''Left Bank'' () is a 2008 Belgian

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

directed by Pieter Van Hees, starring

Eline Kuppens Eline is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Eline Berings (born 1986), Belgian athlete who competes in the 100 m hurdles *Eline Eriksen (1881–1963), wife of Edvard Eriksen, model for the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen ...

and

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

. Its musical score was composed by

Simon Lenski Simon Lenski is a cello player from Antwerp, Belgium. His main activity lies within the band DAAU which he co-founded in 1992. As a cello player, he is a highly sought guest musician for other artists and music groups, often together with his brot ...

Plot

Marie, an aspiring track star on her way to the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

, suffers a devastating setback when she is diagnosed with an immune infection and forced to rest. To pass the time, Marie moves in with Bobby, her charismatic new boyfriend who lives in a deluxe apartment in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

's stylish

Left Bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongsid ...

. After learning the apartment's previous tenant mysteriously disappeared, Marie becomes obsessed with the mystery, all the while suffering from headaches, nausea, tension and insomnia. As Bobby dismisses her theories and fears, Marie delves deeper into her investigation, growing suspicious of her loving boyfriend and the ritzy building, whose long-hidden secrets have frightening consequences. As the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

close in and begin to investigate several mysterious deaths, it is revealed that Bobby is part of an ancient religious cult that celebrates rebirth and enacts a mysterious ritual every seven years on Samhain. As the day of the ritual approaches, Marie tries to leave, but Bobby catches her and drags her back. The cult enacts the ritual, forcing Marie into a black watery pit. As she passes through, she experiences a vision and then takes rebirth as a baby as she is reborn in the arms of her new parents.

Cast

Reception

, the film holds a 83% approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on six reviews with an average rating of 7.17/10. Many of the reviewers did not understand the ending, with Leslie Felperin from ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' writing, "Pieter van Hees' feature debut demonstrates promise, especially in its spooky, suggestive first half, and nicely showcases the talents and chiseled physiques of leads Eline Kuppens and Matthias Schoenaerts; shame that script's last stretch is derivative and borderline silly."

Film Threat ''Film Threat'' is an American online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. ...

gave the film a positive review, commending the film'ch characters, finale, and for its blend of "passion, creeps, and head-scratches".

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' also wrote, "Overloaded with disturbing hallucinations and disorienting, wannabe-Lynchian dream-sequences, "Left Bank" gradually spirals from intriguing chilliness to mood-killing, murkily-plotted silliness. The last scene is a real head-scratcher." ''HorrorNews.net'' called the film " A remarkable dark tale of the supernatural, which incorporates black magic along with the bizarre"' praising the film's atmosphere, authentic feel, provocative story, finale, and acting.

References

External links

* * * {{Rotten Tomatoes, linkeroever, Left Bank 2008 films 2008 horror films 2000s horror thriller films Belgian horror drama films 2000s Dutch-language films Belgian mystery drama films Films set in Belgium Films shot in Belgium Films set in Antwerp Demons in film Films about witchcraft Folk horror films Belgian horror thriller films 2000s mystery horror films 2000s horror drama films 2000s supernatural horror films Films about Satanism Dutch-language Belgian films 2000s Belgian films Religious horror films