Where do you go when the danger you face is at the hands of the same person meant to protect you — who believes you when your aggressor belongs to a class of people trusted by default?Unlawful Entry, a 1992 thriller starringKurt Russell,Ray Liotta, andMadeleine Stowe, explores these questions througha gut-wrenching,sickly eroticnarrative of power and possession.Russell and Stowe star as a married couple, Michael and Karen Carr, who are haunted by a break-in. Their lives, whether they want it or not, will become entangled with Liotta’s Pete Davis, a police officer who responds to the heinous crime. Whatinitially seems like kindness and affability from Pete soon bleeds intoobsession and entitlement.And because of this, the very lives of the Carr couple hang in the balance.
‘Unlawful Entry’ Sees Kurt Russell Play Against Type
Part of the brilliance ofUnlawful Entryis the way itplays with audience preconceptions to enhance the tense atmosphereof the film.Kurt Russell, an actor often type-cast as gruff, strong,violence-capable menin films likeThe ThingandEscape From New York,is cast in this filmas ayuppieLos Angeles club owner.A consistent theme for his character is the insecurity he feels as a man unable to protect his wife. This first manifests when a burglar holds her at gunpoint,but worsens throughout the filmas Pete Davis inserts himself into the Carrs' lives.
Watching Micheal flounderas he tries desperately to remove Pete from his lifeis especially nerve-wracking foraudiences familiar with Kurt Russell’s career.Released in 1992, during the heyday of Russell’s prime as a leading man, the audience most likely entered the filmexpecting Micheal to leap into action.But this Michael Carr is notSnake Plissken—he doesn’t work in a career that requires violence, and he isn’t in an industry that rewards machismo.He tries to protect his wife, but is understandably uncertainhow to act in emergencies and upset by violence.
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These action-packed team-ups are downright heart-pounding.
When Pete captures the burglar who originally broke into the Carr’s house and threatened Karen,he gives Michael theopportunity to enact revenge.Though Michael talked a big game about wanting to beat the daylights out of whoever hurt his wife,he’s completely disturbed by the idea of enacting violence on someone who can’t fight back.Michael’s refusal to be the same kind of gruff, violent man Kurt Russell is often cast ascauses a rift in his marriage to Karen— this isn’t helped by the fact that later, Pete lies to Karen about what happened to make himself seem better. But the other undeniable part is that Davis,through his violence, represents a kind of masculine idealto both the Carrs. Pete Davis is at once a creepy, alien invader into Michael’s marriage to Karen,but also the living embodiment of everything Michael fails to be.
Kurt Russell Isn’t Even the Best Part of ‘Unlawful Entry'
Ray Liotta,with his terrifying, off-putting performance,is undeniably the real star ofUnlawful Entry.A powerhouse of terror, his villainous portrayal has a notable narcissistic undertone to it. When the film begins, it’s easy to see why the Carrs trust Pete Davis, that is, until the mask begins to slip. He’s happy to play friends with both the Carrs when they play along, but when Michael realizes Pete Davis is aviolent, ill-tempered manipulator,Pete sets his sights on replacing Michael entirely.Police proceduralsare notorious for framing the rules police are expected to follow as needless red tape that gets in the way of justice, butRay Liotta really plays into just how terrifying it is whena cop actually does cross the line.Pete Davis takes his abundance of anger out on criminals, which is in and of itself horrific, but he also constructs criminality where there is noneto justify the violence he wants to commit against innocent people.
At one point in the film, Michael tries to kick Pete out of an event he’s hosting, but Pete only grins at Michael’s frustration and anger, relishing in taunting him. And it isthis vulnerability the Carrs experience as civilians who are not privy to the privileges of law enforcementthat iscentral to the unerring anxietyofUnlawful Entry. Pete holds this simmering resentment towards the world for being wary of him because he’s a violent cop,yet he believes his position as a police officer entitles himto stalk and possess the Carrs. And the scary thing is,within the world ofUnlawful Entryand, perhaps our own,his mindset may not be too uncommon.
Unlawful Entry
A couple’s life turns into a nightmare after they become the target of a corrupt cop obsessed with the wife. As his fixation escalates, the couple must fight to escape his increasingly dangerous and violent advances.
Unlawful Entryis available to stream on Tubi in the U.S.
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