MovieChat Forums > Eden Lake (2008) Discussion > Pretty Sadistic

Pretty Sadistic

posted 9 years ago by AlGranthamMusic
4 replies | jump to latest

Been a lover of horror films since I was a kid, because I love being scared. I didn't find so much fright to be found in this film though, as much as pure repugnance.

I've read through a lot of posts here and many of those praising it claim that any film capable of causing such a visceral reaction must have merit. To some degree I think that's true, but I'm not sure that's the case here.

What are the overarching reasons to justify the film's nastiness? What are the lessons it's teaching us, at the cost of our comfort? That evil is hereditary? That kids with lousy parents turn out psychopathic? Does anyone actually believe that Steve's pride would have him break into some kid's house, when he's on the cusp of proposing to his girlfriend and living happily ever after? What is the point of throwing the female character into a dumpster full of *beep* It's just sick excess.

I feel like the filmmaker fried a lot of ants with magnifying glasses growing up.

[–] Fruitbatt 9 years ago

this movie was disgusting! The scene where they were cutting him was so hard to watch. It was a good horror film overall because of the suspense, but too gross for me

[–] bhobnine 9 years ago

Sadistic and downright cruel.

Without the formula template of:

'Bad guys do unspeakable nastiness to some innocent folks,
but finally end up being taken out by the underdogs in ways
satisfying to the audience.'.....

this thing was just torture porn.

But not the good torture porn of the first HOSTEL. This was...

'lets torture the schoolteacher and then just snuff her at the end.'
WTF, how is that entertaining?

I was actually enjoying most of the carnage till that s#!t ending.
Cringing at stuff, riding the coaster.
But why show me a katana rack hanging on the wall if she wasn't able to go
into berserker mode and f0@K em all up!!

Hey, I don't mind 'everybody dies' movies, I even liked the ending to THE MIST,
but this thing totally lost me.

Ive read the other threads where you 'deserve to be murdered because you
turned down the radio volume on some punks boombox who decided that because
he lived in the area, he was entitled to do anything he wants.'

What a screwed up mindset.

But beyond that, in a storytelling way, I don't mind the lord of the flies,
children of the corn terrorizing you, as long as somebody gets to f@CK up
the little entitled pieces of $#!T at the end.

The psychotic trailer trash WIN? They get to wear your Raybans around???

Screw that.

Pffft, my suspension of disbelief has higher standards than that.

[–] maenad-3 9 years ago

Not only is this film non-stop sadism, with the bad guys winning in the end, it was also totally manipulated with too many coincidences in favour of the evil brats. Little Adam shows up to give Jenny the hope of being rescued, but, oh, lookie, Adam, for some inexplicable reason, wants to be just like the gang and betrays Jenny only to wind up burnt alive. Jenny jumps into a car and discovers that the driver is the brother of the chief thug. Gasp! But, lo, the brother gets out of the car, leaving Jenny alone in it, so Jenny drives off to seek help. What do you know? She crashes into some other cars and runs into a house screaming for help. And the house just happens to be the lair of the family of Brett. This was an unsettling series of out of the frying pan into the fire, into the fire, into the fire, into the fire...extinguish poor Jenny.

[–] Augustus_Octavian 7 years ago

Don't go looking for conflict / violence.