SummaryA 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.
Directed By:Jonathan Kaplan
Written By:George Putnam, John Katchmer, Lewis Colick
Unlawful Entry
Metascore
Generally Favorable
61
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.3
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
65% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
31% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
91
Unlawful Entry is a heck of a nail-biting suspense piece, and a surprisingly intelligent movie about the paradox of police brutality. [26 June 1992]
80
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. Strongly following the "Fatal Attraction" pattern--to the point of having a very similar climax--well-crafted concoction trades in the sorts of elemental concerns and fears that get people mightily worked up. This, combined with controversy pic may engender based on its prominent plot element of excessive police violence, gives it the potential to become a summer sleeper hit.
75
The acting is consistently good, with Liotta, in particular, creating a masterful portrait of implacable, blue-eyed terror--a man equally at ease explaining his vocation to a class of schoolkids ("I'm here to be your friend") as staging a cold-blooded murder. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.
67
Oddly enough, Unlawful Entry can keep you from sleeping but when you wake up the next moring, it's hard to remember much about the movie.
60
Unlawful Entry manages to be more gripping than it is convincing, thanks to the story's inevitable movement toward a violent showdown.
50
By the time the boundaries between innocence and injuriousness have been drawn, it is apparent that the film could greatly benefit from more doubt than certainty.
38
The script is too eager to rush to the high-concept payoff without providing dramatic or characterizational underpinning. [26 June 1992, p.34]
User score
Universal Acclaim
80% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
20% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Jun 2, 2021
10
Unlawful Entry was a film I heard of in the 90's around about the same time I heard of Executive Decision which surprisingly enough also stars Kurt Russell. This was around the time I first viewed it and years later have watched it over and over on numerous occasions and still has an impact and authority about it as a thriller. Through all the thrillers out there even Fatal Attraction this belongs in the classics section but it's a film shoved in the corner these days and forgotten..... Unlawful Entry is a film made in 1992 and stars Kurt Russell, Madeleine Stowe and Ray Liotta, after a break in on the Carr's family home Mr and a Mrs Carr played by Kurt Russell and Madeleine Stowe get the police in and befriends one of the cops, this being Ray Liotta's character and he genuinely seems to want to help, do his job and look out for the couple but after Ray Liotta's police character catches the guy who broke into the Carr's home and beats the living daylights out of him Kurt Russell thinks he's just a sick guy and wants him to stay away from him and his wife. Ray Liotta's police character in the film slowly starts getting psychopath and falling for Kurt Russell's wife but she has no idea until later in the film. Ray Liotta tries to get rid of her husband at all costs to replace him as husband and it has a great climax, suspense, some scenes of sex, violence, bad language and tension... UNLAWFUL ENTRY has everything a good thriller should have and an excellent performance from Ray Liotta who steals the show. For a once straight cop turned movie villain you get so much entertainment and satisfaction from Unlawful Entry so check this excellent film out that delivers in all areas and has twists.
