evileyereviews Set in a region of Antwerp with a dark Medieval past, the mood of this flick is one of which the sun would not rather spill its radiance upon, instead hiding behind of wall of cloudy gloom, infinitely waiting for the darkness below to pass such that it can make its tardy appearance. It has been a long wait, and this flick offers no reprieve. Instead, this tale is of the seedy underbelly of ineffable undertakings, and our heroine must learn first hand of that which is best left on the other side. Eline Kuppens does just that in her commendable debut, laudably including enough skin to impress a taxidermist. This atmospheric horror from Belgium, a place not known for great horror, is the exception to its usually mediocrity, crafting stories of past times into a sweet little cringer. Maybe this country, known more for its border intrusive neighbors, is set upon changing its stale cinematic presence. Whether the exception or the vanguard, Left Bank is an unusual treat from an even more unusual source. Merci beaucoup.Genruk of Evil Eye Reviews

davdecrane A kind of Rosemary's Baby meets Dark Water, Left Bank unfortunately has more in common with the latter's fascination with mood over a new or just tightly cogent story. Left Bank is better than most J-horror remakes but takes too long to get to the genre trappings it ultimately relies on. The lead, Eline Kuppens, is believable as an athlete and is competent in her acting but doesn't have any real screen charisma. The role really requires the European counterpart to a Mia Farrow or Naomi Watts, especially in the long opening section which plays more as a psychological thriller than horror film. That too is a problem: the story, which is neither terribly new or frightening, just takes too long to admit for all its psychological tension, it's nothing more than a horror pic. As such, it fails to deliver a truly quirky scenario and strikes out totally when it comes to real scares.

dbdumonteil The Val Lewton productions were the first movies which introduced unusual things and irrational into daily life :best example remains "the seventh victim" directed by Mark Robson in 1943;both Polanski's horror movies "Le Locataire" aka "the tenant" and Rosemary's baby -here the major influence- are part of THAT tradition too.And most amazing thing,Belgian Andre Delvaux's works mix dream/nightmare with a disturbed reality too.The black and white documentary Marie watches has something eerie ,something irrational ,something frightening ;the people's face are bizarre,almost threatening:how not to think of this little odd film Yves Montand and his mates watch in a tiny movie theater in an (imaginary?) village."Left Bank" takes place in the wrong side of town ,a vague curse hangs over this place -like the Bradford building.A series of bizarre warnings,of mysterious disappearances ;Marie is like Alice,she is on the other side of the mirror .Bobby is an athletic self-assured boy he's got nothing of a Guy Woodhouse.And her Mamie is no Minnie Castevet either.And however,Marie is more and more alone except for the short moments she shares with Dirk (who plays more or less the part of Hutch).When the movie begins ,Marie is a well-balanced girl ,isn't she a race champion?Her rational world is going to crumble as she begins to suffer physically and mentally.Events which happened a long time ago seems to happen again (or to be about to happen again).The sun rarely shines on this "black hole" .The scene in the cemetery is so dark the picture seems to be black and white.SPOILER.In fact ,the only really luminous scene is the birth.As Beth Gibbons 's magnificent "mysteries" -an exact equivalent of Rosemary's lullaby- fills the air,a long tracking depicts the urban landscape -another subconscious ? tribute to Polanski."Linkeroever" has something deadly ,something demonic ,a movie which leaves questions unresolved ;no horror and fantasy buff can be impervious to its charm.

Raf Cole OK, Just seen this movie with a couple of friends... Let me just say up front that if I knew this film was as it is, I wouldn't even bothered to go. Me and my friend literally were debating of leaving the cinema.But some things about the film first, I knew the basic outlining of the film... Nice quiet place called Linkeroever has a nasty history, can be made good in anyone's book I reckon. But as we see with so many movies. A good idea just isn't enough when not properly worked out. There are no actors in this film (or only bad ones), bad script, bad editing , bad music , ... Can't say one good thing about it actually (except maybe for the funny - out of this world - love scenes throughout this picture )My advice, see something better !!