UNLAWFUL ENTRY (1992) - Movie Review

Director: Jonathan Kaplan
Starring: Kurt Russell, Ray Liotta, Madeleine Stowe, Ken Lerner
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Writer: Lewis Colick
Runtime: 111 min
Rated: Rated R for terror and violence, and for sexuality and language
Buy This Movie: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

Happily married Michael and Karen Carr call the police after a failed robbery in their Los Angeles home. Before long, Officer Pete Davis arrives and helps arrange the installation of a new security system, taking extra interest in the couple's case. As a result, the grateful Carrs invite Pete over for dinner, and as one thing leads to another, they strike up an unexpected friendship. However, as the lonely policeman develops an intense fixation on the Carrs, Pete's take on friendship turns into a dangerous obsession. What happens when the cure is worse than the disease?

Review:

You're probably familiar with the stalker horror film subgenre. These movies usually involve a creepy everyday man or woman who takes an unnerving interest in the protagonists, becoming increasingly intrusive and threatening until things spiral out of control in a violent and bloody third act. "Unlawful Entry" is a typical entry in that subgenre, but it also does some things better than other similar movies.

The story's structure definitely hits all the familiar beats, but the script does throw in some clever twists. Director Jonathan Kaplan and writer Lewis Colick put together a competent mix of gritty thrills and social commentary, pitting Ray Liotta's psychopathic cop against the typical suburban couple, played by Kurt Russell and Madeleine Stowe. Using a representative of law and order as a villain is the perfect urban nightmare. A psychopath with power is the worst kind of enemy. Who can you turn to when the authority figure meant to ensure your safety and well-being is the one you should fear the most. Safety is merely an illusion in a society in which black and white, good and bad, are so easily reversed.

Pete Davis is not just a homicidal thug, he's an intelligent, streetwise, manipulative sociopath, and Liotta is great in the role, both intimidating and surprisingly nuanced. The third act does turn him into a mindless rampaging psycho just for the sake of having a violent face-off with the Carr family. Russell and Stowe are serviceable as the Carrs, but while Russell gets to play the reluctant hero of the story, Stowe is relegated to just being the object of Davis' obsession and ultimately a damsel in distress.

"Unlawful Entry" is a solid psychological thriller, by-the-numbers for sure, but clever enough to use those numbers to its advantage and deliver a taut, tense and chilling thriller. Fun Fact: a Bollywood remake was released in 1996 called "Fareb".

SCORE: 7/10