Lakeview Terrace

Aroview: Creepy suburban thriller focused on obsessive cop Abel Turner (Jackson) who will stop at nothing to rid his 'perfect' neighbourhood of an interracial couple.

This could have gone horribly wrong under less skilful hands, however Dir. LaBute is regarded for his firm, assured grasp with uncomfortable subject matter, and turns this into a more thought-provoking affair than one might expect. Jackson's invested performance, too, keeps this from satire, his swaggering cop a mixture of restrained psychopathic rage and gleefully sociopathic intelligence. The only problem lies in its eventual desire to explain Abel's racism, tying everything up in a neat little bow in order to unlock our gritted teeth; one cannot help but feel the interference of the Hollywood studio.