10 Years Before Yellowstone, Kelly Reily Starred in This Horror Movie With One of the Most Disturbing Endings of All Time

Even in horror, happy endings aren’t unusual. After spending 80 minutes watching a loving and happy couple fight for their lives against a pack of psychopathic children, some form of relief feels necessary. However, much like in life, happy endings are never guaranteed, and Eden Lake proves that. Written and directed by James Watkins, Eden Lake promises a disturbing and action-packed experience to please any horror fan. Instead, it offers a depressing look at a society deprived of discipline.

There’s no forgetting the stomach-churning experience that is Eden Lake. There’s no shortage of blood and gore to make viewers squirm, but it’s the story itself that doesn’t pull any punches. And just when viewers thought they’d seen the worst, and a satisfying conclusion was within reach, the horror film delivers one of the most disturbing twists that is nothing short of devastating.

Eden Lake is a Warning About Absent Discipline

Eden Lake follows Jenny (Kelly Reilly) and Steve (Michael Fassbender), a city couple vacationing at a remote quarry in a small English town. When a group of local teens show up at the lake, and an altercation leads to the death of leader Brett’s (Jack O’Connell) dog, the couple fight for their lives in the remote woodland. If there’s one thing to say about Eden Lake, it’s the sheer brutality of its story.

Jenny and Steve are a typical couple who don’t stand a chance – outnumbered, lost, and unarmed — and the film makes it pretty clear from the moment they meet the gang that things aren’t going to work out in their favor. Yet, it’s not only the acts in which the couple endures that evoke sympathy, but the acts they must perform in order to survive.

Jenny is a nursery teacher, and both she and Steve are naturally nurturing. When they’re forced to fight back and murder children, their reactions strike a chord. Even some of the teens, despite their actions, evoke sympathy; they’re still kids, shaped by a toxic environment and a lack of guidance. That’s the message Watkins aimed for: that violence is generational and often the product of neglect. Eden Lake is about the consequences of absent discipline and how failing to enforce accountability can breed something far more dangerous than rebellion.

Eden Lake Has One of the Most Disturbing Endings in Horror History

The film itself doesn’t shy away from disturbing deaths and upsetting moments, but nothing could prepare viewers for its climax. After losing Steve and escaping the remaining teens, Jenny flees in a van and makes it to town. Bloodied and disoriented, she crashes into a garden party and is taken in by a group of locals. As she lies on a sofa in their home, she notices two dog bowls, one of which is labeled Bonnie, the same name as Brett’s dog.

Realizing she’s in Brett’s home, while a frantic mother is on the phone with one of the teens, she excuses herself to the bathroom and locks the door. Arming herself with a razor, Brett’s father, Jon (Shaun Dooley), kicks the door in. He and two other fathers walk in, closing the door behind them, as Jenny’s screams echo through the house. Upstairs, a smug Brett looks in the mirror with a smirk whilst wearing Steve’s sunglasses.

As far as horror movie endings go, Eden Lake is difficult to forget. Not only because Jenny’s last hope was snatched away so brutally, but because of the message the scene conveys. Much like the teens under Brett’s reign, the other fathers were bullied into killing Jenny by Jon. It all ties back to the nature vs nurture debate, suggesting that it’s a child’s upbringing and the violence they witness that causes them to act similarly. In this way, Eden Lake presents a generational cycle where violence is normalized and perpetuated.

Eden Lake’s Ending Was Essential to the Story

A lot of viewers have criticized the film’s ending, particularly those who prefer satisfying resolutions. While unsettling, Eden Lake’s climax is essential to the story’s overall message. The thing that Watkins does in this film is present a class divide, and the story wouldn’t work without it. Jenny and Steve are educated middle-class outsiders entering a working-class rural community. When visiting bars and restaurants in town, the locals are hostile towards them and view them as snobs. There’s already a divide between them before the violence even begins.

This divide is territorial. The couple’s intrusion exacerbates tensions with the local community, primarily because the quarry is being overtaken by a housing development that will be populated by people like Jenny and Steve. The hostility comes from resentment towards outsiders who, intentionally or not, impose their values. Eden Lake‘s ending underscores the inevitability of these class divisions. Jon’s final words, “We look after our own around here,” before leading the assault on Jenny, sum up the narrow mentality of the community.

It reflects a protective, albeit twisted, solidarity that prioritizes group structure over justice. Eden Lake, therefore, uses horror to explore the consequences of class antagonism. The film suggests that when communities are divided by socioeconomic disparities and mutual distrust, violence becomes an almost inevitable outcome. The ending is a commentary on the recurring nature of class-based violence and the societal structures that perpetuate it.

Of course, this is the basis of most of Watkins’ work. His exploration of fear and societal issues has been consistent throughout his career, though Eden Lake arguably represents the sharpest articulation of these themes. My Little Eye offers a more modern take on behaviour under surveillance, but still touches on class divides through contestants who come from different backgrounds.

Speak No Evil, while a remake, specifically focuses on class divides and the discomfort that arises when people from different social backgrounds are forced to interact. Even The Woman in Black, also a remake, addresses themes of isolation and the divide between the upper class and those on the margins of society. His films often use horror to dissect the darkest corners of British culture, and Eden Lake is no exception. In fact, Eden Lake is perhaps his most thought-provoking work to date.

Eden Lake, intentionally or not, contributed to the idea of a Broken Britain. An idea that is still considered relevant today. For the casual viewer unaffected by the political context, Eden Lake is simply a brutal and controversial film that goes beyond the boundaries of its genre. But for those who are affected by these concerns, the film is a terrifying vision of a society on the brink. Either way, the film isn’t an easy one to shake off, and its ending is even harder.