MovieChat Forums > Eden Lake (2008) Discussion > How can anyone call this 'Horror'?

How can anyone call this 'Horror'?

posted 14 years ago by midnight_muse
94 replies | jump to latest

This is a crime thriller. But I see it classified as Horror over and over on the IMDb.com boards. [Edited to add: Thanks for your comments. That was a poor word choice on my part; I should have said 'violent thriller' instead. What I meant was a thriller where violent crimes are committed, not a police investigation film of course, since there are no police in Eden Lake.]

I really wish some god or other would step down from Olympus and define Horror for good and all. ;) [<------I think some of you missed the winky face...?]

I define 'horror' not merely by violent or horrifying content, but by the presence of the paranormal, the supernatural, the uncanny. [Edited to add: The latter is the broadest concept;, it need not involve the supernatural per se, but the eerie/unknown/inexplicable].

Thus, Eden Lake, Inside, Funny Games, Ils, serial killer films, etc. are NOT Horror films. But The Descent is. And Picnic at Hanging Rock. And Spoorloos... because although *technically* a thriller, there is enough metaphysical and metaphorical foreshadowing to be considered precognitive; therefore paranormal; therefore it's horror. That's how I'd classify them, anyway.

Just wondering about the thoughts of thoughtful fans who may read this board. [Edited to add: and thanks for the great discussions so far!]

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I don't come from hell. I came from the forest.

[–] BeefStroganoff 11 years ago

In real life, that's definitely a horrifying and terrifying experience. Hell, you could also be 'spooked' or 'creeped' out by those kids stalking you in the woods.

But as a genre in fiction, I wouldn't put it under horror.

If 'scary' and 'horrifying' is automatically under the horror genre then shouldn't United 93 be horror? Or any other disaster (or terrorist) thrillers? I know, in real life, it's horrifying to go through terrorism/hijacking and such, but you sure wouldn't put that situation in the 'horror' section if it were a film/book.

Oh, let's not forget Titanic (horrifying experience) - a 'horror' film now? In fact, Titanic scared me much more than this film.

[–] C_Dubya 11 years ago

I find the term "horror" problematic because it's so broad. Many things can be horrific. This movie was quite horrific and disturbing--but it wasn't frightening.

So yeah, I use the term "scary movie" for movies that attempt to frighten and of course those that actually succeed. I guess I would call Eden Lake a chase/torture movie.

[–] carlvdl 11 years ago

Horror, without doubt. Some films like to present supernatural monsters and ghosts to invoke fear, these things are representative of our fears, and the unknown. Horror films, like this one and many others, present scenarios that could occur in real life. What's more horrific, some made up vampire or werewolf, or Ted Bundy or the kids in Eden Lake?

[–] Thought_Criminal_J62377 11 years ago

Only a moron would refute this as a horror movie. This was Texas Chainsaw Massacre with more believable, sadistic monsters. You're defintion of horror would rule alot of horror movies to be not horror movies... like Texas Chainsaw Massacre(again,) Vacancy, The Strangers, Wolf Creek, Turistas, Hostel, etc,. You seem like one of those Paranormal Activity(which sucks, by the way) fags. Any movie that is disturbingly sadistic and/or evil is a horror movie.

I see Stupid People... and midnight_muse is one of them.

[–] midnight_muse 11 years ago

When I got the notification that someone called Infinite_Rage had responded to this thread, I took a wild guess as to the general content and was pleasantly affirmed. Working the use of my screen name into an insulting M. Night Shyamalan reference (in bold, no less) was a piquant coda, though. Well played!

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I don't come from hell. I came from the forest.

[–] m-slovak79 10 years ago

How can anyone call this 'Horror'? This is a crime thriller.

i personally see it like IMDb lists it as which is "Horror | Thriller". because the overall look/feel of the movie feels like a Horror film variation more than anything else.

p.s. although there is another movie i see as more of a Horror type film in overall feel even though IMDb lists it as 'Crime | Drama | Thriller' which is... The Last House on the Left (2009). i definitely don't see that movie as Crime/Drama and the like.

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My IMDb Movie Lists etc = http://goo.gl/pZ8XG
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[–] fakeslashdash6 10 years ago

To put it shortly, you are flat out wrong.

Horror movies are movies which the makers *intended* the experience to be horrifying.

Notice the emphasis in there, cause it doesn't actually have to be horrifying.
Just that the makers wanted it to be.

Same way that a movie is defined as "comedy" even though it wasn't actually funny. But the makers intended it to be funny so it's a comedy. It would be a terrible comedy but still a comedy.

Horror has many subgeneres in it.
You have your slasher flicks, which are usually serial killer based (I know what you did last summer) but they can also be supernatural based (Nightmare on elm street), the home invasion (You're next), possession movies (conjuring), your vengeful ghosts movies (mama), your monster movies (cloverfield), shock concepts (human centipede) and probabaly a lot more I'm forgetting of the top of my head.

There is some overlap between horror and thriller and a movie can have both, but doesn't mean they are the same.

Thrillers are movies that put you on the edge of your sit. Movies that are intended (yeah, this again) to get you to think "omg, what's going to happen next"

Quite often movies like Eden Lake have both.

[–] jupnose25 10 years ago

This is not horror because "I define 'horror'" as...

[–] rayraysworld 10 years ago

The suspense, the horrible things that happened, the way I felt at the end.......this is horror alright !

[–] tobisama 10 years ago

I totally agree with you. I never consider movies of killers or torture as horror films.

[–] terryperring104 10 years ago

Oh sod pedantic syntax-this film Horrifies. So, any film that does this is a horror film.