Chris (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa Mattson (Kerry Washington) are young and in love and have just purchased a beautiful home in Los Angeles, having moved from Chicago. Did I mention Chris is white and Lisa is black? They think they've moved into the perfect neighborhood in Lakeview Terrace, but really, they've just purchased a ready-made nightmare. Their next door neighbor is Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson), who at first seems like an over-active neighborhood watch type. He has lots of bright lights on his house and he makes a nightly patrol of the neighborhood. He also doesn't approve of Chris being married to hottie Lisa and makes no attempts to mask his contempt. To further enrage him, when Lisa and Chris decide to christen the swimming pool and Abel's kids get a gander, he blows a gasket and things really escalate.
Instead of feeling lucky they live next door to a policeman, Chris and Lisa begin to feel threatened and have nowhere to turn. He shines the bright spotlights into their bedroom, cuts down the trees they plant to shield their home from his watchful eyes, and even begins to threaten them personally. As Chris and Lisa get to a breaking point, so does Abel and the explosive showdown is quite intense, set to a backdrop of a deadly raging wildfire that threatens the entire neighborhood.
Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington have decent chemistry as the Mattson couple, but the shining star in this film is definitely Samuel L. Jackson. The man just knows how to play crazy. He'll be absolutely insane and then flash that winning smile and you have to wonder if he's not joking after all. But, of course, he's dead serious, emphasis on the "dead" part. Old school Barney Miller fans will also enjoy seeing Ron Glass as Lisa's disapproving father. Glass has class, always has.
As for special features, there's the standard commentary with the cast and director, a handful of deleted scenes with commentary, but the three featurettes covering story, casting and production are fairly deep and lengthy. I really enjoyed them and it was interesting to hear how they brought this story to life. As for the deleted scenes, they are worth watching, but I was glad they were cut from the film as they didn't really add anything.
Overall, Lakeview Terrace is a pretty good thriller. I don't know if it's one to watch over and over, but if you dig a good nail-biter, definitely check it out.
