Eden Lake Analysis
Director James Watkins has used the single-camera to create a gritty experience that immerses the audience in the depths of the woodland. Like the characters in films such as 'Deliverance' Jenny and Steve are strangers to the idyllic remote English countryside and the residents surrounding Eden Lake. James Watkins has used characters that are not of the same class, Jenny and Steve are a successful middle class couple who appear to be well educated and have good jobs, Jenny being a teacher who's job is to look after children. The residents of the town near Eden Lake appear to be of lower class, Jenny and Steve can be seen looking down upon the lower class, this can be seen in the scene in which the two arrive at a bar and see children misbehaving and then watch the mother of the boy beat him in public, the two both look uncomfortable, the director has used this scene because he wants to show the audience that Jenny and Steve are far from home now and not among people they are used to.
The director uses a montage to show the characters travelling to Eden Lake, the montage lets the audience know that Jenny and Steve are far from home and the non-diegetic soundtrack gives a foreboding feeling to the journey.
The director has used the single camera to set the tone of the film. One shot that foreshadows the later events in the film is the shot that tracks/pans Steve and Jenny driving past the Eden Lake sign, the camera turns back and reveals graffiti on the back of the sign, this shot is effective as it is twisting the image of the seemingly idyllic remote location into something much darker, this shot is an example of a privilege shot, this is where the audience see details that the characters are not aware of. The director also uses a crane shot to reveal the vast English countryside, this is used because it reinforces the view that Eden Lake is a beautiful location. The name 'Eden Lake' has religious connotations, 'The Garden of Eden' is the biblical garden of God, a paradise where Adam and Eve give in to temptation and are punished because of it, this can be applied to Jenny and Steve who are somewhere in which they are not welcome as they are outsiders to the gang.
The director James Watkins has purposely developed the characters of Steve and Jenny to show the audience how close they are romantically, a significant shot of Steve looking at a wedding ring implies to the audience that Steve wants to propose to Jenny, however this does not happen, later on in the film Jenny finds the ring and Steve breaks down as his plans have been ruined, this is a convention of horror films as the main characters go away to 'be together' but their plans are never fulfilled.
The shot of Steve coming out of the water is reminiscent of the shot of James Bond coming out of the water in 'Casino Royale', this shot is a homage, James Watkins has specifically shot Steve in this way to connote his characters status as the 'hero' who will protect Jenny from the gang, this is later twisted into Steve becoming the victim and Jenny being the one who has to help Steve.
Tension slowly builds throughout the first 20 minutes of the film, the scene in the tent feels very claustrophobic and the single camera has been used to create this feeling by using close-up shots and Dutch angles of the characters. During the scene in the tent there are many faint sounds that are unsettling, these diegetic sounds are used to build up to something and keep the audience gripped, when Steve exits the tent the audience are made to feel that something bad has happened to him, however, Steve scares Jenny therefore creating a jump moment, false scares are a re-occurring element in horror films as the audience are being prepared for what is to come.
The non-diegetic soundtrack that is played over the first few scenes is very harmonious and peaceful and is reflective of the romantic mood of the two characters, when the gang arrive the non-diegetic soundtrack is interrupted by the diegetic sound of the gangs music that is more aggressive and loud, this disturbs both Jenny and Steve.
The film has many visceral moments that make the audience feel unsettled as they get the feeling that Jenny and Steve are constantly being watched without being aware of it, this builds tension as the audience are anticipating the main characters to be attacked.
There are many visceral moments throughout the film that are used to disturb the audience, one example of this is when Steve is being tortured, extreme close-ups are used to immerse the audience into the a knife attacks that are very realistic. The grittiness of the violence gives the film high verisimilitude and therefore all the more disturbing. Another visceral moment is when we see Jenny running and the camera is in a low angle focused on a spike in the ground, the audience see what is coming when Jenny steps on the spike which impales her foot.
We the audience are made to feel lost in the wilderness, the use of Dutch angles distorts the audiences perception of things, this adds to the tension as Jenny is on the run but she doesn't know where she is going.
The audience get to see Jenny go through many changes, at first we see her as someone who cares for children and is dressed in an upper-class manner, this image of jenny is later juxtaposed when she is hiding and is in the bin and we see her face looking very animalistic, her face dirty her clothes torn, her character has in a sense become reminiscent of John Rambo in First Blood (1982). Jenny goes against her morales and kills one of the gang members who happens to be one of the younger members of the gang and it is at this moment Jenny's character has .become determined to get her revenge and escape, the equilibrium has been broken and will no longer return to what it was originally.
The director James Watkins has purposely developed the characters of Steve and Jenny to show the audience how close they are romantically, a significant shot of Steve looking at a wedding ring implies to the audience that Steve wants to propose to Jenny, however this does not happen, later on in the film Jenny finds the ring and Steve breaks down as his plans have been ruined, this is a convention of horror films as the main characters go away to 'be together' but their plans are never fulfilled.
The shot of Steve coming out of the water is reminiscent of the shot of James Bond coming out of the water in 'Casino Royale', this shot is a homage, James Watkins has specifically shot Steve in this way to connote his characters status as the 'hero' who will protect Jenny from the gang, this is later twisted into Steve becoming the victim and Jenny being the one who has to help Steve.
Tension slowly builds throughout the first 20 minutes of the film, the scene in the tent feels very claustrophobic and the single camera has been used to create this feeling by using close-up shots and Dutch angles of the characters. During the scene in the tent there are many faint sounds that are unsettling, these diegetic sounds are used to build up to something and keep the audience gripped, when Steve exits the tent the audience are made to feel that something bad has happened to him, however, Steve scares Jenny therefore creating a jump moment, false scares are a re-occurring element in horror films as the audience are being prepared for what is to come.
The non-diegetic soundtrack that is played over the first few scenes is very harmonious and peaceful and is reflective of the romantic mood of the two characters, when the gang arrive the non-diegetic soundtrack is interrupted by the diegetic sound of the gangs music that is more aggressive and loud, this disturbs both Jenny and Steve.
The film has many visceral moments that make the audience feel unsettled as they get the feeling that Jenny and Steve are constantly being watched without being aware of it, this builds tension as the audience are anticipating the main characters to be attacked.
There are many visceral moments throughout the film that are used to disturb the audience, one example of this is when Steve is being tortured, extreme close-ups are used to immerse the audience into the a knife attacks that are very realistic. The grittiness of the violence gives the film high verisimilitude and therefore all the more disturbing. Another visceral moment is when we see Jenny running and the camera is in a low angle focused on a spike in the ground, the audience see what is coming when Jenny steps on the spike which impales her foot.
We the audience are made to feel lost in the wilderness, the use of Dutch angles distorts the audiences perception of things, this adds to the tension as Jenny is on the run but she doesn't know where she is going.
The audience get to see Jenny go through many changes, at first we see her as someone who cares for children and is dressed in an upper-class manner, this image of jenny is later juxtaposed when she is hiding and is in the bin and we see her face looking very animalistic, her face dirty her clothes torn, her character has in a sense become reminiscent of John Rambo in First Blood (1982). Jenny goes against her morales and kills one of the gang members who happens to be one of the younger members of the gang and it is at this moment Jenny's character has .become determined to get her revenge and escape, the equilibrium has been broken and will no longer return to what it was originally.
When Jenny escapes by stealing a car she plows right into the female member of the gang killing her, this is shown through POV shots from inside the car, when the car crashes Jenny enters a house and is seemingly safe until she realises that she is in the house of Brett the leader of the gang, when the gangs parents find out the men attack Jenny, it then cuts to Brett who is wearing Steve's glasses looking in the mirror in his room, we can hear Jenny screaming, the off screen violence is effective as we don't know if Jenny has been killed or not. We then see Brett deleting the videos from his phone, this final shot signifies the fact that Brett is not regretful or feeling guilty about his actions.
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