Unlawful Entry is a 1992 American psychological thriller film directed by Jonathan Kaplan, and starring Kurt Russell, Madeleine Stowe and Ray Liotta.[2]
The film involves a couple who befriend a lonely policeman, only for him to develop an unrequited fixation on the wife, leading to chilling consequences. The movie received generally positive reviews especially for Ray Liotta's performance who was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain in 1993 for his portrayal of the psychopathic cop.[3] The film was remade in Bollywood as Fareb in 1996.
Plot[]
One night, an intruder enters Michael and Karen Carr's upscale Los Angeles home. Karen is briefly taken hostage at knifepoint before the burglar escapes. Police arrive and one officer, Pete Davis, takes an extra interest in their case due to their considerate approach. He later cuts through departmental red tape and helps install a security system in their house. Appreciating Pete's assistance, the Carrs befriend him. Pete, who is envious of Michael's role as an upper class citizen and husband, while instantly attracted to Karen, accepts their offer to be a security consultant.
When Michael expresses interest in getting revenge on the intruder, Pete invites him on a ride-along with him and his partner, Roy Cole. After dropping Cole off, Pete reveals he has arrested the burglar who invaded the Carrs' house. He offers Michael an opportunity to retaliate for the attack on Karen. Michael declines, who admits he wasn't serious about personally taking revenge, but Pete becomes insistent and demanding. When the burglar attempts escape, Pete brutally beats him before Michael orders him to stop, much to Pete's confusion.
Distrusting Pete's emotional instability and overprotective behavior, Michael implores Karen to avoid him, though Karen believes Michael is overreacting. When Pete arrives at Michael's club, Michael condemns Pete's behavior and demands he stay away from him and Karen, which results in Pete being furious and feeling betrayed, as he believed he was sincerely helping Michael. After Pete unsuccessfully attempts to cope via sex with a random woman, Pete invites Karen for coffee in an attempt to connect to her and begins intruding in her marriage with Michael, believing that Michael is too weak and cowardly to stand up for Karen.
Having become jealous and bitter over Michael's rejection of their short-lived friendship, Pete harasses him by damaging his finances, and breaks into their house at night. When Michael files a complaint against Pete's behavior, Pete uses his police connections to destroy Michael's business reputation, encountering bemused apathy from his own LAPD superiors. Advised by his lawyer, Michael tries bribing Pete with $5000 and apologizes for his rejection, but Pete rejects Michael's offer and reveals his obsession with Karen, while declaring he would rather kill Michael than arrest him. Michael warns Karen about Pete's obsession and demands she stay away from him. When Michael turns to Roy Cole for help, Cole orders his partner to seek psychiatric help or be suspended. Instead, Pete murders Cole, by blaming it on a known criminal and then plants [cocaine in the Carrs' house to frame Michael, enabling him to pursue Karen. Jeopardizing his attorney's finances, Michael resolves to get out on bail and handle matters himself.
Back at the Carr house, Karen awakens to find Pete, rather than her friend, Penny, cooking breakfast. After Pete declares he loves Karen, she discovers Penny's corpse. Karen pretends she loves Pete to confiscate his gun. Karen attempts to shoot him, but the gun is empty. Dismissing her as worthless, an enraged Pete attempts to rape her but fails. After finding his police car vandalized, he realizes that Michael has returned home. The couple attempt escape, but while Karen hides in the bathroom, Pete attacks Michael and accidentally alerts the security company. Posing as Michael on the phone, Pete attempts to cancel the emergency response, but gives the wrong security code, unaware Michael changed it. Pete threatens to kill Michael unless Karen escapes with him, but Karen strikes Pete in the face, allowing Michael to knock him down the stairs.
While waiting for police to arrive, Pete regains consciousness as Michael holds him at gunpoint. Pete, convinced Michael will not shoot him, tauntingly asks Michael if he'll arrest him, unknowingly asking the same question Michael asked him in their earlier confrontation. To Pete's shock, Michael chooses to shoot him to death, and he and Karen then go outside to await police.
Cast[]
- Kurt Russell as Michael Carr
- Madeleine Stowe as Karen Carr
- Ray Liotta as Officer Pete Davis
- Roger E. Mosley as Officer Roy Cole
- Ken Lerner as Roger Graham
- Deborah Offner as Penny, Karen's Friend
- Carmen Argenziano as Jerome Lurie
- Andy Romano as Capt. Russell Hayes
- Harry Northup as McMurtry, Desk Sergeant
- Sherrie Rose as Girl in car
- Myim Rose as Layla
- Tony Longo as Big Anglo
- Djimon Hounsou as Prisoner on Bench
- Dick Miller as Impound Clerk
References[]
- ↑ Unlawful Entry. Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ Maslin, Janet (June 26, 1992). Unlawful Entry (1992) Review/Film; An Officer Too Involved in His Work. The New York Times.
- ↑ "Ray Liotta: 10 Roles That Made Him a Great, Irreplaceable Actor". Rolling Stone. May 26, 2022. Archived from the original on June 7, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.