Unlawful Entry Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		2.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Unlawful Entry Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf February 29, 2024

1992’s “Unlawful Entry” represents director Jonathan Kaplan’s return to the exploitation offerings of his early career. Receiving respect and professional opportunities in Hollywood after the success of 1988’s “The Accused,” Kaplan burned off most of this goodwill with the 1989 misfire, “Immediate Family,” forcing him to find material with a little more box office potential. And nothing was hotter than psychological thrillers focusing on unhinged people targeting suburban citizens. Screenwriter Lewis Colick (“The Dirt Bike Kid,” “Flamin’ Hot”) looks to serve up some disturbing material with “Unlawful Entry,” which touches on sexual obsession and police corruption, giving Kaplan plenty to work with as he develops screen tension. Unfortunately, the helmer only finds modest inspiration for the endeavor, which begins with a bang and ends with tedious formula, ruining a feature that works well when dealing with sinister business.

When a burglar invades their suburban Los Angeles home, club owner Michael (Kurt Russell) and his schoolteacher wife, Karen (Madeline Stowe), are left rattled and paranoid, leaning on reassurance from friendly cop Pete (Ray Liotta). However, as their relationship forms beyond the criminal incident, Michael becomes aware that Pete would like Karen all to himself, soon forced to navigate a series of villainous tactics designed to disparage his good name and keep him behind bars. With the L.A.P.D. turning their back on his pleas for help, Michael finds himself alone and outgunned, fearing for Karen’s safety as Pete rapidly loses connection to reality.

“Unlawful Entry” builds a realistic breaking point for Michael, who’s a struggling man of real estate working on his latest project. The business has him easily irritated and overwhelmed by stress, making the break-in all the harder to process. The writing teases a more extensive understanding of manliness, as Michael’s masculinity takes a hit with the home invasion, unable to protect his loved one. He also watches Pete take care of business with authority, marveling over his car and job, which gives Russell something to work with. Pete is also an interesting character, sparked to life by lust and absolutely determined to wedge himself between the couple, slowly losing touch with reality as he manages to capture, for a few encounters, Karen’s undivided attention.

There’s terrific illness in “Unlawful Entry,” watching Pete become lost in his fantasy, using his resources to ruin Michael as a way to get him out of the picture. The feature hits some sickening moments of shock as Michael gradually understands what’s happening when his car is booted and the household alarm system is tampered with. For 85 minutes, Kaplan absolutely nails the menacing atmosphere of the movie, urging Liotta to wind himself up into a delusional fury (perhaps having to bark at another female character named Karen during his career was ample motivation), while Russell delivers a wonderfully composed whimper, exploring levels of powerlessness and cowardice. The director does a spectacular job tightening the noose, creating toxic tension between Michael and Pete as social pleasantries melt away to reveal utter disgust -- a disturbance milked to satisfaction by the screenplay, which serves up all types of public and private humiliations and dangers for the man of the house, successfully pushing him out of view. “Unlawful Entry” does a tremendous job provoking the viewer with crude elements of bullying, hinting that the resolution of this story will retain its interest in manipulation games between the men and their shared interest in Karen.

Unlawful Entry Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation doesn't offer a fresh scan for "Unlawful Entry." In fact, what's provided here looks incredibly old, possibly dating back to the DVD days. There's little to no fine detail, with heavy filtering present, turning most of the screen players into waxy figures of agitation. Skin particulars are gone outside of extreme close-ups. A softer look at interiors is provided, losing some feel for decorative additions and household textures. Exteriors are mildly dimensional, but rarely distinct. Color is flat and slightly muddy, only really registering primary power on signage and lighting. Skintones run reddish at times. Delineation is passable. Source is in decent condition.

Unlawful Entry Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix maintains a more immediate listening experience. Dialogue exchanges are crisp and emotive, and more volatile situations remain balanced. Scoring enjoys clear instrumentation and volume, with musical moods pushing out into the surrounds. Atmospherics are milder but appreciable, and sound effects are sharp, with some brief panning events. Low-end does well with violent activity and dance club visits.

Unlawful Entry Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features director Jonathan Kaplan.

• "Unrestrained Realism" (28:27, HD) is a video conference interview with director Jonathan Kaplan, who identifies his labor on 1983's "Heart Like a Wheel" as a turning point, allowing him to get away from genre work. The helmer's evolution continued with 1987's "Project X," which offered him a shot to collaborate with animals and composer James Horner, building a creative relationship. For "Unlawful Entry," Kaplan discusses script changes to intensify the relationships in the feature, and casting is highlighted, with the production finding their way to Kurt Russell after other choices walked away. More tales from the film are shared, with the interviewee discussing the speed of the shoot, rehearsal time, Russell's refusal to do nudity, and the studio's commitment to making a "Fatal Attraction"-style picture, which gifted Kaplan an opportunity to generate some Hitchcockian moves of his own.

• "Too Tightly Wound" (17:41, HD) is a video conference interview with director of photography Jamie Anderson, who charts the growth of his career, previously working with director Jonathan Kaplan and actor Kurt Russell, forming a creative relationship with the pair. The interviewee discusses his approach to covering the house location, and time around Los Angeles is highlighted, making use of unique areas and buildings. Lighting choices are identified, including time working with the natural glow of the city. Shot choices are also deconstructed, finding Kaplan aiming to bring visual tension to the endeavor.

• "Symphonic Intruder: Inside the Thriller Scores of James Horner" (18:49, HD) is an appreciation piece from Daniel Schweiger.

• Vintage Making-Of Featurette (4:35, SD) is a brief promotional offering, with cast and crew interviews exploring the plot and characters of "Unlawful Entry," selling its thriller elements. Some BTS footage is included as well.

• T.V. Spots (1:09, SD) offer two commercials for "Unlawful Entry."

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:45, SD) is included.

Unlawful Entry Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Unlawful Entry" comes crashing down in the final act, finding Kaplan going from an unnerving game of escalation to something more in step with slasher cinema. It's a big situation of attack-and-survive for the characters, replacing bits of nuance with a crowd-pleasing ending that feels like a sledgehammer, successfully dumbing down the feature to make sure it's met with approval by all audiences. The film was certainly not on a path to becoming some sort of classic, but as these types of cinematic intimidation games go, Kaplan finds a way to create unease, especially when dealing with police brutality and abuses of power. But all of that is lost in the end, with the picture handed a "Fatal Attraction"-style makeover. It certainly hurts "Unlawful Entry," which deserved a finale as devious as the rest of the movie.