Trailerblazing -- The Loft

The Loft -- January 23, 2015 -- directed by Erik Van Looy -- starring Karl Urban, James Marsden, Wentworth Miller, Rhona Mitra, Isabel Lucas

Talk about a not-so-guilty pleasure. The Loft seems like a sex-crazed, lurid bit of fun, starring attractive human beings and glossy locations straight out of Architectural Digest. The intriguing story revolves around a group of friends discovering a body in a secret loft that they have been using for affairs, and the tale itself is reason to pause. Directed by Erik Van Looy, who had directed the 2008 Belgian original, this is one of those genre entries that could go either way. We might be getting an underdeveloped film relying on aesthetics or a wicked thriller with plenty of twists and turns, one that also happens to look good. I definitely do not have confidence in the January release date, a month that does not exactly spell good cinematic fortune, and I also hope that the actors do not turn out to be better than the material. I am counting on the writers and the cast to do this interesting idea justice. Screenwriter Bart De Pauw had also written the first film --  the most successful Flemish movie ever at the box office -- and Wesley Strick had given us terrific friendship dynamics in the underrated Return to Paradise. Urban is appealing in every project he does and I have always considered Marsden to be an undervalued actor. The trio of The Loft, Taken 3 and The Boy Next Door makes January a true thriller month. Let us hope that The Loft is as gripping as its trailer.