''Loft'' is a 2008 Belgian erotic

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

directed by Erik Van Looy and written by

Bart De Pauw Bart De Pauw (28 May 1968) is a Flemish TV host, comedian, actor and TV and film scriptwriter, known for humorous television series and shows on Belgian public television, like '' Buiten De Zone'', '' Schalkse Ruiters'', ''Het Geslacht De Pauw'' ...

, starring an ensemble cast of Flemish actors, led by

Koen De Bouw Koen De Bouw (born 30 September 1964 in Turnhout) is a Belgian actor. He trained to be an actor at Studio Herman Teirlinck in Antwerp and made his breakthrough in Belgium with his role of serial killer ''Stef Tavernier'' in the TV-series Witte ...

Filip Peeters Filip Peeters or Philip Peeters (born 2 December 1962) is a Flemish actor. He is well known for his work in the television series ''Salamander'' as Paul Gerardi and ''Zone Stad'' as Didier Francks. He is one of a few Flemish actors who have been ...

, Bruno Vanden Broucke,

Matthias Schoenaerts Matthias Schoenaerts (; ; born 8 December 1977) is a Belgian actor. He made his film debut at the age of 13 in '' Daens'' (1992), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He is best known for his roles as Filip in ...

and

Koen De Graeve Koen De Graeve (born 28 April 1972) is a Belgian actor. He appeared in more than forty films since 1993. Selected filmography References External links * 1972 births Living people Belgian male film actors {{Belgium-actor-st ...

Plot

Five married men share ownership of an upmarket loft, which they use to discreetly meet their respective

mistresses Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...

. When the body of a murdered woman is found in that loft, the men begin to suspect each other of having committed the gruesome

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

, as they are the only ones with keys to the premises. Through flashbacks, which are intertwined by scenes from the present, the story is unravelled.

Cast

as Chris Van Outryve *

as Vincent Stevens *

as Filip Willems * as Luc Seynaeve *

as Marnix Laureys *

Veerle Baetens Veerle Baetens (born 24 January 1978) is a Belgian actress and singer probably best known for her role as Elise/Alabama in ''The Broken Circle Breakdown'' and as lead detective Hannah Maes in the crime drama ''Code 37''. She has also starred in ...

as Ann Marai * as Barbara Stevens * as Ellen Van Outryve * as Vicky Willems * Wine Dierickx as Elsie Seynaeve * Marie Vinck as Sarah Delporte *

Jan Decleir Jan Decleir (born as ''Jan Amanda Gustaaf Decleir'' on 14 February 1946) is a prolific Belgian movie and stage actor born in Niel, Antwerp. Career He had his first big role in Fons Rademakers's ''Mira'' (1971). Since then, he has appeared in ...

as Ludwig Tyberghein

Production

Portions of the film were shot in

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

in January 2008. The building where the loft is situated is in Antwerp, next to the river

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...

. A teaser trailer was released in May 2008.

Reception

By 19 February 2009, ''Loft'' was the most successful Flemish film ever at the box office with at the time 1,082,480 admissions, passing the previous record holder, ''

Koko Flanel ''Koko Flanel'' is a Belgian comedy movie directed by Stijn Coninx starring Urbanus, Bea Van Der Maat, Willeke van Ammelrooy, Herbert Flack and Ann Petersen. The movie was released in 1990 and was until 18 February 2009 the most successful F ...

'' (1990).

Remakes

A Dutch remake of the same name was released in 2010, directed by

Antoinette Beumer Antoinette Beumer (born Janssen; 1962) is a Dutch film director. She is notable for having directed the 2010 films '' The Happy Housewife'' and ''Loft''. Biography Beumer was born as Antoinette Janssen in Nieuwer-Amstel, North Holland, the N ...

. In 2011, Van Looy himself began production on a Belgian-American remake. ''

The Loft The Loft may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * The Loft (British band), a British indie band * The Loft (Danish band), a Danish band * ''The Loft'' (film) (2014) an American film * The Loft (Sirius XM), a music channel on satellite r ...

'' was completed in 2014 and stars

Karl Urban Karl-Heinz Urban (born 7 June 1972) is a New Zealand actor. His career began with appearances in New Zealand films and TV series such as '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. His first Hollywood role was in the 2002 horror film '' Ghost Ship''. Since ...

James Marsden James Paul Marsden (born September 18, 1973) is an American actor, singer, and former model. Marsden began his acting career guest starring in the television shows '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' (1993), '' Touched by an Angel'' (1995), ' ...

Wentworth Miller Wentworth Earl Miller III (born June 2, 1972) is an American-British actor and screenwriter. He rose to prominence following his starring role as Michael Scofield in the Fox series ''Prison Break'', for which he received a nomination for the ...

Eric Stonestreet Eric Allen Stonestreet (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for portraying Cameron Tucker in the ABC mockumentary sitcom ''Modern Family'', for which he received two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporti ...

and Schoenaerts reprising his role from the original film. ''The Loft'' was released theatrically on 30 January 2015. In 2021, Netflix India announced an untitled Hindi remake of ''Loft'' directed by the director-duo

Abbas Mustan Abbas may refer to: People * Abbas (name), list of people with the name, including: **Abbas ibn Ali, Popularly known as Hazrat-e-Abbas (brother of Imam Hussayn) **Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, uncle of Muhammad ** Mahmoud Abbas (born 1935), Palest ...

, starring

Sharman Joshi Sharman Joshi (born 28 April 1979) is an Indian actor and television presenter who predominantly works in Hindi movies, known for his roles in films like ''Rang De Basanti'' (2006), '' Golmaal'' (2006), '' Dhol'' (2007) and ''3 Idiots'' (2009). ...

Arjun Rampal Arjun Rampal (born 26 November 1972) is an Indian actor, model, film producer and television personality who works in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in Rajiv Rai's romance film '' Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' (2001) and has since gone on t ...

and

Bobby Deol Vijay Singh Deol (born 27 January 1967) popularly known as Bobby Deol, is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema and web series. A member of the Deol family, he is the younger son of veteran actor Dharmendra. His accolades include a Filmfar ...

. The film, later titled ''Penthouse'', was ultimately shelved.

References

External links

* * 2008 films 2008 crime thriller films 2000s Dutch-language films 2000s erotic thriller films 2000s mystery thriller films 2008 thriller drama films Belgian crime thriller films Belgian erotic thriller films Belgian mystery thriller films Dutch-language Belgian films Erotic mystery films Films directed by Erik Van Looy Films set in Antwerp Films shot in Antwerp {{erotic-thriller-film-stub