Eden Lake (2008)

Eden Lake is a backwater town full of unruly assholes, where a well-meaning vacationing couple unfortunately find themselves caught up in the middle of it, terrorized by a group of young hoodlums. This is a very distressing film that is hard to look away from, and hinges on the border of torture porn with its depictions of sadistic violence, yet it's unforgettable for all the right reasons.

3 Rottweilers out of 5

(cuckoo's take)

Speak No Evil (2024)

U.S. version of the Danish psychological horror film (which itself was almost entirely in English).

This remake turned out to be exactly what I thought it would be. It follows the initial beats of the earlier film closely, but the entire third act has been completely overhauled to make it more palatable for American audiences. The original was much more brutal and uncompromising and stayed with me longer, while this one felt predictable, watered down and ephemeral. Ho-hum.

I'm still very annoyed by the marketing of this movie, which gave away one of the major twists at the end. Maybe they should have taken the advice on the poster and shut the fuck up.

2 stupid rabbit toys out of 5

EDEN LAKE [2008]

James Watkins directs this brutal and upsetting British thriller that is more miss than hit. It follows a couple on a camping trip that's disturbed by a group of bad seed kids, one of which turns out to be a sociopathic murderer. 

It's fairly predictable in some spots and the complete opposite in others.  Several scenes threaten to fall apart, however it manages to compromise that with an ending that leaves your jaw on the floor with an overwhelming and uncomfortable feeling of disgust and sadness for humanity.

2½ unlucky dogs out of 5

(bud's take)

THE WOMAN IN BLACK [2012]

Daniel Radcliffe steps out of his wizard's cloak and enters into the Gothic horror world of the Hammer films in this effective adaption of Susan Hill's ghost story novel The Woman In Black.

It thrills and chills to the bone and never resorts to gore like most horror films would do today.  It's a good old fashioned ghost story that never really breaks any new barriers or pulls any shocking twists & turns. However it serves it's purpose and does so with incredibly eerie class.

3 Scary ass bunnies out of 5