Plausibility isn’t high on the list of priorities for The Loft, a sleek and sleazy locked-room erotic thriller that suffers from too much mystery and too many story complications. Those who manage to stay to the end of this cautionary whodunit will be bitterly dissatisfied with the final resolution.
Five distinctly unlikable married men purchase an adultery pad together, eliminating any paper trail to their dirty antics behind closed doors. When a dead woman’s body is discovered by one of the men, they call a meeting to find out which one of them is responsible. The blame shifts between each of the men and the audience is treated to unpleasant flashbacks of their fornication.
The cast is fairly decent — Karl Urban, James Marsden, Wentworth Miller (“Prison Break”), Eric Stonestreet (“Modern Family”) and Matthias Schoenaerts. Unfortunately, their dashing looks do nothing to make us feel for the characters. The Loft holds back on the eroticism and the thrills.
The story also doesn’t play fair with the audience either. Important scenes are left for the finale in order to spring the surprise twist ending on viewers. The Loft is a total wash; the type of film that these actors certainly hope to erase from their filmography. Like its hazy-filtered sex scenes, it’s all just very distasteful.
Ultimately, it’s remarkably dull and unpleasant.
