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Unlawful Entry

Play trailer Poster for Unlawful Entry R 1992 1h 51m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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75% Tomatometer 36 Reviews 50% Popcornmeter 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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Unlawful Entry

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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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Critics Reviews

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Jo Berry Empire Magazine 04/09/2008
4/5
A wonderfully nasty turn from Liotta, along with a novel treatment of familiar plotlines, elevates Kaplan's effort into the 'must see' category. Go to Full Review
Todd McCarthy Variety 04/09/2008
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. Go to Full Review
Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader 04/09/2008
Neither Lewis Colick's script nor Jonathan Kaplan's direction is quite as streamlined as it could be, but you certainly get a run for your money. Go to Full Review
Russell Rhodes Birmingham Mail 12/14/2023
Formula but fun. Go to Full Review
Bob Shelton Birmingham Post 12/14/2023
Well told, if not altogether plausible, Unlawful Entry should give thriller-lovers a pleasant jolt of anxiety. Go to Full Review
Nick Rogers Midwest Film Journal 06/30/2022
3.5/5
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. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Alain E @AlainE Mar 13 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. See more Jeff Z 10/30/2024 Seen this, Man it's really been 32 years!?!? Time really does fly and Madeleine Stowe is absolutely gorgeous See more Jeremy A 10/03/2024 Pretty good stalker flick. Ray Liotta is great. 4* See more Farah R @Farah 08/14/2024 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. See more Abe A 02/12/2024 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. See more Jelisije J @jjosifovic 01/27/2024 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. See more Read all reviews
Unlawful Entry

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Movie Info

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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