The Loft

In this hammy thriller, five married friends are at each other's throats when a mystery blonde is found dead in the luxury apartment they share for liaisons with women other than their wives. As the only people with keys to the love pad, accusations and counter-accusations fly thick and fast, as well as thoughts on how to keep the murder secret from their spouses and the authorities. Director Eric Van Looy's remake of his own 2008 Belgian release is framed like a stage play with reams of flashbacks aimed at giving a clearer picture of the pals' shared past, although the fuzzy timelines often lead to confusion. What could have been a perfectly serviceable whodunnit gets lost in the portrayals of the main characters as boorish oafs celebrating infidelity until they get their grisly comeuppance. James Marsden serves as the only philanderer with any semblance of a conscience, and there's understated work from Wentworth Miller, but the characters are so unlikeable that viewers will be rooting for them all to get their just desserts.