Unlawful Entry (1992) - A Review

Michael and Karen Carr’s (Kurt Russell and Madeleine Stowe), tranquil, safe domestic life is upended when a burglar breaks into their home and comes very close to killing Karen. Officer Pete Davis (Ray Liotta) arrives on the scene. He’s compassionate, reassuring and even helps the Carrs set up a security system in their home. This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Well, not so fast! This is the 1990s and during this time n the thriller genre, everyone new that comes into your life is a potential psycho stalker. And that’s exactly who Office Davis is!

Psycho killer stalkers were everywhere in the 1990s! It didn’t seem like you could trust anyone! You always had to worry that someone, somehow could pose a threat and unleash a relentless attack of harassment on you, dismantle your life and ultimately try to kill you. These dangers came in all forms of persons – nannies, roommates, tenants, spouses, fans, mothers, exes, cable guys and in Unlawful Entry‘s case, it’s an unhinged cop!

Unlawful Entry follows the standard ‘Stalker Movie Blueprint’ we’re all familiar with. Liotta makes a fine first impression – Hey, this guys seems like a really nice guy! But then slowly overtime his personable demeanor starts to wither away and he becomes more and more overbearing on the life of the Carrs. His presence is no longer welcome and he doesn’t appreciate that rejection at all. We learn this guy is clearly unhinged. Harassment begins, he sets out to destroy their cushy suburban existence, but there’s no evidence or anything the Carrs can do to get this ‘psycho cop’ off their back!

As the tension wire is rolled to its maximum amount, we finally get a suspenseful and violent climax that involves peeking in showers, cut phone lines, running around the house, grabbing of knifes, cars racing to the rescue, brutal fights and a full blown relapse of aggression as the characters scramble to grab a gun to end this nightmare.

It might be by the numbers, but Unlawful Entry was a hit when it released in theaters. The timing of the films release was ill-timed with the Rodney King riots fresh on the country’s mind. The film even makes a sly reference to how Russell has no video proof of Liotta’s misdeeds (“Everyone has videotape nowadays”). Director Jonathan Kaplan had edited down one scene due to it.

Audiences enjoyed it, Kaplan was patted on the back for grounding his thriller with some realism and crafting some tense sequences. The three lead performances were praised overall, particularly Liotta who got nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for his performance. Those MTV Awards carried some cache for a brief time.

As by the numbers as it all plays, Unlawful Entry is an entertaining addition to the ‘stalker’ genre. That ‘crazy psycho stalker wave’ concept kept on being recycled since 1987’s Fatal Attraction through most of the 1990s.

The three stars are all very good. Liotta plays a wonderful bad guy. One minute smiling and the next beating the pulp out of some suspect. Russell was excelling at being the ‘everyman’ in thrillers at this point. There’s no bravado like he showed in Escape From New York or Big Trouble in Little China. He’s more the Russell from Breakdown and Executive Decision. He’s an average everyman who’s fuming at his core, trying to hold it together, but feels utterly helpless as Liotta dismantles his entire life.

Stowe was a stunning leading lady. I sometimes forget just how prolific she was. You can see why Liotta would immediately set his sights on her after seeing her that first night being called to the break in.

It doesn’t get too over-the-top. Liotta coldly threatening Russell putting a gun to his face is really all you need to make a tense scene. Of course, you’ll be watching and wondering, “Well, what would I do in this situation?”. And the film does a nice job of cornering the poor Carr’s into a pretty helpless situation dealing with this guy.

It’s not a required watch, but if you’re in the mood for a safe, standard 90s thriller Unlawful Entry delivers. It’s also a nice reminder of a time when Liotta could give a great villainous performance, when Russell was the beleaguered everyman and Stowe was the popular and prolific leading lady for a period of time.