Eden Lake

Genuinely scary, thought-provoking Brit horror. Nursery school teacher Jenny (Kelly Reilly) and her outdoorsy boyfriend Steve (Michael Fassbender) go on a romantic weekend break camping by an isolated lake. Not long after arriving they are disturbed by a group of teenagers, their loud music and angry-looking Rottweiler. Through a series of all-too-believable confrontations, friction between the two groups escalates to such a level that Jenny and Steve find themselves being hunted as they desperately attempt to make it back into town.

Eden Lake follows much the same pattern of other recent successful horror movies such as The Descent or The Strangers in using its first half hour or so getting to know its protagonists, thus making the inevitable nasty ending all the more effective. Plot-wise, it's not hard to see where this going, but James Watkins' intelligent script asks some pertinent questions of his audience. At several points during the movie we hear characters maintain that the antagonists are "only children" and Jenny's first act of retalliation against her tormentors is one filled with tears and remonstrance. Watkins is also careful to demonstrate the bullying and peer pressure that goes on within the young gang.

Once the chase begins, the pace is relentless. Reilly gives a shivery performance as Jenny, emerging at the end caked in blood and slime. The ending may not be hugely convincing but it's effective, as is the whole movie. Lean, tight and terrifying.