed by woodlands and seemingly deserted. The couple's peace is shattered when a gang of obnoxious kids encircles their campsite. Reveling in provoking the adults, the gang steals the couple's belongings and vandalizes their car leaving them completely stranded. When Steve confronts them, tempers flare and he suffers a shocking and violent attack. Fleeing for help, Jenny is subject to a brutal and relentless game of cat-and-mouse as she desperately tries to evade her young pursuers and find her way out of the woods. Written by Pathe International
It's been a long time since I've seen this film, during the time when I still didn't bother to rate and review every Horror film I watch. Lately I've been re-watching some of those I liked especially, but as for Eden Like - I'll pass. Not because it isn't good, but because nobody in their right mind would define it as "fun to watch", that much I do remember.
However, what I remember most vividly is my utter sense of frustration, disgust and despair with humanity. Throughout the film I've kept feeling the urge to be there, so I could knock some hard painful sense into those no good hoodlums, and their sad excuse for parents! Very much like this decade's streak of "torture porn", Eden Lake plays on these emotions in the audience. Pity for the victim, rage against the assailants, and despair/helplessness.
Acting and cinematography are good enough, nothing special worth mentioning as far as I can remember (bear in mind it's been a while), but the story and some of the scenes are what sticks with you afterwords. Personally, I can't call the sensations I get out of watching these kinds of films "fun", but they are definitely, in a way, rewarding. Eden Lake isn't easy to watch, and seeing as how this is obviously its goal - it's a success. My relatively low rate is only on account of my personal experience with it.