Customer Reviews

Pacific Heights [VHS]

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This review refers to the DVD edition(Warner) of "Pacific Heights".....

A really good thriller for me, is one that not only grabs me and keeps me in suspense the first time around, but one that keeps me on the edge of my seat on repeated viewings as well. "Pacific Heights" is one of those thrillers, that makes buying the DVD worthwhile, as I know this one will not be collecting dust on the shelves.

The very cool and respectable looking Carter Hayes(Michael Keaton) is new to San Francisco. He's looking for an apartment and his done his homework well. He's found the perfect place and has even taken the time to check out his landlords.Drake and Patty(Matthew Modine/Melanie Griffith) are the eptiome of Yuppiedom. Unmarried, but a couple, they bury themselves in debt buying the Victorian fixer-er-upper, that they will renovate and make a huge profit on when it's complete. In the meantime they will simply rent out the two apartments downstairs to help pay the bills. They should have done their homework as well as Hayes.

The smooth talking Hayes worms his way into one of the apartments and promises payment when his expected funds arrive, which of course will be very soon. It doesn't take long for Patty and Drake, as well as the other tenants, to discover the Carter is the tenant from Hell.He has a few social and psychological problems. He imposes a frightening presence and knows all the legal manuevers, and scare tatics to take over the house for himself. It's a journey frought with fear and suspense as Patty and Drake try to reclaim their home and their sanity.

A nice clear picture with good color is presented in widescreen. The Dolby Dig 5.1 Surround was excellent. The haunting score by Hans Zimmer, all background and surrounding sound effects, and the dialouge all came through beautifully. No special features on this one. It may also be viewed in French (2.0), but there are no subtitles in any langauge for those who may need them. There is also a short theatrical trailer.

Modine and Griffith are very believable as the beleagured and frightened but determined landlords. Michael Keaton pulls off this repulsive villain amazingly well. His versitility is unending.Directed by John Schlesinger("Midnight Cowboy"), it also stars Laurie Metcalf,Mako and Dorian Harewood. Also look for Dan Hedaya and a real special treat and rare appearance by Tippi Hedren.

Get the popcorn ready and don't watch this one alone! Oh and remember to always check refrences!.....Laurie

If you haven't seen the movie Pacific Heights, you haven't seen one of the best suspense films of the decade. Michael Keaton is a terrific villain in the worst possible way. It is amazing to watch as Keaton's passive aggressive behavior ruins the lives of an unmarried couple who are trying to purchase an old Victorian home in San Francisco by renting parts of the house out to pay the mortgage. What is even more of a surprise is Melanie Griffith's character ... she is the ultimate heroine. This is an excellent movie that didn't even seem to get the critical acclaim it deserved.

Upwardly-mobile couple Patty and Drake Goodman (Melanie Griffith and Matthew Modine) buy a $750K house in SF. In order to offset the titanic mortgage payments, they must rent out the two apartments downstairs. At first, all is well, as a nice older couple become the first tenents. The second rental doesn't go quite as smoothly. A man named Carter Hayes (Michael Keaton from Batman, Batman Returns, and Beetlejuice) moves right in w/ what appear to be impeccable references, and a wad of cash in his wallet. Alas, Hayes is not on the level, and Patty and Drake soon find out just how off-balance this guy is! Hayes squats in the apartment, refusing to leave. He causes constant noise that eventually drives everyone nuts! He even releases an army of cockroaches to infest the whole place! The building stress, and inabiliy to legally do anything about it, eventually cause Drake to snap, sending him diving on Hayes for a major beat-down! Well, this action results in Goodman's arrest. Of course, Hayes is seen as just a poor innocent victim in all of this. Goodman is even under restraining order, and cannot come within 500ft of his own home! What can this couple do to regain their property and their sanity? Watch the fun unfold! PACIFIC HEIGHTS is a magnificent Catch-22 type story of the common man caught up in the idiocy of the system. No matter how hard they try, Hayes is always protected by the law. There's a healthy stream of good old fashioned black comedy running through this movie's veins! Keaton is superb as the nefarious Hayes, driven to do what he does by whatever pathology rumbles through his head. I consider this to be his finest performance. Watch for cameos and small roles by Beverly D'Angelo (The Sentinel), Dan Hadaya (Blood Simple), and Laurie Metcalf (Scream 2)! Highly recommend, especially to future landlords...

The seemingly charming, but sadistic, brutal, destructive & oh yeah... homicidal, Carter Hayes (Michael Keaton) puts
yuppies-cum-landlords, Patty Palmer and Drake Goodman (Melanie Griffith & Matthew Modine) through their paces as they experience the WORST tenant in the history of landlord lore!

Carter Hayes, armed with power tools, garbage, his little cockroach friends, and the law on his side, are GUARANTEED to drive Patty and Drake out of their beautiful victorian fixer-upper that they have just purchased. It seems like Carter would like to pick up the house for himself and thus, tries his darndest to make Patty and Drake default on their huge mortgage.

Tippi Hedren, Laurie Metcalf and Dan Hedaya also star.

This is a great suspense filled movie with a "killer" ending. Michael Keaton is perfect in the role as Carter Hayes. He is one of the most flexible and versatile actors, playing good guys (Mr. Mom & The Dream Team), bad guys (Pacific Heights & Desparate Measures), cartoon characters (Batman & Beatlejuice), & a dying man (My Life).

This is a most excellent suspense film and highly recommended!

Happy Watching!

Pacific Heights is a prettt solid three star movie. It's not the greatest thriller ever, but it's definitely not entirely unbelievable. It's somewhere in between.

A couple (young couple, if you believe the back of the DVD) pools their life savings to purchase an old Victorian house in San Francisco, with plans to rent out the two rooms on the bottom floor in order to pay the mortgage each month. What they don't count on is Michael Keaton's sociopathic creation Carter Hayes moving in. Terrible events ensue.

It's a pretty solid premise and plays out fairly well, except that in order for Hayes' plans to unravel correctly, you have to assume that any landlord would be rash enough to accept you as a tenant without receiving any payment and without a rental application, shut off your power if you're loud at night, physically attack you and knock you through a glass window, and ultimately be unsuspecting enough not to watch out for you making bail once you've been discovered and arrested. These flaws, which feel more and more forced throughout, seriously damage the chilling nature of the film, and also damage what would otherwise be a very credibly psychological thriller.

Michael Keaton is the only credible actor in the film a well, although Beverly D'Angelo also has some good scenes. Melanie Griffith and Matthew Modine give stilted performances that also hurt the movie, Modine more so than Griffith.

Now that I've said all the bad stuff about the movie, I'm changing my tune to say that it was still interesting to watch and for a movie made 17 years ago, it held on to quite a bit of its twists and intrigue. Identity theft is much more technologically advanced these days, but the idea of someone walking around pretending to be you is equally disconcerting in 2007 as it was in 1990. Pacific Heights is definitely still worth a watch.

Pacific Heights is not a haunted house movie in the classic sense however this house is haunted, not by a ghost but by a man named Carter Hayes, if that's his real name. Carter Hayes is a con artist played by Michael Keaton. Hayes isn't a smooth con artist like Gordon Gecko in Wall Street or as smart as Frank Abagnale Jr. in Catch Me If You Can who always seems to be one step ahead of the law on the contrary Keaton's character needs and manipulates the laws to pull off his cons they serve to protect him more than his victims, also victims to a flawed system. He is also a psychopath, we get glimpses into his childhood that may explain why he is the way he is.
The victims in this movie are a couple who take a risk and buy an investment property depending a great deal financially on the rent of the two apartments they'll be renting out. One of those apartments gets rented to our psycho con artist who wants the house for himself and so begins our game of cat and cockroach.
This is for fans of thrillers, it'll have you voicing your opinion to the screen or whoever you are watching it with about what you would do in that situation. It taps into that fear that most of us can relate to, that is hardwired into us the fear of losing what we have, paying bills, and protecting what is ours.
Pacific Heights is also ranked #93 on Bravo channel's scariest movie moments list.

DVD features:
Special Features: Soundtrack Remastered in dolby digital 5.1 - Interactive Menus Theatrical Trailer-Scene Access- Languages: English and French.

PACIFIC HEIGHTS is the ultimate story of the tenant gone completely crazy...and completely wrong! This is one of the best thrillers to grace movies besides FATAL ATTRACTION and DIABOLIQUE (the 1960s version).

Matthew Modine and Melanie Griffith play Drake and Patty, a couple trying to invest in their dream of buying a house in the beautiful suburbs of San Francisco, and restoring it to rent to the idea tenants. Enter Michael Keaton as Carter Hayes, the conman sociopath who seems at first like the most idea individual to pick as a tenant, but Drake and Patty have no idea what they are getting themselves into when they find out he has welcomed himself into the new apartment. Carter gets them both into trouble in some sinister ways, and uses the law to his full benefit to make everything look like it's Patty, and especially Drake's, fault. Over the course of the movie, these series of events start to take a toll on the relationship between Patty and Drake, and even worse, Carter's breeding roaches in his own place...disgusting! Things get really hairy after Patty does some very clever private investigating and really messes with Carter to the point that the climax of the movie brings it all into play.
Michael Keaton plays the crooked tenant to absolute perfection in one of his best roles as a bad guy. Modine and Griffith have excellent chemistry as the couple trying to fight to knock Carter out of their lives. Even an appearance by Laurie Metcalf makes for some entertainment you're sure to appreciate.
PACIFIC HEIGHTS is one of the best thrillers, great for a Saturday night stay-in or for an introduction into where thrillers got really smart again since the days of PSYCHO and WAIT UNTIL DARK. And you can't go wrong with the wicked performance by Keaton, and some memorable perfomances from the cast all around. PACIFIC HEIGHTS is the ultimate nightmare...and the ultimate experience of tenants gone...well, very mad.

While watching this video, you may wonder "how could someone get away with this?" Melanie Griffith and Matt Modine are unjustly put through the ringer with this very belligerent tenant played by Michael Keaton. This is scarier and more suspenseful than any of those killing-spree horror flicks made back in the eighties because it's seemingly more likely to happen to some unsuspecting person(s) who just want to rent out their properties to help pay for the mortgage.

Surprising that the studio has forgotten to re-release this on video, because it's one of Melanie Griffith's best movies. Nasty guy infiltrates himself into downstairs area of house that Griffith and her new husband have had to let out as a way of meeting their mortgage. Then he won't pay his rent, he won't leave, and there's nothing the young couple can do about it. For sure, the tenant's peculiar habits are made almost too weird to be credible, but the basic storyline is strong. Unlike some movies of this kind, the ending doesn't descend into exaggerated explosive effects but just tells the story straight. How come the world forgot about this movie?

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Fix-up an old Victorian home in a fashionable San Francisco neighborhood, rent out some of the rooms to help pay the mortgage, and keep the best part of the house for yourselves. However, when the young couple Patty Palmer (Melanie Griffith) and Drake Goodman (Matthew Modine) do just that, their great plans turn into a horror story.

In this film the couple inadvertently let Carter Hayes (Michael Keaton) take possession of an apartment in their home before he pays any rent. Hayes soon exploits California's liberal tenant-rights laws and cannot be evicted. Hayes then slowly terrorizes the couple and the other tenant by making noise, starting an insect infestation, and damaging the newly-remodeled home.

Furious about the situation, Modine's character lashes-out and soon finds himself on the wrong side of the law. As the situation deteriorates, the couple begins to argue over money, fear living in their own home, and seek revenge on the renegade tenant.

''Pacific Heights'' shows the dangers that exist when an evil person chooses to exploit others and has no remorse about doing so. Although the film is somewhat depressing, it does show the dangers of being too trusting or naive when dealing with others.

While I liked the plot of the movie, the acting by Modine and Griffith, was mediocre at best. They often seem wooden and stilted when delivering their lines. And Modine's character became annoying as he initially downplayed the situation then lashed-out at others for his own mistakes. But the drama and exciting final few scenes make the film a good horror-drama.