Erotic thrillers are a time-tested genre, but this effort, scripted by Wesley Strick, is neither erotic nor thrilling.

This new iteration proves such a dour hodgepodge of bad behavior, bald-faced misogyny and ping-ponging alliances, it's more alienating than alluring.

The Loft is a film that can't decide what it wants. It's a male fantasy, and a cautionary tale. It's sleazy in concept, and timid in execution. It punishes its protagonists for their transgressions, then lets them off the hook.

The characters are so unlikeable that viewers will be rooting for them all to get their just desserts.