Film: Left Bank
Release date: 3rd May 2010
Release date: 3rd May 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 98 mins
Director: Pieter Van Hees
Starring: Eline Kuppens, Matthias Schoenaerts, Sien Eggers
Genre: Thriller/Horror/Drama/Mystery Studio: Exposure Cinema
Format: DVD
Country: Belgium
Belgium: so far, not exactly noted for its outstanding horror film industry, but maybe that’s all about to change with Pieter Van Hees’ Left Bank. This new film by director Pieter Van Hees, artfully shot in the creepy ‘Left Bank’ area of Antwerp is steeped in the old world tradition of earning its frights with atmospherics and tension rather than by shocks and gore.
Marie is a young, driven, national-standard runner, forced to withdraw from competing due to absolute exhaustion. Ordered to complete bed rest by her doctor, Marie moves in with her new boyfriend, Bobby, in his flat in a tower block in the Left Bank area of Antwerp. Away from home and her domineering mother for the first time, Marie starts to relax and enjoy her new liberated existence and her blissful new relationship.
It’s not long before things take a downward turn, however. Plagued by strange dreams of drowning in dark mud, and with slowly worsening health, Marie starts to have concerns about the tower block, her boyfriend’s increasingly unpredictable behaviour, and the unexplained disappearance of the previous tenant from Bobby’s apartment.
Marie gradually uncovers more and more mystifying and unnerving clues with the help of the missing tenant’s ex-boyfriend Bieke, and she is slowly drawn further into the unpleasant history of Left Bank and its inhabitants…
It’s heartening to see a modern horror film dispensing with gore and focusing almost entirely on character, and a bloodless sense of building tension. In in this respect, Left Bank has much in common with ‘70s horror films like The Wicker Man, Rosemary’s Baby and The Tenant. The sense of slow-burning dread is nicely stoked with gradual revelations about the unsavoury origins of the housing block, and the river bank on which it was (unwisely) built - and of the real motivations behind some of the characters.
The grim, grainy look of the film, and some impressive camera work roots us nicely in the story, making the most of the depressing landscape and drab, eerie tower blocks. The dream sequences are also very nicely put together, authentically surreal, without being over-the-top.
Left Bank is essentially a film about female sexuality, including themes of motherhood and rebirth, and director Pieter Van Hees slaps on the symbolism heavily from the outset. Images of tunnels, blood, suffering, and names such as ‘the devil’s vagina’ for a geographical landmark feature heavily, and add an earthy, visceral level to the horror unfolding. It’s reminiscent of the way Ridley Scott wove similar themes of motherhood and birth through Alien, and the technique is no less effective here.
There’s some fine acting all round, with Eline Kuppens putting in a very solid performance as Marie. The fact that she has almost as many nude as clothed scenes doesn’t detract from her character, and although this is a film to a degree about feminine sexuality, this device does seem a little overused. Matthias Schoenaerts is likeable and creepy in equal measures as boyfriend Bobby, about whom we’re never sure just how unhinged he is (as it should be). Sien Eggers offers good support as Bieke, but his character is introduced too late in the proceedings to make much of a dent, and feels underused once he is. You feel that Bieke and Bobby could almost have been combined to make one stronger character, whereas the “Is he/isn’t he a bad guy” tension is divided between the two.
On the down side, Left Bank is, in places, conspicuously lacking in originality, particularly stylistically, and wantonly ‘borrowing’ techniques from its influences. Most obvious are the aforementioned films, but there’s also a strong shadow of The Shining in the lingering static shots and ominous bass tones between scenes. There’s no shame to be had in borrowing from Kubrick, but whereas The Shining used static shots added to the growing sense of claustrophobia, in Left Bank they are little more than an aesthetic trick, initially stylish, but it’s not long before they become irritating.
For seasoned horror fans it’s nothing they won’t have seen before, but if you like your horror with a little less gore, a little less shock, and a little more creepy, character-driven tension and dread, you should definitely give Left Bank a try. LOZ
Marie is a young, driven, national-standard runner, forced to withdraw from competing due to absolute exhaustion. Ordered to complete bed rest by her doctor, Marie moves in with her new boyfriend, Bobby, in his flat in a tower block in the Left Bank area of Antwerp. Away from home and her domineering mother for the first time, Marie starts to relax and enjoy her new liberated existence and her blissful new relationship.
It’s not long before things take a downward turn, however. Plagued by strange dreams of drowning in dark mud, and with slowly worsening health, Marie starts to have concerns about the tower block, her boyfriend’s increasingly unpredictable behaviour, and the unexplained disappearance of the previous tenant from Bobby’s apartment.
Marie gradually uncovers more and more mystifying and unnerving clues with the help of the missing tenant’s ex-boyfriend Bieke, and she is slowly drawn further into the unpleasant history of Left Bank and its inhabitants…
It’s heartening to see a modern horror film dispensing with gore and focusing almost entirely on character, and a bloodless sense of building tension. In in this respect, Left Bank has much in common with ‘70s horror films like The Wicker Man, Rosemary’s Baby and The Tenant. The sense of slow-burning dread is nicely stoked with gradual revelations about the unsavoury origins of the housing block, and the river bank on which it was (unwisely) built - and of the real motivations behind some of the characters.
The grim, grainy look of the film, and some impressive camera work roots us nicely in the story, making the most of the depressing landscape and drab, eerie tower blocks. The dream sequences are also very nicely put together, authentically surreal, without being over-the-top.
Left Bank is essentially a film about female sexuality, including themes of motherhood and rebirth, and director Pieter Van Hees slaps on the symbolism heavily from the outset. Images of tunnels, blood, suffering, and names such as ‘the devil’s vagina’ for a geographical landmark feature heavily, and add an earthy, visceral level to the horror unfolding. It’s reminiscent of the way Ridley Scott wove similar themes of motherhood and birth through Alien, and the technique is no less effective here.
There’s some fine acting all round, with Eline Kuppens putting in a very solid performance as Marie. The fact that she has almost as many nude as clothed scenes doesn’t detract from her character, and although this is a film to a degree about feminine sexuality, this device does seem a little overused. Matthias Schoenaerts is likeable and creepy in equal measures as boyfriend Bobby, about whom we’re never sure just how unhinged he is (as it should be). Sien Eggers offers good support as Bieke, but his character is introduced too late in the proceedings to make much of a dent, and feels underused once he is. You feel that Bieke and Bobby could almost have been combined to make one stronger character, whereas the “Is he/isn’t he a bad guy” tension is divided between the two.
On the down side, Left Bank is, in places, conspicuously lacking in originality, particularly stylistically, and wantonly ‘borrowing’ techniques from its influences. Most obvious are the aforementioned films, but there’s also a strong shadow of The Shining in the lingering static shots and ominous bass tones between scenes. There’s no shame to be had in borrowing from Kubrick, but whereas The Shining used static shots added to the growing sense of claustrophobia, in Left Bank they are little more than an aesthetic trick, initially stylish, but it’s not long before they become irritating.
For seasoned horror fans it’s nothing they won’t have seen before, but if you like your horror with a little less gore, a little less shock, and a little more creepy, character-driven tension and dread, you should definitely give Left Bank a try. LOZ
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