OK time for another revisit of a previous review I did (a new one will be coming soon don't worry!) which is of the 1990's thriller film, Unlawful Entry about an unhinged cop, who stalks a couple in living in LA.
So, after almost 30 years how does Unlawful Entry fair??? Let's find out!
And the usual is coming...
PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!
STORY
So, the story begins with a couple,
Michael and Karen Carr (Kurt Russell and Madeline Stowe) who live in an
upscale apartment in Los Angeles, who's house is broken into by an
intruder one night. The intruder struggles with Michael as he get's
free, he goes for Karen and holds a knife to her throat and takes her
out the back door and pushes her into their swimming pool as he escapes.
Not long after, the Carrs call the police and two officers are sent to
their house, Pete Davis (Ray Liotta) and his partner, Roy Cole (Roger E.
Mosley) and Pete seems taken by them, particularly by Karen. The
following day while Michael is out on business, Karen is awaiting for
the police to come around but they don't, so Michael suggests Karen call
the station to speak to one of the officers they spoke to.
Not long
after, Pete shows up at their home and organises the speedy installation
of a state of the art security system and as a mark of gratitude,
Michael and Karen invite Pete to dinner. After the dinner, Michael
tells Pete that he would like to get revenge on the intruder, which
prompts Pete to ask Michael if he would to do a ride-along with his
partner, Roy, which Michael accepts.
On the night of the ride-along, Michael is taken along several stops by
Pete and Roy and at the end of the night Peter drops Roy off the station
and tells Michael he has one more errand to run. Pete then takes
Michael to a hideout where he has found the intruder that broke into the
Carrs home, named Ernie Pike (Johnny Ray McGhee). Pete gives Michael
the chance to get his revenge by giving him his nightstick to beat Pike
with but Michael refuses, so Pete viciously beats up Pike instead, much
to Michael's alarm. On returning home, Michael tells Karen about the
night and that he is now concerned that Pete might be mentally unhinged
and he tells Karen he no longer wants Pete around them.
The following morning, Pete shows up at the Carrs house and explains to
Karen that things got ugly as Pike allegedly resisted him and Michael
didn't take so well but he Pete further explains that he now restrains
perps with all its takes after he was once shot in the chest when
arresting a suspect. Karen however says she is glad that Pete got the
intruder and Pete leaves her with Karen now feeling more reassured.
However, on the opening night of a new club, of which Michael is a
co-investor, Pete shows up and Michael warns Pete to stay away from him
and Karen and that he is a sick guy and he suggest seek help. Pete
however does neither and instead starts to make things difficult for
Michael as he has a clamp put on his car and cancels his credit cards.
Pete even goes as far as to bust in on Michael and Karen's bedroom while
they have sex, as Pete claims he was responding to their alarm, which
went off shortly before. Michael furiously tells Pete to get out and
the following day goes to the police to file a formal complaint against
Pete.
Michael's lawyer, Roger (Ken Lerner) advises him to try and bribe Pete
to back off trying to destroy Michael's business reputation. Michael
then meets Pete and offers him $5,000 to walk away but Pete refuses the
money and instead tells him that Karen doesn't feel safe with him (as
Pete talked with Karen earlier after he did a talk for the school that
Karen teaches at) and she needs to feel better protected. Michael
furiously warns Pete to stay away from Karen, prompting Pete to punch
him in the stomach and point a gun at his head, threatening to kill
Michael, Pete then let's him go and drives off.
Michael then approaches, Roy at his apartment for help, who is initially
reluctant but in the end he invites Michael in so they can talk. Roy
later gives an ultimatum to Pete to back off the Carrs or else he will
go upstairs and tell them what has been going on. Later that night
though, Pete and Roy chase a drug dealer on the streets, Leon (Dino
Anello) back to his apartment where they arrest him. However, Pete
takes his chance to shoot Roy dead and kill Leon to make it look like
Roy shot the dealer in the line of duty.
And its from here Michael turns up the heat on Michael and has him
arrested for drug charges after the police discover a supply of cocaine
at his house and he is put in jail. This allows for Pete to move in on a
distraught and vulnerable Karen, so he can replace Michael as her
partner. And its from here that Michael must try and find a way to get
out of jail and save Karen from the psychopathic Pete...
THOUGHTS
Unlawful Entry might be a somewhat cliched thriller in some ways but
it is still a pretty entertaining and gripping movie and it was yet
another film that capitalised on the concept of the "blank" from hell as
there were already a couple of films that year of the same type with
Single white female featuring the "roommate" from hell and "The hand
that rocks the cradle" the "nanny" from hell. So here we get the
ultimate cop from hell in the seemingly charming and likeable Pete, who
really has a dark side you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of.
PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section will contain spoilers and strong language!)
As for the performances well they are pretty good overall as the film's strong cast all do themselves justice in their roles.
And to start off, Kurt Russell is excellent as Michael Carr, who
befriends Pete after an intruder breaks into Michael and Karen's house,
however its not long before Michael's friendship with Pete turns sour,
as Pete's mental instability soon comes apparent.
Kurt has his share of good moments in the film that include the scene
where Michael admits to Pete that he would like to get revenge over the
intruder that broke into his house. So, Michael tells Pete "I tell you,
I wouldn't mind one more shot at that son of a bitch!" and Pete reacts
surprised saying "Really?" and Michael says "Hell yeah! I'd like to
kick the shit out of him!". Pete says "I'm sure you would?" and Michael
says "Wouldn't you?" and Pete says "Oh, I already know what I would
do. I'm just wondering about a nice civilised guy like you". And
Michael then says "After what he did to Karen, I think all the rules are
out the window. I'd rip his fucking heart out!" and Pete smiles and
says "Michael, you're a scary guy!".
Then there is the scene where Michael returns home after his ride-along
with Pete, which ends on a rather ugly note with Pete brutally beating
up the intruder that broke into the Carr's house. And Michael tells
Karen "I went with the guys on a few calls. Got to watch them be cops.
We dropped Roy off and Pete had a little surprise for me. The guy who
broke in here". Karen then reacts surprised "He caught him?" and
Michael tells her "He did a little more than that" and Karen asks "The
guy's in jail?" and Michael says "Hospital, more likely. I mean he
really beat the living shit out of this guy, which is what I was
supposed to do". And Michael tells Karen "Pete was showing off for me.
He had it all set up, so I could be the big man and nail the guy".
Michael, however clearly unsettled by the night stands silently for a
moment as Karen asks if he is alright and Michael says "I think our cop
friend is a little too tightly wound, that's all".
Another good scene from Kurt is where Michael at his new club, tells
Pete to leave him and Karen alone and not to come around anymore, which
Pete doesn't want to seem to listen to. So, in the scene Michael tells
Pete straight up "Pete. I would like to get something straight here.
I'd like you to leave". However Pete instead insists that he should go
on trying to protect them both as there are more criminals out there and
they are now a target for them. So, Pete says "A friend would be
thanking me" but Michael tells him "I'm not your friend. I'm nothing to
you. You got that? I think you're a sick guy, Pete! I don't want you
around me or my wife!".
So, as Karen suddenly appears, she catches the tail end of their
argument and Michael has to tell her he will be with her in a minute.
However then Pete gives Michael a look and says "What are you gonna do?
Call the cops?" and Michael furiously says "Get the fuck out!" and Pete
says "Lower your voice" but Michael shouts "Fuck you!" and Pete warns him again "Lower your voice" but Michael even angrier shouts "FUCK YOU!!!".
Pete however confidentially says to him of his business investor nearby
"The pigeon's watching. I hope he doesn't fly away on you!" and he
leaves.
Another noteworthy scene is when Michael and Karen have sex in their
bedroom not long after their house alarm went off but they are suddenly
interrupted by Pete, who enters their room and shines his torch at them
before suddenly leaving the room.
So, in the scene Michael furiously gets dressed and storms down the
stairs and yells at Pete "Just what the fuck do you think are you
doing???!" and Pete, who by now is at the front door says "I was
responding to your alarm, Michael". However, Michael is in no mood to
listen and he shouts "Bullshit! You tripped it yourself!" and Pete asks
"What?" and Michael says "And the credit cards and the boot on my car.
You did that, didn't you??!". And as Roy turns up at the front door
and asks what is going on, Pete tells Roy it was a false alarm and
Michael says angrily "False alarm my ass!!".
So, Pete looks up at
Michael and says "I'm as embarrassed about this as you are" but Michael
enraged yells at him "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!!!" so Pete looks
apologetically at Karen instead, who appears on the stair and says "I'm
very sorry, Mrs Carr" before leaving. So, Michael furiously runs up the stairs and says "This son of a bitch
is crazy!" so he runs into the bedroom and dials the phone to talk to
his lawyer, Roger. So, as Michael get's through to Roger he says "Yeah,
Roger. It's Michael. I'm sorry, I know it's late. How do I get a psycho
cop off my back?!!".
Then there is the scene where Michael confronts Karen over her
meeting up with Pete for a coffee, not long after Michael tries to bribe
Pete, which ends badly with Pete threatening to kill him. So, Michael
confronts Karen at her school and asks her "What is going? With you and
Pete?" and Karen says "What are you accusing me of? We had a cup of
coffee, for Christ sakes!" and Michael says "That must have been one hot
cup of coffee!". Karen however insists "If you think anything else
happened then your crazy!" and Michael says "Am I? He just put a gun to
my head" and Karen shocked asks "What?" and Michael again says "Yeah,
he just put a fucking gun to my head! He wants you. He thinks you want
him". Karen then responds surprised "I swear he didn't get any of
those ideas from me!" but Michael says "Well, he didn't pull them out of
the air, Karen! So, what is it? You get off on leading him on? Talking
to him about us? About our marriage? Jesus! I told you he's dangerous.
What's it gonna take? Me in a body bag?!!".
Last of all is the scene where Michael has been arrested and put in jail
for drug charges, as Pete has framed Michael to get him out of the way
so he can have Karen all for himself. So, in the scene Michael lies in
his prison cell and is visited by Pete, who gloats at him for his
predicament. So, Pete says to Michael "I want you to know that she's
gonna be taken care of. I know what Karen needs. And isn't it her
happiness that we both want? If you could find us, why don't you look
us up? I'd love to have you over for a barbecue". And Michael all the
time sits silently, rage boiling inside him and he finally looks Pete
dead in the eye and tells him "If you go near her....I'll kill you!" and
Pete suddenly grins and pretends to be scared and says to him "So,
long, Mikey!".
Ray Liotta next is great in his role as Pete Davis, the psychotic cop, who at first appears charming and befriends the Carr's but its not
long before start to turn ugly as it some becomes evident that Pete is a
psychopath in the making.
And Ray has plenty of good scenes that include the one where Pete takes
Michael out on a ride-along with his partner, Roy and at the end of the
night after Pete drops off Roy, he takes Michael to a hideout where he
finds the intruder that broke into their house.
So, in the scene Pete grabs the intruder, Ernie Pike and slams him
against the passenger window where Michael is sitting in Pete's car.
And Pete says "Michael! Meet Ernie Pike! Come out and ID this piece of
shit!" and Michael get's out the car in surprise, he says "You got
him! That's him!" and Pete then says to Pike "Did you hear that?
You've just been made! You've just been made scumbag!". And as Pike
apologises to Michael, Pete smacks him and says "Fuck off! He doesn't
want to hear you're sorry. He wants to kick your ass! Guess what
scumbag?! I'm gonna let him!". So, Pete turns to Michael and says
"Right, let's go!" and Michael, stunned, asks "Are you serious?" and
Pete says "Yeah! You said you wanted to rip his fuckin heart out,
didn't you?!". Then all of a sudden, Michael feels unsettled as the
reality of the situation hits him and he nervously smiles and says "But,
I mean that was....just talking...".
Pete then grabs Pike by the throat and leads him toward Michael and he
passes his nightstick to him but Michael says "Come on, Pete. You got
him. Nice going, just take him in" but Pete won't back off and says "He
put a knife to Karen's throat. Are you going to let him get away with
that? Come on! Hit the motherfucker! Hit him! Hit him!" but Michael
refuses "Hey, no. I'm not doing this!" and he throws down the
nightstick. However as Michael does so, Pike manages to run off but not
for long as Pete throws his nightstick, which hits Pike in the back and
Pete runs up and starts to mercilessly beat Pike, shouting
"Motherfucker!" but Michael, shocked shouts "Pete! Pete!! Jesus,
that's enough!!" and Pete stops and looks up at Michael with a scary
glare.
Then there is the scene where Pete turns up at Michael's new club at the
opening night and the two of them have a drink but Michael tells him he
wants Pete to leave him and Karen alone. So, in the scene Pete toasts a
drink to Michael "Here's to your club, Michael" and Michael says
"Pete. I want to get something straight here. I want you to leave" and
Pete, surprised says "Michael, what is with you tonight? Why did you
even invite me here?!". However, Michael firmly tells Pete "Telling you
and inviting you are two completely different things!" and Pete says
"Is it because you were up late last night?". And Michael asks "How did
you know that?" and Pete tells him "I drove past your house on patrol
and saw your lights were on. You went to bed after three" but Michael
insists "You don't have to protect us now. You caught him!". However
Pete goes on to say "One guy's caught and you think that's it? You saw
how much evil shit there is out there. What kind of friend would I be if
I didn't try to protect you and Karen?!". Michael now starts to get
angry and says "Goddamn it, you listen to me, cos I'm telling you, leave
us alone!".
Pete then says to Michael "Nobody expects you to be me, I'm a cop. I
make my living tackling guys like Pike. You don't. You needn't be
ashamed!" and Michael asks him "You think that's what this about?" and
Pete says "Yeah. I bet you had one hell of a night last night when you
got home. Juices flowing and everything. A friend would be thanking
me!". But Michael tells him he's not his friend and he thinks he is a
sick guy just as Karen comes over to speak to Michael and he tells her
to give him a minute. So, as Karen leaves, Pete angrily taunts Michael
saying "What are you gonna do? Call the cops?" and Michael furiously
says "Get the fuck out!" and Pete says quietly "Lower your voice!" but
Michael is in no mood and yells louder "FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!!". And
Pete leans in on Michael says "The pigeon's watching. I hope he doesn't
fly away on you!".
Another good scene from Ray is when Michael meets up with Pete in the LA
hills and attempts to bribe him so that he will back off putting
pressure on him with his business partners. However, Pete is not
listening to him and instead says "I used to work these hills. I knew
this lady. She was out walking her little poodle. A coyote comes
charging out, snatches up the poodle and takes off. All we ever found of
that little doggy was its diamond-studded leash. When Karen first met
you, she thought you were different than her gambling father....". And
Michael suddenly reacts surprised, saying "What?" and Pete continues
"It's interesting how people follow patterns. She doesn't feel safe with
you either, Michael. Karen needs to feel protected when those coyotes
come charging out of the brush".
Michael however now is furious again
and he angrily says "Listen. You stay the fuck away from her...!" then
Pete suddenly punches Michael in the gut, who goes down coughing. And
Pete stands over Michael and grabs the back of his head and says "Assaulting a police officer?? A nice
civilised man like you, Michael?!" and Michael gasping says "What are
you gonna do?? Arrest me?" and Pete says "Arrest you?" and takes out his
gun and points it at Michael's cheek and says "...I could kill you!"
and he let's him go and drives off.
Then there is the scene where (SPOILER!!!!) Pete and Roy chase a drug
dealer, Leon, back to his apartment where Roy frisks him and meanwhile
that happens, Pete closes the doors and windows, puts his gloves on and
takes out a sidearm from his leg. Then Pete aims the gun at Roy and
shoots him in the chest and he then gives Leon the gun and says to him
"Take the gun...." and Leon, hysterical shouts "I don't want the gun!!"
but Pete firmly says "Take the gun....! Go!" and Leon takes it and runs
but then Pete grabs Roy's gun and shoots Leon in the back, who falls
down dead. And Pete looks coldly at Leon and says "You killed my
partner, Leon" and he turns and sits down and looks at Roy, who is lying
on the floor, dying from his wounds and Pete coldly says to him "You're
not going upstairs to talk to anyone!" and Roy not long after passes
away.
Then we have the moment where Michael is put in jail for drug possession
after Pete had set him up and Pete visits Michael in jail as he taunts
him about being with Karen. So, Pete says to Michael "Having trouble
making bail, Mike? Money's a little tight, huh? Karen's really upset.
You really shouldn't have done this to her. She's all alone now. But
don't worry, not for long. I want you to know
that she's gonna be taken care of. I know what Karen needs. And isn't it
her happiness that we both want? Hmm? If you could find us, why don't
you look us up? I'd love to have you over for a barbecue". And the
whole time, Michael has been sitting silently in anger and he finally
says to Pete "You go near her....I'll kill you!" and Pete smiles and
pretends to be scared and says to him "So long, Mikey. You look good in
blue!".
And last of all is the scene where Pete and Michael have their climactic
fight scene as they struggle with each other at Michael and Karen's
home and Pete takes the upper hand by hitting Michael in the face with a
frying pan. Then the phone rings and Pete answers it as it is the
security firm that installed the system in the Carr's house, And Pete
pretends to Michael and says "Thank you for calling. I was swinging a
golf club and it went though the... It went through the patio window.
It's OK. There's glass everywhere, but it's OK. Yeah, the password's
pyramid....". However there is a beat then Pete says on the phone ""No.
No, I did not change the password!" and Michael suddenly tells him "I
did!". So, Pete furiously puts the phone down and asks "What's the
password?!" and Michael says to him "Figure it out, asshole....seven
letters! Fuck you!" and he laughs and Pete now filled with rage says
"This is gonna cost you, Michael!".
Madeline Stowe next up is also very good as Karen, Michael's
wife, who Pete ends up falling for and his obsession with her grows as
the film goes on.
And Madeline has some good scenes also that include the one where
Michael comes home from his ride-along with Pete, clearly shaken up by
Pete's psychotic display as he viciously beat up the intruder that broke
into the Carr's home.
So, in the scene Karen asks Michael "Are you sure you're OK? What's the
matter?" and Michael says to her "Just I think our cop friend is a
little too tightly wound that's all" and Karen asks him "Don't you think
you are overreacting a little bit?" and Michael says "Not really".
Karen then says to Michael "You're upset and I understand, but shouldn't
we give him the benefit of the doubt? Maybe he got rough, but you're
acting like Pete's the criminal" and Michael looks at her and says "Am
I? I was there, Karen. I saw it. I don't care what you think. We stay
away from this guy". Karen then becomes annoyed and asks "You don't
care what I think?! Fine. I won't bother thinking!" and Michael says
"Knock it off" and Karen then yells "No, YOU knock it off! I'm sorry,
but I don't share your new found sympathy for the man who broke in here
and put a goddamn knife to my throat, Michael!".
Then there is the scene where Karen and Pete go for a beer at a local
cop bar at lunchtime after Pete gives a talk to the kids at Karen's
school and they discuss Karen's background. And Pete asks in the scene
"How did you and Michael get together?" and Karen says "I was a waitress
in his first club" and Pete, surprised asks "Really? You were a
waitress?" and Karen says "It was my first job". Karen the continues
with her story "It was the first job I ever had. The first one I needed.
We were kind of well off. My father, as it turned out, had sort of
gambling problems. And I, umm... People started coming over and taking
our cars in the night. It was kind of a scary time". And Pete then asks
her "Did Michael take you away from all that?" and Karen says "Things
always came real easy to Michael". Pete then asks a more personal
question "Is that why you married him?" and Karen looks a little taken
aback and says "I married him because I fell in love with him. This
is....I hardly know you and we're talking like this".
And last of all is the scene where Karen and Pete proceed to akwardly
make out, as by this time (SPOILER!) Pete has murdered Karen's friend
and fellow(ess) teacher, Penny and Karen had earlier unwittingly
discovered her dead body and tried to hide her fear from Pete that she
knew. So, in the scene as they make out, Karen feels for Pete's gun,
which he has stuck in the back of his trousers and she finally grabs it
and points it at Pete.
So, Karen in the scene shouts at Pete "Get out!" and Pete asks "What are
you doing?" and Karen shouts "You're a sick FUCKING brutal asshole now GET OUT!!". Pete then walks slowly toward her and says "You're not
gonna kill me..." and Karen says "I swear I'll kill you!" and Pete
continues to advance "You know this is right" he says and Karen yells
"STAY AWAY!!!". And as Pete advances, Karen nervously pulls the trigger
but nothing happens, so Pete says "Do it again!" and Karen pulls the
trigger again and again and its clearly empty, so Pete hits her saying
"You really think I'd give you a fuckin loaded gun, huh?!".
Roger E. Mosley is also pretty good in the film as Roy, Pete's
friend and fellow police officer, who ends up his realising that his
partner also has a screw loose.
I will for time only mention two of Roger's scenes, the first where
Michael approaches Roy at his apartment and asks for his help but Roy at
first is reluctant. So, Michael says to Roy "Office Cole. Your
partner, I went to him. I tried to work things out" and Roy smiles and
says "Didn't you know enough to stay away from him? He's playing you.
Every time you react, it just gets worse". So, Michael says "So, its
cops on one side and everyone else on the other?" and Roy looks at him
and says "Yeah. That's it!". Michael then tells Roy "He threatened to
kill me last night. How should I react to that? If anybody knows this
guy is coming apart, it's got to be you. Come on, man. The guy's after
my wife. I don't know where else to go". Roy however decides to just go
into his apartment and close the door, but a moment later he opens it
again and says to Michael "Come on in".
And lastly there is the scene where Pete and Roy go for a jog together
where Roy warns Pete to back off Michael and Karen, especially Karen,
who Pete believes he is better for her than Michael is.
So, in the scene as the two of them jog together, Pete says "He doesn't
understand. I'm better for her than he is. He doesn't love her. He can't
take care of her the way that I can. She needs it!". Roy however tries
to dissuade Pete and says "What the hell are you going on about? She's
never gonna be yours. You listen to me! Nothing... Nothing is ever going
to happen between you and her. She is some fantasy in your head!".
Pete then says "You don't know what you're talking about!" and Roy says
"I don't huh? You tell me what you were doing with him the other night.
Tell me you didn't stick a gun in his face!" and Pete tries to play his
actions down and says "I was just playing with him!".
Roy then angrily says "I'm not playing with you! You've got to back off
this madness! You've got to put in for stress leave and see a doctor and
get your head straight!". Pete then asks "Or?" and Roy says "Or I will
go upstairs and tell them exactly what is going on with you.
Understand?!" and Pete surprised says "You'd do that?" and Roy answers
"You goddamn right!". Roy then grabs Pete firmly by the arm and says to
him "And if you don't do it in the next 24 hours, that is EXACTLY what I
will do!! Now, you go have coffee with a shrink and it will be all
right. You'll see!" and he pats Pete on the back and starts off his run
again leaving Pete alone to think over what has been said.
Ken Lerner next is also pretty good as Roger, Michael's lawyer, who helps him out to a certain
extent with Michael's problems with Pete.
Ken has a couple of scenes worth mentioning such as the one where Roger
suggests to Michael that he try and bribe Pete to make him back off as
Pete is pressuring Michael's business reputation. And Ken tells Michael
"Your friend, Officer Davis, called Lurie and asked him lots of
questions. How well does he know you? Has he done business with you
before? Lurie's pulling his people out. He thinks you're under
investigation" and Michael angrily says of Pete "This fucker is ruining
me!". Roger then suggests to Michael "You know what this is? Some kind
of cop scam. This putz is just supplementing his lousy income. Pay him
off". And Michael looks incredulously at Roger and says "Roger, as my
lawyer, you are advising me to bribe a police officer???" and Roger says
"No. I'm advising you to donate to the son of a bitch's favorite
charity!".
And lastly there is the scene where Roger meets with Michael while he is
being held in prison for the drug charges (set up by Pete). And Roger
says to Michael "I don't think they'll set bail too high. It's not like
you're a professional dope dealer" and Michael bemused asks
"Professional??" and Roger says "They dredged half a pound of cocaine
out of your house. So, I'd say we've got a problem" and Michael tells
his problem is real simple in that Pete wants him out the way so he can
have Karen.
Roger then says to Michael "Look. This is way over my head. I got in
touch with Sam Gershon. He's the best criminal attorney I know. He'll
represent you at your hearing". Michael then tells Roger "You guys need
to talk to Roy Cole. Davis' partner, Officer Roy Cole. He told me that
if anything else happened, he'd help me out". Roger takes a moment then
tells Michael "Cole's dead. In the line of duty, in a shoot-out. I
talked to his captain" and Michael realises that Pete must have killed
Roy and says to himself "Then he wont stop until he kills me". Michael
then looks at Roger and says "Get me out of here, Roger" and Roger says
"I will. Its all in hand" and Michael firmly says "No, you listen to
me. Just get me out of here!".
And last of all is Deborah Offner as Penny, Karen's friend, who
is also a teacher at Karen's school, who has a thing for Pete although
her affections would never be returned of course!
And Debbie's most notable scene is where Karen sets it up for Pete to
give a talk to the kids at school, which he does so and Karen and Penny
stand up the back of the classroom watching him. And Penny, clearly
into Pete, observes him walk over to a kid in the class who asks to see
his handcuffs and she says quietly to Karen "Do you think I can get him
to use those on me??" who just smiles.
DIRECTOR AND MUSIC
Finally moving onto the director, Jonathan Kaplan does a fine job
here with the film as he keeps the tension and suspense going well
throughout as you get more and more engrossed in watching the Carr's
predicament and Pete's descent into craziness. Kaplan also was known
for having already directed the acclaimed drama, The Accused starring
Jodie Foster, who played a rape victim, so this is a strong follow up
film to that one. Since the late 90's however, Kaplan has mainly been working in TV as a director on such shows as Law and Order.
As for the music, well its a bit of a surprise this one as it was scored by James Horner
but it sounds nothing like a typical Horner scorner as you could
imagine as it is a bit more restrained in its use of orchestrations and
instead makes use of bass, piano and even some synths. Regardless of
that, it is still a pretty good score and it suits the menacing tone of
the film very well and shows once again that Horner was one of the best
composers of his generation, who often produced good work.
FLAWS
As for flaws....yes, Unlawful Entry ain't perfect.
And to kick off, one of the things that bugged me was to do with the
whole idea of Michael and Karen even befriending Pete in the first place
as a police officer coming to their house, to later follow it up with
Pete neatly arranging for the swift installation of a state-of-the-art
security system into their house. It just seemed to be ridiculously
convenient and pat for the purpose of the film that Pete would be so
accessible as a friend to well to-do LA couples! Not only that of
course they invite him to dinner and Pete takes Michael along for the
ride-along at night. It just doesn't smack of reality in a any way to
me and seems pretty daft that a police officer would even get embroiled
with a couple to that extent in the first place!
Further to this point, who would fit the bill for the system here? I mean did Pete maybe pay for it as a gesture of good will or maybe the Carrs did themselves however their finances according to Karen were already looking a bit ropey as she mentions in the film that they are struggling to afford the big house they live in.
The film is also guilty in its use of the typical thriller cliches such
as Pete using his powers as a police officer to stop pretty women for
speeding, such as the one in the film, who he later hooks up with her
for sex, only to then throw her out the car when he realises he wants to
be with Karen instead but can't be. And in that scene Pete tells her
"My only problem is with sleazy lowlife whores like you!" and he throws
her out the car, its a pretty contrived scene in itself.
Then there is of course the whole thing of the dead fake-out of Pete
where (SPOILER!!) in their struggle near the end, Michael punches Pete
down a flight of stairs and he lands heavily on his side, going limp,
and Michael prods at him with Pete's gun, and Pete looks dead only to
spring up alive a few moments later! Its a cliche that's been done to
death in so many thriller films and its a pretty obvious one here.
Another cliche is also of course the whole fake-out of Pete pretending
to go away from the Carr house when he turns up at the locked door with
Penny inside, she is reluctant to let him in, so he leaves some
groceries for her to pick up later. So, Penny does the usual thing of
opening the door to take them in only for Pete to suddenly grab her and
well...you know the rest!
I also thought it was pretty vague as to what Michael's job actually was
in the film also but from what I gather, he was some sort of property
developer as he would invest in doing up new clubs, however this is
never explicitly stated in the film. And this is something of a bugbear
for me in films where character's parts are poorly written in certain
areas and their background of Michael's profession is certainly a bit
ropey here.
And last of all I'd say it was also pretty silly how Roger, Michael's
lawyer, was willing to sell his house just to bail him out of jail. I
mean the guy is a pretty understanding lawyer is all I'm going to say!
Michael of course had extenuating circumstances with his arrest and jail
time but even so, Roger is going homeless for this guy and doing it
rather willingly! You would think as a lawyer he would have a spare 250
grand behind him somewhere! Well...OK maybe not! ;-)
WARNING: BIG SPOILER IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH!
And last last of all you have to wonder how the aftermath of the film would pan out for the Carrs given that Michael shot a police officer dead in his own home not long after being released on bail for drug charges. I mean they could say it was a self defense killing although it was more a rage kill from Michael, who just wanted to put down Peter for good. To be fair though they did have evidence of Pete's psychopathy with the murder of Penny, Karen's friend, so they could back up Pete's behavior with this I guess.
Anyway that's it for the flaws.
SUM UP
So to sum up, Unlawful Entry after 29 years, is still a gripping and
entertaining thriller that is well worth checking out, especially for
the performances of the three leads, who are all strong, particularly
Ray Liotta, who is great as the unhined cop from hell, who stalks the LA
couple. Its a film that of course is guilty of some thriller cliches
and is pretty far fetched at times but if you can put that aside then
there is still plenty to enjoy here in what is a pretty solid early 90's thriller.
So, I will give Unlawful Entry:
8 out of 10
So, that's it for this one and I will be back soon with another post of sorts.
Till the next one, bye for now!
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