Lakeview Terrace (2008) More at IMDb Pro »

Samuel L. Jackson has been in over 100 movies and proved himself as an entertainment icon. He has played both heroes and villains with charismatic gusto and rampant enthusiasm. In Lakeview Terrace he portrays the primary antagonist Abel Turner with a truly gleeful menace, but unfortunately the screenwriters have allotted such an elaborate back-story and copious amounts of piteous moments to this vicious manipulator that it's very evident the audience is supposed to sympathize with him. Herein lies the problem as Turner's descent into madness becomes so psychotic that such empathy is quickly lost.

When interracial couple Chris (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa Mattson (Kerry Washington) move to an idyllic suburban neighborhood, they hope for peace, quiet, and a fresh start on building a family. What they don't expect to find is their racist, sarcastic, condescending, ruthless, grammatically correct and politically incorrect next door neighbor Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson) – who also happens to be a cop. With the law on his side and a sadistic grudge in his heart, Turner sets about antagonizing the Mattsons with increasingly violent tactics. Having nowhere to turn and an understandable obstinacy, Chris and Lisa fight back with mind games and diversionary methods, but little do they know the monster they've unleashed inside the unstable police officer…

Sometimes it's hard to root for the "good guy." It's even harder when the antagonist is portrayed in such a way that the audience is supposed to sympathize with him. Lakeview Terrace does just that by offering us the full spectrum of disgruntled police officer Abel Turner's life, complete with two children and the stresses of his day job. We're given such an involving examination of his daily predicaments and hardships that we feel obligated to provide our empathy. Too bad he's a complete psycho and his ability to think rationally is rapidly disappearing. As the story veers towards its inevitable conclusion, the full weight of the situation dawns on us, but the film conveniently ends before the real tragedy surfaces, leaving the audience to ponder who, if anyone, actually triumphed from the whole calamitous confrontation.

While Samuel L. Jackson is entertaining in just about everything he's in (entertaining, not exceptional) Lakeview Terrace runs dry with both its lengthy duration and the fact that its storyline is almost identical to 1992's Unlawful Entry. It's a mortifying thought to be unable to turn to the police for help – unfortunately we've already been through that fear with Kurt Russell and an equally impressive Ray Liotta in Jackson's role. Granted that Unlawful Entry is relatively obscure, but originality points still can't be rewarded. Additionally, the film includes so many unnecessary subplots that the audience practically begs for the drawn-out conclusion – repeatedly pounding themes into the viewer's mind accounts for frustration, not character development. Plus, many of the subplots are left unresolved or purposely forgotten in the hopes that the audience will focus squarely on the crisis at hand, but they still linger after both the expected conclusion and the rolling credits. Lakeview Terrace does provide thrilling moments and a villain who loves his merciless taunts, but contemplate the real value of the lessons learned and you might negate the fun you've had.

- The Massie Twins