Eden lake

1. Eden Lake

2.  Film theorist Robin Wood argues that the basic
formula of the horror film is:
 “normality is threatened by the monster.”
 normality meaning conformity to the dominant
social norms
 “normality in horror films is in general boringly
consistent: the heterosexual monogamous couple,
the family, and the social institutions (police, church,
armed forces) that protect them”
 “The monster is of course much more protean,
changing from period to period as society’s basic
fears clothe themselves in fashionable or
immediately accessible garments”

3.  Dracula
 The Descent
 Eden Lake
 How have these
monsters changed to
reflect British fears?

5.  How doesThe Guardian
state this film relates to
Britain?

6.  How you can apply the theories we have
already learnt to this film?
 Final GirlTheory?
 Monstrous Feminine?
 Modern Primitive?
 Three Stage Narrative?
 Genre Reflects Society?
 Binary Oppositions?

7.  In what ways can the films you have studied
for this topic be said to be ‘British’?