YMMV / Eden Lake

• Jerkass Woobie: Most of the chavs themselves. Cooper in particular.
• Moral Event Horizon: The gang crosses it when they torture Steve, taking turns slashing him with knives, and finally stabbing his tongue. During this scene, Brett doesn't do any torturing himself, but forces his "friends" to do it while filming the whole torture. Cooper is even crying when it's his turn to cut up Steve, but he still does it.
• Realism-Induced Horror: What makes the movie work is that the monsters are just teenage delinquents.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • This movie features Michael Fassbender before he'd become more famous for his roles in Shame, Inglourious Basterds, and as Magneto.
  • Those who know him best for the TV show Skins were very surprised to see Jack O'Connell here, which is especially funny considering this movie was released a year before his debut in the series.
• Tear Jerker:
  • The ending in which neither Steve nor Jenny survive. On top of that, they both died slowly, painfully, alone, and just as they were about to begin the rest of their lives together.
  • The killing of Cooper, and Jenny's subsequent reaction to doing so. She may have been defending herself, but she still killed a child.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: While everyone agrees Adam died horrifically, some found it a little hard to feel bad for him considering he not only betrayed Jenny to the gang, but never even warned her and Steve of the gang being in Eden Lake in the first place.
• Values Dissonance: Some American audiences wondered "Who goes camping without a weapon?", but legally owning a gun is much harder and rarer in Britain. Doesn't rule out the possibility of blades, however. You're also far less likely to run into potentially dangerous situations requiring a weapon for protection while camping in Britain, as unlike America there are no large predators such as wolves, bears or cougars; unless you're specifically going on a hunting trip, it would be unusual to take a weapon camping at all.
• The Woobie: Steve and Jenny.

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