The Loft

The Loft is a 2014 erotic thriller film directed by Erik Van Looy. It is a remake of the 2008 Dutch-language Belgian film Loft, which Van Looy also directed. The screenplay was written by Bart De Pauw and adapted by Wesley Strick. Starring Karl Urban, James Marsden, and Wentworth Miller, it also features Matthias Schoenaerts who reprises his role from the original film. The film was shot in mid-2011, but its theatrical release was delayed by a change of the film distributor. Dark Castle Entertainment originally acquired the US distribution rights, as they did for Splice, with the intention of releasing the film through Warner Bros. When Joel Silver moved his office to Universal Studios, he took Dark Castle, and the film with him. Universal planned to release the film on August 29, 2014, but the studio pulled it from the schedule in favor of Legendary Pictures' As Above, So Below. Universal and Dark Castle dropped the film, which was then picked up by Open Road Films, who released it on January 30, 2015. Universal retained the US home entertainment rights through its ancillaries deal with Open Road. Dark Castle did not release another film until 2017's Suburbicon with Paramount Pictures. Plot Five married men share ownership of an upmarket loft, which they use for discreetly meeting their respective mistresses. 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, as they are the only ones with keys to the premises. Through flashbacks, which are intertwined with scenes from the present, the story is unravelled. The five men are: Vincent Stevens: architect and designer of the building where the loft is situated. Married to Barbara and father of their children, he initially suggests the five friends use the loft as a private oasis. He is set up by the other men to be accused of the murder. Dr. Chris Vanowen: a psychiatrist married to Allison and half-brother to Philip. Chris and Philip have a half-sister, Zoe. He is the most reluctant of the men to loft idea and the last to accept a key; Chris eventually does so because he is attracted to Ann, who eventually becomes his mistress. Ann warns Chris not to fall in love with her because she is a prostitute, and he gives her his key as proof he does not use the loft with other women. Luke Seacord: married to Ellie, who is an insulin-dependent diabetic.