Unlawful Entry (1992)

A burglar holds a knife to Karen's throat while her husband does nothing. The couple ends befriending the cop that comes. The friendship ends when the cop beats up the culprit. Karen isn't ready to end it. Things get ugly with the cop.

Director:

Jonathan Kaplan

Writers:

George Putnam (story) (as George D. Putnam), John Katchmer (story)

Stars:

Kurt Russell, Ray Liotta, Madeleine Stowe

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kurt Russell	...	Michael Carr
Ray Liotta	...	Officer Pete Davis
Madeleine Stowe	...	Karen Carr
Roger E. Mosley	...	Officer Roy Cole
Ken Lerner	...	Roger Graham
Deborah Offner	...	Penny, Karen's Friend
Carmen Argenziano	...	Jerome Lurie
Andy Romano	...	Capt. Russell Hayes
Johnny Ray McGhee	...	Ernie Pike
Dino Anello	...	Leon, the Dealer
Sonny Carl Davis	...	Neighbor Jack
Harry Northup	...	McMurtry, Desk Sergeant
Sherrie Rose	...	Girl in Jeep
Alicia Ramirez	...	Taco Stand Worker
Ruby Salazar	...	Rosa, the Hooker

Storyline

After a break-in at their house, a couple gets help from one of the cops that answered their call. He helps them install the security system, and begins dropping by on short notice and unofficial patrol, and spends a lot of time discussing the couple's problems with the wife. The husband begins wondering if they're getting too much help.

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Plot Keywords:

police officer | house | police | suburb | pet cat | 

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Taglines:

Desire, passion, lust... It's a deadly game of obsession.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for terror and violence, and for sexuality and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The name of the police force was the Los Angeles Police Department. Their motto and date of inception, as seen in the movie on a police vehicle, is "to serve and protect" being founded in 1781. In reality, the motto of the LAPD is "To Protect and to Serve" and was founded around 1853-1869.

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Quotes

Michael Carr: I think our cop friend is a little too tightly wound.

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Alternate Versions

The Indian theatrical version made cuts by the CBFC to remove...

• Reduce by 50% the visuals of love making in car by the police officer and the prostitute especially deleting the visuals of bare breasts and movements (Length Retained: 22.00 ft).
• Reduce by 50% the visuals of love making by couple in the bathroom by deleting the visuals of lifting of gown and putting his head on belly (Length Retained: 18.00 ft.)
• Reduce by 50% the visuals of love making by couples especially deleting the total nudity and copulation (Length Retained: 20.00 ft.) ...for an 'A' (restricted to adults) certificate.

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Connections

Referenced in Clerks (1994)

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Soundtracks

JUST A LITTLE DREAM
Written and Performed by Eddie Palmieri
Courtesy of Intuition Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Excellent creepy suspense thriller

Unlawful Entry is a tense, uncomfortable home invasion thriller where the intruder is the one person who should protect you from that sort of thing: a police officer. It's a perfect concept for a thriller and here its executed to spine tingling effect, through great performances and an intimately hair raising atmosphere. Kurt Russell and Madeleine Stowe play a well to do yuppie couple whose house is broken into by a petty thief one night. The officer who answers their call the next day (Ray Liotta) is friendly, helpful and goes out of his way to ensure that a security system is installed and that they feel safe. His kindness takes a creepy turn though, when he sets his sights on beautiful Stowe, Russell's wife. He gets scarier and scarier, eventually becoming totally unhinged and zoning right in on her with volatile lust and unhealthy sociopathic obsession that tears all three lives apart. Liotta is scary good, and his eerie transformation from likable upstanding guy to violent stalker madman is something from a nightmare. Some scenes are downright nasty to keep your eyes on, and you really feel sick watching Stowe get exposed to this cruelty. She's darkly radiant as always though, and Russell shows fear and fury in an awesome role that isn't an easy one to play. Domestic thrillers are a dime a dozen, and often can descend into seedy melodrama, but this one takes the high road and uses genuine skill and well orchestrated tension to glue us in our seats.

Details

Country:

Japan USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

26 June 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Unlawful Entry

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,067,609, 28 June 1992

Gross USA:

$57,138,719

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$57,138,719

Company Credits

Production Co:

Largo Entertainment, JVC Entertainment Networks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min 111 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1