If "Terug naar de Kust" would have been an American film, it surely would have become the type of standard TV-thriller starring previously popular but already washed up soap actresses (Heather Locklear or Yasmine Bleeth, for instance) that only gets programmed on Saturday afternoons on mediocre cable channels. That may sound very harsh, but it's the truth. Luckily for everyone involved, this is a Dutch film production and since feminist thrillers are still relatively rare and innovative in this part of the world, "Terug naar de Kust" became a highly profiled and unanimously acclaimed hit. All the ingredients for local success are there. Lead actress Linda De Mol is probably the most popular Dutch actress of the past two decades, the plot is adapted from a bestseller novel by a female author (Saskia Noort) and the entire male supportive cast exists of respectable actors as well. Throw in a simplistic but identifiable plot and a whole lot of reliable thriller clichés and you've got yourself a bona fide national blockbuster. I certainly don't intend to sound arrogant or disrespectful towards the Dutch film industry, as "Terug naar de Kust" still remains a well made and cleverly promoted film, but it merely just stands for brainless entertainment and certainly isn't a major cinematic accomplishment for a nation to be proud of. The title literally translates itself as "Return to the Coast" and illustrates our protagonist Maria's attempt to flee from a series of misfortunes that suddenly overcomes her. Shortly after separating from her adulterous and heavily drinking boyfriend, and having performed an abortion without discussing it with him, Maria receives death threats from an anonymous stalker. The assigned police inspector doesn't take her very serious and even implies that she sent the notes herself as a cry for attention, and thus Maria takes her children and moves in with her older sister at their parental house next to the coast. The stalking doesn't stop and arson even destroys her house in Amsterdam, but everything leads back to Maria herself and even she begins to fear that she's slowly becoming psychotic… Like their mother became psychotic when they were still young children. Even if you have only seen one or two thrillers in your entire life, you can easily and precisely predict every next plot twist, explain the mysterious behavior of any random character and even foretell the supposedly shocking finale. The script is thoroughly unsurprising from start to finish and reverts to the oldest tricks in the book in a desperate attempt to generate suspense and confusion amongst the viewers, like overly obvious suspects (the obsessive admirer) and harrowing childhood flashbacks (two innocent girls silently watching their parents' arguing from the stairs, or hiding under the bed). It's almost laughable, incredible and slightly pathetic how director Will Koopman actually dared to use such dreadful clichés! The cast members seem to take their lines serious, nevertheless, and even remain straight-faced in the stupidest situations imaginable. By the way, Koen De Bouw is an extremely talented Belgian actor and should stick to his Belgian roots instead of adapting to a Duch accent which sounds atrocious. He as well as Huub Stapel, Pierre Bokma and Daan Schuurmans are terribly underused, all because everything revolves on Linda De Mol. Unless you are a die-hard fan of her, I don't think there's anything here to recommend. There are rather few action sequences and, with a running time of no less than 110 minutes, I'm sure that many redundant and boring sequences could have been cut.

This film is utter crap ! If it would be possible to give negative stars this one would rate about - 8.It's a DUTCH movie.Consisering you'r warned , I now start with my review. Linda de Mol who 'plays 'the main part is 'acting' like a Robot.There is no sense of any Real emotion in her character whatsoever.She is a very popular TV personality here in the Low-Lands,The perfect daughter-in-law so to say...She is a guarantee for a Full-house...but my goldfish does it better !The script is horrifiying poor and predictable...the photography make one shiver...f.i there is the constantly play with dept-of-field..which dulls the total camera work. Even great actors,as we Dutch like to call them , like Pierre Bokma put their career at stake by appearing in this 'monster '...Pierre's part adds nothing what-so-ever to the story... which is soooo baaad.BTW, the make-up artist who toughed Linda's face should apply for a house painting job ! anyway these kind of movies still give you a great time...because you die laughing the whole piece through.it's a shame to realize people actually payed money to go to the cinema to see this thing....

"Terug naar de kust" (Back to the coast) is an adaption of the Dutch novel of the same name by Saskia Noort. Not having read the book, I started watching it expecting some mediocre Dutch over-dramatized flick with bad acting. But in the end, I was quite pleasantly surprised that it wasn't half bad.The story revolves around Maria, played by Linda de Mol, a mother of two that sings in a band with her often drunk and unfaithful boyfriend. After breaking up with him and having an abortion (against his will), Maria starts getting threatening letters. Add a rather creepy fan of her band that seems to be stalking Maria, and she leaves town to stay at her parents' old house at the coast, where now Maria's sister lives. We learn rather traumatic things took place here in Maria's youth, involving her mother's descent into madness.A series of events commence, causing Maria to feel more and more unsafe and trust no-one, while the people around her are starting to think she is becoming crazy, like her mother. Initially fighting this belief, Maria eventually starts questioning her own sanity, where Linda de Mol's emotional acting contributed to the doubt that arose in both herself and her surroundings, and me as the viewer.While not spectacular, the film does have an interesting ending, where everything becomes clear to the viewer.In short, a film without any outstanding acting, extreme originality, or inspiring dialogue, but on the other hand, I couldn't find any terribly bad elements either. An enjoyable, decent psychological movie, but don't expect anything amazing.6/10

A very good movie for the Netherlands. I'm from the Netherlands and I was very curious for this movie. It was a blind buy on Blu-ray for me cause I already went to "komt een vrouw bij de dokter" in the cinema.Lindag de Mol is the star here and she fits her role perfectly. It is supposed to be a thriller but there are only a few moments. The main aspect of the film is that you travel to the past of the main character to understand what is happening today in her life. The movie is steady paced and builds up nicely without dull moments.The acting is solid from all actors and the movie has a sad, dark feeling overall. It is not supposed to be a happy movie but the mood is nice to be in as you have sympathy for the main character.This is a who dun-nit movie but my biggest disappointment in this movie is that you discover the person who did it long before Linda does. That does not make the movie bad though as it is nice to see how it all ends up story-wise.I did not read the book as I don't read books so if you read the book then I don't know if you are going to be disappointed. Considering that you can figure out who the bad guy is I think the movie stands very good on its own anyway.Linda is the real star here but don't forget the others. They deliver strong performances overall! 8 out of 10