3. Teenagers - Eden Lake (2008)
Ephebiphobia is the fear of youth, or originally,
the fear and loathing of teenagers. No, I don't have any Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas puns for this, unfortunately. This fear seems to be related to fears of crime and street culture involving the stereotyping of urban youths, which is the exact sort of fear that our film for this entry plays off of, Eden Lake. Eden Lake tells the tale of a young couple that runs into a group of hoodlums while on a weekend getaway. Neither party is particularly smart and the situation quickly escalates. The films horror lies in the plausibility of the situation; while our protagonists dont act all that rationally, its not unbelievable that a group of teens such as the ones found in the film could behave the way they do. Who hasnt run into a few mouthy teens in their time? Generally speaking though, most people arent going to be putting themselves into a situation like one the film depicts, and while its understandable that one should be wary about specific teens, being fearful of the age group as a whole is undeniably ridiculous. Ultimately though, Eden Lake smartly relies on a realistic premise, which makes the film all the more effective.