Eden Lake is a British horror about a couple who go camping near a remote lake. They run into some rowdy local youths and everything kicks into brutal thriller over drive when a violent altercation results in a dead dog. This is tightly paced, brutally violent and extremely gritty with a real mean streak.

Jenny and Steve are trying to have a romantic weekend away together and they park up the car in the woods and hike to a lake with a beautiful beach. At first things are idyllic but after a while a gang of youths come along and start to play loud music. Steve makes the mistake of asking them to turn it down. What could have ended with a slashed tyre is escalated further when he decides to try and tell one of their parents about the bad behaviour. His car is stolen and when he confronts the kids a scuffle breaks out and he manages to stab their dog. This sparks an all out war of attrition as Steve and Jenny fight for their lives.

This is the British equivalent of a hillbilly movie with slack jawed locals picking on folks from out of town. The ringleader, Brett, is a really nasty piece of work and he goads the others into torture and even murder. As the violence ramps up and the tension builds we are left wondering whether there can be a happy ending.

This was written and directed by James Watkins and as a directorial debut it is quite impressive. The atmosphere of foreboding builds up nicely and he certainly knows how to get the audience sweating. The script is fairly realistic although the gang ring leader is almost cartoon in his evil and there are a few events which are hard to believe despite the generally realistic approach.

The cast are also well chosen, Jenny is played by Kelly Reilly and she portrays a woman falling slowly apart really well. Michael Fassbender was fine as the rather naïve and stupid Steve. Jack O’ Connell gave a real sneering turn as the vicious Brett and familiar face Thomas Turgoose popped up as a reluctant member of his gang.

In the UK this was billed as provocative which is really because there is a lot of talk in the media about youths running wild, drinking in street corners and attacking people. In reality this is an overstated problem which is blown out of all proportion by a scaremongering media. It forms a nice foot in the door to promote this movie but in truth Eden Lake has a lot more in common with the classic survival movies that usually feature slavering hillbillies. In terms of format it adheres to the survival movie rules rigidly.

This isn’t a great horror film but it is a decent thriller and quite a tense film to watch. There were moments where it lost me, especially the ending, but it is well made and if you like your horror vicious and mean then you should check this out.