Unlawful Entry (1992) Review:

It's hard not to find Kurt Russell doing very tense thriller movies. This movie, Breakdown (1997) and The Mean Season (1985) just to name a few. Personally, The Mean Season (1985) was his best because it was well rounded in every aspect of the story. This movie too, has a lot of tense moments, if not unpleasant but I can't help but feel that there were parts that could have been improved.

Mrs. & Mr. Carr (Stowe & Russell)

The film itself actually displayed a comparison between its plot line and the one of The Cable Guy (1996). But there are key moments that make this thriller better than Jim Carrey's dark comedy. After having their house broken into, Michael Carr (Kurt Russell) and his wife (Madeleine Stowe) decide to have a security system put into their home. Fortunately, they have Peter Davis (Ray Liotta), a local cop who's generous enough to have it done for them with no charge. Or so they think.

Turns out, it’ll charge them more than they’ll be able to handle. The personality of Mr. Davis is almost identical to the character of "The Cable Guy". They're both lonely individuals who just want attention, but go about it in the creepiest and most dangerous ways possible. Davis has some serious mental problems that need to be addressed. Of course, this never is taken care of otherwise, this "thriller" movie would not be as tense as it's claimed to be. Soon things start heading downhill when Davis tries getting close to Mrs. Carr. Carr's credit cards start maxing out, he gets a fine for something he never did, and then ends up being jailed for a crime he was set up on. Sound familiar?

The differences in this comparison are that Carrey is just an obnoxious maniac who just likes screwing up everyone's day. Liotta is a deadly killer, trained in the art of killing. The other contrast is that either situation could happen in real life, but, it's more likely that a case like this occurs involving a violent killer, and not some loony cable installer. So in a sense, the plot hits closer to home because it involves the home directly. A place where everyone lives in the real world.



Ray Liotta as the mentally disturbed Peter Davis

The acting is good too. Russell is believable as usual as is Stowe. Liotta looks like he prepared for his role in this film. His eyes reveal on screen very quickly that his character practically has no soul or conscious. He's that serious. But I am a bit puzzled on a specific detail. Davis had a partner, Roy Cole (Roger E. Mosely), which specifically stated by him for being with him for 7 years. What made Davis crack now? Was he that good at hiding his sick nature for all those years? Or was Cole just extremely oblivious?
My other complaint personally is that I really enjoyed the theme composer James Horner had for the film, but there wasn't enough in beginning of the first couple acts. It wasn't until about halfway through I actually heard creepy tunes being played. And Horner is a guy I like too. After producing other soundtracks with such iconic tones like Glory (1989) and The Rocketeer (1991), I thought I would also find it in this film too. Well my ears didn't totally get what they wanted to hear. Come on Horner!

The main plot is a Xerox copy to that of The Cable Guy (1996), except Liotta's character for being so unforgiving and creating very tense scenes. Besides some minor drawbacks, this thriller is plausible.

Points Earned --> 8:10