User reviews

This film didn't completely win me over like I was hoping it would, but some solid acting, a good premise, and a few clever scenes made it worthwhile. There was never anything particularly suspenseful about the film, and you pretty much know who will win by the end, but the loathesome Michael Keaton character helped to keep me interested throughout. There were also a few things that especially annoyed me, including the terminally stupid Matthew Modine character, but this movie just has too many positives for me to dwell on the negatives. It's by no means perfect, but it's an effective thriller nonetheless.

Drake Goodman (Matthew Modine) and his girlfriend Patty Palmer (Melanie Griffith) are stretching their finances to the limit to buy a San Francisco house. They need to rent the two ground floor apartments to cover the mortgage. They rent one apartment to the nice Watanabes. The other one they rent to Carter Hayes (Michael Keaton). Carter seems to be well-off initially. Things turn quickly. Carter never pays rent. He causes problems. The law is on his side. The couple gets Stephanie MacDonald (Laurie Metcalf) as their lawyer.

Matthew Modine is so angry and so unlikeable that it's hard to root for him. He keeps yelling at everybody and it happens very quickly after the first hurdle. Michael Keaton is a nice creepy villain. It's somewhat a horror. The problem is that it's not a fun horror. The thrills are derived from annoyance. It is very good at being an uncomfortable watch. It's actually a relief when Modine takes a backseat to Griffith. For what it is, this is expertly made.

I saw this movie again recently, and I have to say that upon reconsideration I think this film is a bit underrated. There are a few deeper sociological issues being explored here that I perceive but are quite subtle in their appearance in the film.

It is a study about the law to some degree, and it has some critical things to say about the ability for one who knows the law and its loopholes and thus exploits others with tools that were originally intended to preserve civil society. Keaton plays a psycho, but one who is highly educated and quite adept at his craft of fraud and deceit.

Further, Modine's character is irrational, befuddled, and ultimately marginalized. I wonder if the director took some liberties with him (as this is a true story, I don't know everything about the real person he portrays) to bring out a few of his close-minded tendencies that may have contributed to the awful situation in which he finds himself. Obviously, there is the closet racism which keeps him from renting to a black man (this is thrown in the viewer's face later and is quite obvious), but there is also the way he perceives a man's role as the solver of problems and his wife as nothing more than a spectator.

That she ends up being the one to calmly and coolly affect a search for and investigate Keaton's character, assaults the traditional notions of a man's role as a protector. Her temperament is ultimately more appropriate for the solution to the problem, and I think it is no accident that the director portrays it in this way.

An unusual choice for Michael Keaton to follow up his first "Batman" movie with him going from hero and to outright villain.

Plot In A Paragraph: Drake Goodman (Modine) and Patty Palmer (Griffith)an unmarried couple, purchase an expensive 19th-century house in the exclusive Pacific Heights neighbourhood. They rent one of the building's two first-floor apartments to the Watanabes, a kindly Japanese couple. Not long after, Carter Hayes (Keaton) visits to view the remaining vacant unit and immediately expresses a desire to move in. Hayes drives an expensive Porsche and carries large amounts of cash on him. He convinces Drake to waive the credit check in exchange for a list of personal references and an upfront payment of the first six months' rent, to be paid by wire transfer. Before any of that happens he moves in unannounced and refuses to leave.

Melanie Griffith whilst looking great is awful acting wise, and Matthew Modine had me questioning how this man forged a career as an actor. Some of my main annoyances came from his character, and I had my concerns that he may end up being the real psycho, but his performance really was dire.

It's Keaton as the villain of the piece, who shines and gives the movie it's best scenes. Tippi Hedren and Dan Hedaya have small roles and Beverley D'Angelo has an uncredited role as a former lover/business partner of Carter's. I'm not sure why she is uncredited though.

William Goldman says that the last 15 minutes are the most important of any movie and that's what saves what is otherwise a sometimes fascinating but often dull film in "Pacific Heights."

The plot line is fairly interesting but feels rather drawn out through most of the film, until the fantastic ending pulls out all the stops and turns the film into something good. The writing in general is a bit contrived and the dialogue fairly wooden, but it isn't quite enough to destroy the film even early.

The acting is very uneven, led by a terrible Melanie Griffith and a middling performance by Matthew Modine in terms of screen time, but certainly controlled by the fantastic performance of Michael Keaton, one of the world's greatest actors. Keaton is especially fantastic in the final sequence, from his charming act with the old woman to his harrowing, venemous final scene there is a complete change in who he is and it is all the more frightening and powerful for the juxtaposition.

Schlesinger's direction, besides Keaton's performance, is probably the saving grace of the film. He manages to inject a beautiful dark style to the film that the script rather lacks but seems to want while also keeping us in a blunt reality with the plain, simple outdoor shots. His use of lighting and well-chosen camera angles wonderfully play up the situation.

Overall, "Pacific Heights" is a middling film with a fantastic performance by Michael Keaton and good direction by John Schlesinger that turns into something better with its fantastic, surprising, venemously satisfying ending. If you watch it, though, don't give up on it 'til it's over.

This movie begins with a man named "Carter Hays" (Michael Keaton) in bed with a woman when suddenly the door bursts open and two men enter and proceed to beat him with a baseball bat. The film then shifts to a man by the name of "Drake Goodman" (Matthew Modine) and his girlfriend "Patty Parker" (Melanie Griffith) buying a large Victorian house with the intent on renting some of the rooms out in order to help pay off their sizeable mortgage. Unfortunately, one of the first people to apply for a rent is Carter who convinces Drake to forgo the usual procedures and disregard the normal paperwork. Big mistake--as from that point on Drake's life quickly spirals out-of-control due to Carter's evil manipulations. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this is the type of film that is was an interesting movie for the most part which included a good performance by Michael Keaton as the dark and sinister villain. On the other hand, the repeated violent outbursts of Drake got a bit old after the first time or two and ruined any sympathy I might have had for him. Even so, although this isn't a film that I would want to see more than once or twice, it was good enough for the time spent and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

This is a carefully programmed yuppie nightmare, something to titillate the emotions betwixt the sushi and the creme de mint, something to remind the upwardly mobile that you have to keep your guard up at all times because there are animals out there waiting to take it all away from you.

Clever plot premise: Yuppie couple, stylishly unmarried, possibly for tax purposes, buy a painted lady in the Pacific Heights district of San Francisco, a Victorian fixer upper for $750,000. It's the 1980's and everybody is getting rich in California real estate. They are now in yuppie heaven since there are two rentals on the property which take care of $2300 of the $3700 monthly mortgage, which leaves them responsible for only $1400, which is less then they were paying before, and now they have a huge tax write-off and hopefully an appreciating property. Of course they are margined to the gills, but what can go wrong?

How about the tenant from hell? Forget about your wild parties and your late-with-the-rent dead beats. This guy (Michael Keaton as a slimy, upper crust psycho genius) doesn't even pay the deposit. He just moves in, squats, and our yuppie couple is helpless to get rid of him since by law he now has possession. He changes the locks, cultivates big ugly oriental cockroaches, and pounds away at all hours of the night, and chases off the other tenant. Seems he has done this before. Seems it is an elaborate scam to gain total possession of the entire property. Next to go are the owners.

Naturally the cops and the law seem to work for him, not our adorable couple. (This is a little fictional reality to further excite the passions of the audience, call it poetic license, since we all know that the tenant/landlord laws in California are written by and for the propertied class, as they are anywhere else, as is only right.)

But this is a morality play. Could it be that our yuppies are undeserving of their wealth and are easy prey in the econ jungle because of their naiveté? Could be. But as this is a modern morality tale, you can be sure that the woman, played with worrisome lines under her eyes by the ever adorable Melanie Griffith, will turn the tables and kick some male butt despite the handicap of having a not too bright boyfriend, who is easily manipulated by our villain into some rather stupid male behavior that makes things worse for our heroine. Incidentally, he is played with such annoying exactitude by Matthew Modine that I can hear the rednecks in the audience screaming: "Die yuppie scum!"

It should be noticed that the adversary of the yuppies is not your standard ghetto dweller, but a wayward member of the upper class, a fitting adversary in this yuppie trial by fire.

I'll let you guess who wins.

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)

Pacific Heights is required viewing in all Apartment Management courses in San Diego County. It is a chilling tale of decent but uneducated and unprepared new owners with a dream unknowingly up against a seasoned player in the professional renter game. This viewing requirement is one of the tools used to introduce starry-eyed management newcomers to the harsh and not-so-easily apparent world of the sick, the dangerous and the sue-happy portion of the rental market who will try to get the management stripped of all their personal assets and possessions, fired and possibly jailed, who work diligently to get the owner's property away from him/her, and who have no objection to going down as long as they can take others with them. Great movie.

When I watch a thriller I have to believe that what I am seeing could (remotely) happen in real life. Otherwise I wont be scared at all. This movie starts out creepy and promising, but towards the end the story doesnt make much sense any more, which deflates the suspense that was there at the beginning. Therefore the thrill of this movie stops halfway through.

The good: it's creepy and mysterious (at the beginning). This movie is also quite effective in evoking gut reactions about creepy guys, who are terrorising innocent families. Dont expect greatness though and you'll have a fun time watching it.

The bad: it's nowhere near realistic or really scary anymore at the end. It's best suited for when there is nothing else better to watch.

The story: an evil creepy guy terrorizes an idyllic young couple in their new house. Will the creep get away with his terror rampage?

I was looking forward to Michael Keaton playing the heavy, but "Pacific Heights" is the wrong vehicle for that. He's playing the tenant from Hell, terrorizing couple-of-the-year Melanie Griffith and Matthew Modine, but I can only describe this is a real estate thriller - which is just as exciting as it sounds. Keaton goes from mustache-twirling to psychological manipulator, but the writing doesn't offer much to go on. His motivations are specious, while Modine's mood swings leave Griffith as the only character to root for. That's no secret, and it's why she's the one to get revenge.

It's not terrible, but I did get frustrated with these characters far more than anyone should.

5/10

Prior to this film,we only saw Michael Keaton in comedic,and good guy roles.In Pacific Heights,he proves to us that he is not afraid to turn on us and be the bad guy.Keaton is excellent as Carter Hayes,the worst kind of no account,as he knows how to stay just out of reach of the law. The character is very similar to that of Max Cady in Cape Fear,though Cady is the far more memorable of the two.Carter Hayes is a nightmarish tenant wreaking havoc on the lives of his helpless landlords,wonderfully played by Melanie Griffith and Matthew Modine.I consider this film to be an overlooked classic that never really got the attention it deserved,perhaps because no one wanted to see Keaton,particularly after his Batman success,as a villain.Those looking for a modern day "Hitchcock-esque" thriller will find a winner here.Thumbs up!

This may be one of those older thrillers you never got around to seeing, and wonder if it's worth a watch. That was me--and truthfully, a couple of times during the movie, I wondered too. Made in 1990, under John Schlesinger's direction, I'd expected something better. This young couple was undeniably victimized by their resident psycho--it's Keaton who really deserves the acting credit--their reactions didn't elicit much sympathy. (I was more concerned about the cat.) But I wanted to stick it out to see what happens at the end. This reviewer suggests: if you like the cast (besides Griffith, Keaton, and Modine, the players include Laurie Metcalf, Dorian Harewood, Mako, and Tippi Hedren) do give it a viewing. It's a star or two better than many similar efforts.

Great premise for this film -- gives it a nice element of realism. It's relatable. Filmed in pretty San Francisco neighborhood which ads to the local charm/context.

But there just isn't enough on the line for this to be a top-notch thriller -- all that could happen is they get foreclosed on. Sure that sucks but at the end of day that's all that's gonna happen. Things get more to the point - more for what I'm looking for - in the film's final scenes but it's too late; that stuff needs to start building much much earlier on to get the audience on board and keep them there.

Tension is built fairly nicely but I just wanted things to be more extreme/go further. Seems like all the ideas are there for this picture to be good and having Keaton in the baddie role is a goldmine. But the writer/director just don't do enough/go far enough in my opinion. Great ideas but only mediocre execution.

Pacific Heights works because of Michael Keaton. Pacific Heights is an underrated movie and has Michael Keaton playing a sinister role as the tenant from hell. Melanie Griffith and Mathew Modine play a yuppie San Francisco couple who rent out their sublet to others. Unfortunately Michael Keaton- a rich but shady customer enters the fray and immediately convinces them to let him stay. It's a psychological thriller with a nice setting. I suggest you go in with an open mind.

Sometimes art imitates life and truth is stranger than fiction. I say that because last year four homeless women in Oakland, California squatted in a vacant house and refused to leave. They called themselves Moms4Housing and they made a mini-movement out of their theft. Instead of being summarily evicted from the house, the matter had to go to court. Their claim was that housing is a human right and since this home was vacant they had a right to it. The whole ordeal took about five months or so to be settled with the court ruling in favor of the company that owned the home. In this case, the owner of the home was a business that could afford to go to court and wasn't pressed for an immediate need of the house.

Which brings us to "Pacific Heights." A man by the name of Carson Hayes (Michael Keaton) simply moved into a vacant unit in a Victorian home in San Francisco without paying money and without permission. Due to the tenant-favoring laws, Drake (Matthew Modine) and Patty (Melanie Griffith) could not simply kick Carson out. They had to go through a lengthy and costly process to remove him which cost them all their savings and nearly their lives.

Carson wasn't a rent paying tenant whose rent just got jacked up by 50%, nor was he a rent paying tenant that was being evicted for some arbitrary reason, he was a slick con man that found a loophole in the system that protected his conniving con.

This was a tense movie in which you hoped to learn what Carson's motives were and what was his end game. The onion was peeled back a little, but I was never really satisfied with the explanation.

Michael Keaton was strong as the antagonist. This was back when he was crushing it on screen with movies like "BeetleJuice" and "Batman." Matthew Modine and Melanie Griffith were weak castings. I must admit, I think Melanie is a weak casting in anything, but she was an especially weak casting in this movie.

The story itself and the pacing was good. I liked it as a suspense thriller, but whatever the intent of the writer was, I don't think the cities in the S.F. Bay Area heard him.

This is one of the few films there are about being a property landlord(the other is 2003's "Duplex"). A young and naive couple(Modine and Griffith) are convinced to move into a building that they cannot afford and decide to rent out some rooms to help pay the mortgage. Predictibly, their perfect plan is destroyed by a seemingly respectable tenant(played well in a rare villain role by Michael Keaton) who ends up driving away other tenants and putting a strain on the couple's relationship with his increasingly erratic behavior.

The film is suspenseful right up until the last minute, but there were some problems. First, Modine's anger at the situation and Keaton seemed to escalate way too quickly. He simply flew off the handle at which could have been honest, simple mistakes on Keaton's part such as day or so late with the first rent payment. It may have been more effective if the tension built more slowly.

Overall, a pretty good film with good suspense and fairly good acting.

Good Acting from the Trio of Matthew Modine, Michael Keaton, and Melanie Griffith Stealing the Show.

She Balances a Love-Affair, an Attempt at Lucrative Home Ownership, and a Life Threatening "Home Invasion" by an Unhinged "White Collar" Tenant.

Michael Keaton Underplays His Socio-Pathic Behavior with a Smug In-Control Domination of Events.

He Totally Overtakes a Newly Purchase Townhouse by Modine and Griffith who are in Over Their Heads, both Financially and Emotionally.

Modine Routinely Responds to Keaton's Outrageous and Criminal Assault on Them and the Domicile, with Rage and Out of Control "Payback".

He is Out-Classed by Keaton who is an Experienced Manipulator of the "System" Knows the Buttons to Push on Modine and the Law.

Between the Lines of this Moderately Successful Horror-Tale are Themes about Capitalism and Justice.

Lopsided on Both Accounts against the "Little-Guy" and What it Takes to come out a "Winner"

Fairness and Justice have Little to Do with "Right or Wrong".

Morality is mostly Absent when Unbridled Capitalism and Law Enforcement Run Amok.

Contrivances and "Suspension of Disbelief" Hinder the Film a Bit. It's Best to just Go with the Flow and Enjoy the Show.

With Low Expectations its...

Worth a Watch.

A home invasion movie from a time before the term was even fashionable, "Pacific Heights" is a classic 'tenant from hell' picture. John Schlesinger filmed it in San Francisco in 1990 and it's about what happens when new landlords and romantic partners Matthew Modine and Melanie Griffith 'rent' an apartment in their house to Michael Keaton. I say 'rent' though Mr Keaton doesn't actually pay them any money; he just moves in like a cuckoo in the nest and takes over with the intention, it seems, of getting the rightful owners out and that thing, a certain Mr Bumble called 'a ass', the law, would appear to be on his side.

This is a slow build of a movie, leading inexorably to a violent climax, signalled early on by Keaton who is obviously a psyhopath while Modine is an obvious worm who just has to turn, (though it is Griffith who has the balls in this relationship). It was written by Daniel Pyne, who apparently got the idea from having a tenant of his own he couldn't get rid off. It's certainly a nightmare scenario, even without the psycho element. It may not be a great Schlesinger movie; there's nothing very distinctive about it, but it turns the screws nicely and will make you think twice about renting out that spare room.

The danger of renting an apartment to someone without references is explored here in gory detail. PACIFIC HEIGHTS has a wealthy middle-class couple renting to a man who appears to have money (he drives a Porsche) and seems pleasant enough on first sight. But before long, they discover that he's really the sort of tenant any respectable owner would want to toss out into the streets.

But it seems that there are laws about eviction that don't make it that easy--at least in PACIFIC HEIGHTS where all the action takes place. Getting rid of the Devil (MICHAEL KEATON plays a truly psychopathic nutcase) proves a strain on the marriage of MELANIE GRIFFITH and MATTHEW MODINE, until they discover that he's not only a one man demolition team but has stolen her husband's identity in some sort of real estate scam.

With all of these events taking place, you know you're headed for a bang-up ending once Melanie makes it her personal mission to destroy the evil Keaton--and we do get a satisfying ending when her mission turns out not to be too impossible.

If you stop to think about all the loop-holes in the story, you'll find yourself getting restless long before the ending. Clearly, there are plot points that haven't been thought out and the man's motivations are never made abundantly clear, so that Keaton's madness never gets any explanation from the scriptwriters. But it works as a stark nightmare of what kind of tenant abuse really can exist in today's society, especially if a nutcase is involved.

MELANIE GRIFFITH(she of the somewhat annoying speech patterns and squeaky tones) is reasonably good as the stronger in the marriage partnership, but it's clearly a field day for MICHAEL KEATON who walks off with the film as the devilish psychopath.

Keaton is incredible and steals the film from under Griffith and Modine. The typical errors of not thinking is all here. Example, why do the police believe Keaton when the couples word would have more substance. The truth won't get in the way of a good story, nice work Hollywood. Not without a lot of flaws, don't be down if you find yourself enjoying this.