Lakeview TerraceMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Lakeview Terrace."

Gifts + Promos

The Vow Free Gift

Buy tickets & receive a FREE 3-Month Love Forecast from Astrology.com!

Fandango Bucks

Send your sweetheart the gift of movies this Valentine’s Day!

Journey Sweeps

Enter for a chance to win a trip for 2 to Nicaragua!

Interactive Oscar Ballot

Who's taking home the Oscar? Cast your vote & challenge your friends on Facebook!

Need Help?
So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 47 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
15 Iffy for 15+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    I find movies like this alive and provoking, and I'm exhilarated to have my thinking challenged at every step of the way. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    A conventional suspense thriller, but the details kick it up a notch. Read full review

  • 60
    Variety | Dennis Harvey

    Delivers fairly tense and engrossing drama before succumbing to thriller convention. Read full review

  • 50
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    The main problem with this treatise on racial politics undercover as an exercise in suspense is that the director, Neil LaBute, didn't write the script. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Anyone who has ever had an annoying neighbor will see their worst nightmares fulfilled in the overheated but entertaining Lakeview Terrace. Read full review

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times |

    Jackson modulates Abel's internal turmoil and heated exchanges with enough shades of loneliness, steely generosity and wicked playfulness to give the actor firm control of our fascination and growing unease. Read full review

  • 50
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    A passable piece of hackwork, with some adequately suspenseful passages and a few mild shocks near the end. But the psychological dimensions of the story are so risible, and its supposed insights into race and class so wrongheaded and ugly, that irritation trumps enjoyment. Read full review

  • 42
    Entertainment Weekly |

    Jackson is the best thing here. Read full review

  • 40
    The Hollywood Reporter |

    The film, absent a sense of place and populated by repellent or weak characters, soon devolves into an increasingly foul litany of events. Read full review

  • 10
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    Joyless and airless suspense thriller. Read full review

View more reviews for Lakeview Terrace on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 15+ Scary, racism-themed thriller isn't for kids.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that the plot of this film -- which has very strong content for a PG-13 -- is driven by escalating violence, cruelty, and racism (much of it directed toward a racially mixed couple). A policeman is portrayed as unbalanced, aggressive, and threatening. Gunshots are fired out of and near an apartment where a husband holds his wife and baby hostage, and shoot-outs at close range result in the bloody deaths of two men. A policeman punches a suspect with a rifle, slaps his teen daughter in the face, and breaks the law to cover up his actions. Mildly sexual scenes involve a caring husband and wife kissing and hugging, with partial male nudity seen from the rear. There's also a fair amount of strong language (including "s--t" and "f--k"), smoking, and social drinking.
  • Families can talk about how and why the filmmakers use racism to update the age-old story of feuding neighbors. Is this an effective choice? Why or why not? Is the movie trying to equate the danger of the advancing wildfires to the danger of the advancing personal racism? How do the climaxes of both events work together to resolve the story? What other issues come into play in the movie besides race?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: The plot revolves around an African-American man's subtle and overt prejudice toward a mixed-race couple. Constant references to racial stereotypes and a parody of African-American behavior and language mostly by seemingly self-deprecating African-American character. A police officer exhibits aggressive behavior, a hot temper, and racist sensibility.
What to watch for
  • violence false4 Violence: Point-blank shooting of a conspirator by a policeman is followed by a bloody fall into a swimming pool; shots are fired through the door into an apartment with a woman and child inside; police officer with gun chases suspect; a man holds a gun to his own neck, threatening suicide; a policeman punches a suspect hard with rifle; a father slaps his teen daughter in the face with great force; attempted rape of the pregnant lead female character; final bloody chase and shootout includes fierce physical fight, car crash, and multiple direct bullet hits.
  • sex false3 Sex: A married couple hugs and kisses lovingly in many scenes and engage in post-sex cuddling on one occasion; a man is glimpsed in the nude from behind; scantily dressed lap dancers perform briefly and try to entice men at a bachelor party; two children watch a married couple embracing and kissing in a swimming pool.
  • language false3 Language: Frequent use of words like "s--t," "bitch," the many permutations of "ass," "hell," "bastard," and "dammit" occasional use of more intense cursing: "f--k," "p---y," "prick." One use of the "N" word.
  • consumerism false1 Consumerism: U-Haul truck, RE/MAX Realty sign.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: A lead character sneaks cigarettes and smokes in private. Social drinking in several scenes: neighborhood parties, wine with dinner, relaxing with a beer, drinking in moderation in a bar. Heavy drinking and drunkenness depicted at a bachelor party.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

2.0

Dave White Profile See Dave White's Profile

...a lunk-headed, amoral Single White Female/Hand That Rocks The Cradle-plagiarizing thriller. Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

Read more movie reviews at Movies.com

Lakeview Terrace Movie Ratings + Reviews

Fans say

So-so 10,215 fan reviews

Critics say

So-so See all critic reviews

Facebook Movie Fans

Fan Fandango on Facebook