At first, Turner seems justified in his actions (that is, before we learn the real reasons behind them). When his two kids, Celia (Regine Nehy) and Marcus (Jaishon Fisher), get an eyeful of the Mattson's enjoying their new pool, Turner becomes very protective of his kids. But it isn't long before he starts to go too far. He alludes to the fact that he doesn't like interracial couples and hints at threats (without really saying anything that could actually get him into trouble). As things heat up between the neighbors, the Mattsons find they don't know what to do. They can't go to the cops because everyone on the force knows Abel and they are new in town. Even their attempts at more passive aggressive tactics (like planting trees between the yards) just escalates Abel's aggression. And when Abel's kids go off to visit his sister-in-law, any inhibitions Abel previously had go out the window.
I have to say, I really enjoyed Jackson's role in this movie. He plays crazy well, and as the movie progresses, that craziness starts off low and almost unnoticed, but by the end of the movie it erupts into a hot flame that could rival the forest fires encroaching on the Lakeview Terrace neighborhood.
Special features are quite plentiful. The Behind-the-Scenes featurettes go into a lot of detail about the making of the movie and are all quite long. I also enjoyed the deleted scenes, but none of them were necessary and I think the movie would have lost something if they were still in, so kudos to the editor for plucking out the weakest parts of the film. And as always, the Blu-ray format does this movie much justice. Not only is the picture crisp, but the surround sound is especially noticeable (especially since there is an almost constant helicopter in the background heading to the aforementioned forest fires).
As far as suspense and thriller movies are concerned, Lakeview Terrace is at least a must see, and for fans of Jackson, a must buy.
