Unlawful Entry

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Unlawful Entry

R

Released Jun 26, 1992

1h 51m

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

75%

Tomatometer

36 Reviews

50%

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5,000+ Ratings

Happily married Michael (Kurt Russell) and Karen Carr (Madeleine Stowe) call the police after a failed robbery. Officer Pete Davis (Ray Liotta) arrives and helps arrange the installation of a new security system. The grateful Carrs have Pete to dinner and strike up a friendship. Pete invites Michael to ride with him during a night's patrol and gives him the chance to beat up the burglar. Michael refuses and tells the disturbed cop to stay away, but Pete begins stalking the terrified couple.

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Critics Consensus

Unlawful Entry may not depict a particularly novel or believable situation, but tense direction and a roundly committed cast make it easy to get caught up in the moment.

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B-

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Jo Berry

Empire Magazine

A wonderfully nasty turn from Liotta, along with a novel treatment of familiar plotlines, elevates Kaplan's effort into the 'must see' category.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 9, 2008

Full Review

Todd McCarthy

Variety

Although it exists primarily to send an audience into a bloodthirsty frenzy and has major credibility problems in the bargain, Unlawful Entry is still a very effective victimization thriller.

Apr 9, 2008

Full Review

Russell Rhodes

Birmingham Mail

Formula but fun.

Dec 14, 2023

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Bob Shelton

Birmingham Post

Well told, if not altogether plausible, Unlawful Entry should give thriller-lovers a pleasant jolt of anxiety.

Dec 14, 2023

Full Review

Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

Easily among the best in its ’90s-stalker subgenre, "Unlawful Entry" finds a way to give people exactly what they want from such a thriller and a sense of understanding its players that they might not expect.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jun 30, 2022

Full Review

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Alain E

Definitely watchable. In my opinion Kurt Russel doesn’t look very likable in this film. The late Ray Liotta on the other hand is believable as a psychopath. Madeleine Stowe contributes to this movie as much as the fat cat; just an accessory.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/13/25

Full Review

Jeff Z

Seen this, Man it's really been 32 years!?!? Time really does fly and Madeleine Stowe is absolutely gorgeous

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/30/24

Full Review

Jeremy A

Pretty good stalker flick. Ray Liotta is great. 4*

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/03/24

Full Review

Farah R

This film had me glued to my seat from start to finish. The pacing and performances were incredible, and the plot was engaging, if somewhat unrealistic.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/14/24

Full Review

Abe A

In the 90s there was a strong fad of movies dealing with obsession. I don't know exactly when it started but it took off with Fatal Attraction (1987) through Basic Instinct (1992). This is one of those movies from that period. None of them except Fatal Attraction were particularly believable. This is an interesting thriller, but obsession--in a setting that's not believable--gets tiresome as a theme, especially when it relieves the screenplay of the requirement for characterization. You could predict where the plot was going--much of it was telegraphed. It's certainly watchable, but not memorable.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/12/24

Full Review

Jelisije J

Two thirds of this movie is well paced and acted, but the third and final act is very rushed to get a typical hollywood movie ending.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/27/24

Full Review

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Jonathan Kaplan

Director

Kurt Russell

Michael Carr

Ray Liotta

Officer Pete Davis

Madeleine Stowe

Karen Carr

Roger E. Mosley

Officer Roy Cole

Ken Lerner

Roger Graham

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Synopsis

Happily married Michael (Kurt Russell) and Karen Carr (Madeleine Stowe) call the police after a failed robbery. Officer Pete Davis (Ray Liotta) arrives and helps arrange the installation of a new security system. The grateful Carrs have Pete to dinner and strike up a friendship. Pete invites Michael to ride with him during a night's patrol and gives him the chance to beat up the burglar. Michael refuses and tells the disturbed cop to stay away, but Pete begins stalking the terrified couple.

Director: Jonathan Kaplan
Producer: Charles Gordon, Joseph Newton Cohen
Screenwriter: George Putnam, John Katchmer, Lewis Colick
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: 20th Century Fox, Largo Entertainment, JVC Entertainment
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 26, 1992, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 6, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $55.9M
Runtime: 1h 51m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, Surround, Stereo

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