Lethal Eviction (2005) User Reviews

A little goofy in places but not that bad really

[MagicStarfire · 5/10 · 19 April 2006]

I gave this 5 stars out of 10.

I thought it was an interesting thriller, parts of it were a bit different - although it does have the old cliché of the bad twin and the good twin.

However, there are some unusual characters in this film that revolves around a group of people living in a rent controlled apartment building.

We have the nervous old lady, played by Michael Learned (of The Waltons), who is constantly knocking on the other tenants' doors trying, to little avail, to get them to turn down their music and that sort of thing.

We have the three young male roommates, who are wasting their lives away living in squalor, doing drugs, and doing any girl they can get their hands on.

We have Hector, a trans-gendered person, and his friend in another apartment - Sara - who is living with her mentally disturbed twin sister, Tess.

The landlord of this apartment building gets offed early in the film and the building is then purchased by a middle-aged black man and his young, attractive daughter, Amanda, who would prefer this not remain a rent controlled building.

Shortly after the new landlords arrive, tenants start turning up dead.

Just who is offing the tenants? That's the question in this film. Are Amanda and her father guilty? And just what is going on with the mysterious Dr. Shep (played by Judd Nelson,) who suddenly moves into the building, and seems a little more interested than he should be in Tess and Sara.

While there are some questionable actions on the part of some of the characters - such as one being chased by a killer and instead of running out the door and seeking help, runs past the front door and down into the creepy basement - but over all - this isn't a bad movie to spend your time watching.

I found it entertaining and well paced. It held my interest throughout.

Incorrectly classified as a slasher

[slayrrr666 · 5/10 · 31 August 2007]

"Lethal Eviction" is an underwhelming and dreadful slasher.

**SPOILERS**

Months after a tragic accident, Sarah Swinton, (Jennifer Carpenter) moves into a new apartment to keep an eye on her twin sister Tessie, (Jennifer Carpenter) who's having problems controlling her. When new owner Gus Winters, (James Avery) and his daughter Amanda, (Stacey Dash) take control of the building, the tenets begin to take the changes in as new rules are laid down. As the tenets get more used to each other, new tenet Bill Shepard, (Judd Nelson) moves in who has a history with Tessie, and soon the other tenets start to get killed off in brutal fashion. With more of the tenets disappearing, they start to discover a shocking secret about one of the tenets isn't who they've said to be and are the killer that's been lurking around the apartment.

The Good News: This one here does manage to get in some good moments in when it tries to. This one's at its best when it details the stalking scenes in the end. The main chase at the end, where the three remaining tenets chase each over through several floors of the apartment. That it starts on the second one, goes through several rooms and then goes down to the basement for an extended chase down there as well. The action continues down there as well, with a great confrontation that really does a lot of good for the film. There's the obligatory stumble-across-the-victims routine, the fight with the killer and the revelation of the twist to the others who don't know it. That twist ending, while seen coming from a mile away and isn't that new, still manages to work over a few of the others out there and the characters manage to fall for it as well. There's even a few great deaths scenes, including one set on fire in a pool of paint thinner, another impaled on a mounted reindeer head's antlers, a stabbing in the neck with a butcher knife, drowning in a bathtub of water while the victim's paralyzed and more. All these elements are the only things going for it.

The Bad News: This here is an incredibly underwhelming slasher with a lot going against it. One of the biggest problems is that it's sometimes hard to call this a slasher film. There's way too few a body count here than most would really allow, and that leaves a real dearth of kill scenes available here. The fact that they're spread so far out in the film is another thing to deal with. Because it stacks up the real deaths until the final third of the film and leaves nothing much before then to bump up the kills in the film. This is mainly due to the fact that most of the film is taken up using the story of the sisters and their relationship with each other. This takes up the majority of the second half of the movie and there's a few problems involved with it. The main one is that there's hardly any time in the film for any kills or deaths. This takes up a massive amount of time in the film and this is the biggest complaint about that. When it takes away from what the film's main agenda, which is to provide a lot of horror and scares, having the majority of the film devoted to doing something that's guaranteed not to deliver in those areas, and it really does stick out in the film. The other problem is that it sets up a twist that everyone can see coming due to the very nature of it being used. The very fact of including it in the film means that many know it will come into play, and it does, following through point-by-point exactly without fail, which is a real sad thing no matter what as there's absolutely no way that it will fool anyone. This is done pretty much according to how every version does it with no exception, and that doesn't give it any extra qualities. This, mainly, is the reason for the film's shortcomings.

The Final Verdict: Mostly tied down for several big reasons, this is a really underwhelming and disappointing quasi-slasher. Only the most hardcore slasher fans are advised to check this one out, while it's big handicap will be the one that everyone really hammers it for.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and drug use

Not great. Not awful. You could do worse.

[I_Ailurophile · 5/10 · 7 December 2022]

This throws so very much at us in no time at all. We're introduced to a colorful cast of characters right off the bat, and learn that this is an especial boon for fans of Jennifer Carpenter since she gets to have fun in two different roles. We're introduced to the new landlord indicated in the premise, and in the very first moments that we meet them (and in every scene thereafter) we get confirmation of the real-life truism that landlords are trash and should be abolished. We also get racism, transphobia, homophobia, misogyny, and toxic masculinity, and hypocrisy from a judgmental religious zealot, all within the first twenty minutes. There's a forewarning (and subsequent content warning) for animal cruelty, and no ready indication of where the story is going to go - the killer in this thriller could well be anyone, and most of the characters seem to readily deserve to be knocked off, too. 'Lethal eviction,' also known as 'Grayson Arms,' is promising at the outset, and one way or another it is a bit of a ride - but at that, while not necessarily outright bad, unmistakably uneven and troubled.

Screenwriter Gary Barkin has penned characters with plentiful personality, as suggested - though not necessarily especial depth, so it seems difficult at some points for actors to find the exact right tone or balance for their performance. As dialogue follows from the characterizations, and many of these figures are decidedly unlikable, the language is somewhat unsavory to say the least, though in fairness, perfectly suitable in terms of the narrative. That narrative, and the scene writing that lays the groundwork, is duly compelling, keeping the course of events enough of a mystery so that even as bits and pieces are fed to us to build the plot, viewers are kept in the dark up to the last act as to what exactly is going on. And so it is with other facets of the feature - direction, cinematography, editing, music, and so on all demonstrate basic capability for the most part, though they are also not at all remarkable. More interesting is the work of production designer and art director Carlos Osorio, costume designers Matt Berger and Laura Flett, and the hair and makeup artists. What sparing effects or stunts are employed look good.

Mind you, I've used some qualifying words and phrases here, and not without good reason. I do think 'Lethal eviction' is passably enjoyable, but as the digital timer advances it becomes more and more clear that it's less than perfect. The major red herring in the plot is too obvious to be of specific value, and we can readily guess at the twist that comes around the start of the third act (even if it seems for a time, earlier on, like that trope isn't being used after all). The killer's motivations aren't exactly strong in terms of cinematic storytelling, and even if we accept them at face value, they feel so specious that after watching I found myself second-guessing if they were established at all. It's also worth observing that while all the fundamental components of film-making are just fine, at the climax especially the cinematography and editing become pointedly overexcited and self-indulgent; there was no need for the flourishes to which we're treated, and the inclusion thereof is mildly aggravating. And when it's all over, the ending accentuates that one character has survived as though we're supposed to sympathize with them, even though it's been thoroughly cemented that they're awful - and the very last moments of dialogue, serving up one last twist, just seem too on the nose to pass muster. The screenplay needed to be tightened, and in many regards the feature could have benefited from more mindful self-restraint.

For those movies that exist somewhere in the middle of a spectrum between "totally excellent" and "totally rotten," I commonly find myself thinking that however good it might be, the title might be most recommendable for those who are particular fans of the cast or someone else involved. I think that's even more true here: at large the acting is nothing special, yet even as some distinct moments don't come off well, for the most part it's just fine. One's favor in this capacity, and with respect to the feature overall, might well be swayed by how much they like one actor or another; sometimes it can be fun to watch someone even if the film they're in is less than stellar. I freely admit that I like Carpenter, so there's the biggest factor for me even as I somewhat sort of kind of appreciate what this tried (with mixed results) to do. With that said, for general audiences - well, you could do better, and you could do worse. There's certainly no need at all to go out of your way for 'Lethal eviction,' though if you happen to come across it, it's alright so long as you keep expectations in check. In fairness, for a thriller with slasher aspirations, that level of quality might well be exactly par for the course.

"Lethal Eviction" Should Be Evicted From These Premises.

[rts718 · 2/10 · 15 February 2006]

This movie was supposed to be a thriller, but it turned out to be a silly comedy, and I am being kind when I say this. Judd Nelson is an excellent actor, but in this movie he has a consistent blank stare on his face. This in itself was funny. I was surprised to see actress Michael Lerned, who played the mother on the television series 'The Waltons.' I don't know if it was the make-up job or what, but she looked terribly older looking than from when I remembered her in the 70's. The direction was poor, photography was slightly better, and the acting was passable(except for Michael Lerned who played her role brilliantly).

It did not take a rocket scientist to find out who was doing the 'evicting' of the tenants in this run down apartment dwelling. Just give it 30 minutes and you will know. This movie is just another slasher movie without any teenagers in it.

I'm sorry everyone, but this movie was just plain lousy. Judd Nelson and Michael Lerned's talents were wasted in this one, and I'm surprised they even agreed to do this movie. Evict this movie please...lol Richie, Bronx, New York

Goodness, where do I start...???

[lathe-of-heaven · 2/10 · 31 January 2008]

Okay, to me personally Michael Learned's performance was HORRIBLE, not 'Brilliant', as another reviewer here has stated. Interestingly, the Direction was just about the ONLY thing that was actually pretty good. The visuals, camera work, framing, editing, etc. weren't really bad at all; there were some nice transitions and the look and mood of the film were pretty decent. BUT... that was just about it... The acting was NOT 'Passable'; overall it was horrible with moments of okayness (okayness...?) Anyway, YES Judd Nelson was indeed sleepwalking through this; you could almost hear him saying to himself ('I'm getting paid for this; I'm getting paid for this...')

Normally, I give a LOT of slack to this kind of film. My 2 favorite directors (dead and alive, respectively) are Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch, so I'm no stranger to the 'Strange'...

But... this script was REALLY bad; man oh man, was it bad.

So, perhaps if the script and the actors had been better, THEN MAYBE with the above average direction and the half way decent concept, I think it might have had a good chance to come out a LOT better...

Lethal Eviction

[Scarecrow-88 · 2/10 · 30 March 2007]

The tenants of a decrepit apartment complex fall prey to a killer hidden slightly out of the camera frame with the viewer only getting a glimpse of hands and, at times, a shadowy figure in the darkness. The film's main focal point are "twins" Sarah and Tess who are staying in adjoining rooms but never seen together by anyone other than us(..and even that is through an oddly tilted mirror). Sarah is the quiet, kind, caring sister while Tess is a grungy, sad, volatile who was recently a member of a psychiatric facility. Amanda(Stacey Dash, who looks terrific), with assistance from dear old daddy, Gus(James Avery)is the new apartment manager who wishes to relieve herself of older tenants so that she can hike up the rent. Then there's Tess' former attending physician Dr. Sheppard(Judd Nelson)who has been having a recurring nightmare of his murder at the hands of his former patient. Shep will seek her out because he's afraid that Tess is still not mentally well and needs help. Soon a drug-pusher Sarah has a history with named Brian(Adam Huss), an old busybody, Elsa(Michael Learned), and two goofy friends of Brian's(Mark Shunock & Marshall Cook)are all potential victims. Sarah has a transvestite pal named Hector(Andy Martinez, Jr)& a new love-interest named Ian(Todd Babcock).

Carpenter, in the leading "dual" roles, is pretty dreadful, Judd's had better hair days, the film lacks any suspense, is boring & cliché. Seek your entertainment elsewhere.

Grayson Arms A.K.A. Lethal Eviction is One Good Little independent Low Budget Thriller Movie With Twist And Turns Around Every Corner.

[desertscrpion · 3/10 · 23 September 2019]

You Know I've Remembering Seeing Grayson Arms A.k.a. Lethal Eviction Back in 2005 When it Came On On Either Showtime Or On The Encore Movie Channel And When i Was Fifthteen Years Old is When i First Saw it i Thought it Was A Very Good Suspense Film And After All These Years i Finally Watched it Again Now That I'm 28 Years Old And i Tell You Seening it Again Just Brings Back Great Memories Also Too i Really Thought That This Film Brings Me Back To That Fifthteen Year Old And i Completely Forgot About The Movie That's is a Plot Twist And One Of Those Climax Endings That Completely Surprises You. Oh! i Forgot About The Neatly Done Small Cast That's in This Movie i Mean There's Jennifer Carpenter Who Will Go To More Feature Movies Like "The Exorcism Of Emily Rose" And The Character Of Debra Dexter in The T.V. Show Series "Dexter" Who Was Surpring Good i Loved Her Dual Split slide Perstiontlie Role As Tess/Sarah And i Completely Forgot That Her Character is The Serial Killer Killing Some Of The Resident Tenants, Next is Judd Nelson Who The John Bender Character in John Hughes 80s Classic "The Breakfast Club", And The Psychopath Character Of Stanley in "The Cabin By The Lake" Show Series Who Has a Good Little Bit Scenes And Who Plays a Character Name Shep An Ex Employee Who Got Kicked Our Of The Mental intuition For After Losing a Former Patient Name Tess/Shrah Who Escaped And Has Been Send To Track Her Down And Being Her Back To The intuition, Michael Bowen From Quentin Tarantino's "Jackie Brown", "Less Than Zero" And "Valley Girl" As Detective Lewis, Stacey Dash Ah... Yes Who Played The Dion Character From Amy Heckering's 90s Cult Classic "Clueless" Now Here in This Film Plays a Character Name Amanda Winters That's is Why i Like This Movie Grayson Arms is Because Seeing Stacey Dash Which Was Excellent To See in a Suspense/Thriller Movie And i Thought She Was Great Just Like How i Remembered it And Finally There's The Late James Avery Who Plays The iconic Very Funny And a Very Serious Character Of Uncle Phillip in The Classic 90s T.V. Show "The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air" That Started Will Smith Who in This Movie He Plays The Character Of Gus Who's Also Plays Stacey Dash Character's Father And Even Though He Has Some Great Spotlight Funny Moments As Well But His Uncle Phillip Character in "The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air" Show Will Always Be One Of His Best And Greatest Characters Of All Time So Rest in Peace James Avery You Will Be Missed Epespecially From Me And Grayson Arms A.k.a Lethal Eviction And Even it's Been a Long Time For Me Of Watching This Film it Still Holds Up To This Day As Still My Favorite Thriller Film And it Will Always Be One Of Those Films From My Growing Up Childhood Days.

Good movie with a good twist

[Topaz1922 · 7/10 · 27 November 2012]

Surprisingly, this movie was entertaining! It is a little slow in the beginning but as the movie progresses, it keeps your attention.

The movie has many twists that will at some point have you thinking you know who the killer is and then all of sudden, you think it's another tenant when all along it was the least suspecting one.

The movie lacks some directorial flaws and a few common sense errors when eluding a killer but aside from these minor details, the movie was suspenseful.

I didn't give it a 10 because I didn't like the direction the the director chose to go with th ending. However, I would recommend you see it.

A taut trip through rent control hell

[sammybsct · 10/10 · 25 June 2006]

I caught this film on Showtime - it's a tight little thriller with lots of twists and turns - some were obvious, others definitely were not. The plot revolves around a run-down apartment building where the tenants start meeting their makers after a new landlord buys the place. I loved Jennifer Carpenter's performance (I'd never seen her before), who had the tough job of playing two very different twin sisters, one of whom is completely psycho. Judd Nelson is also a nice surprise as a creepy psychiatrist who moves into the building. Most of the characters are interesting and the story moves quickly. The surprise ending is completely unexpected - I didn't see it coming at all. Definitely rent this film or catch it the next time it plays on cable. Well worth the 90 minute running time!

wowzer!

[jeffronthi · 9/10 · 23 December 2007]

Pros: We get a chance to see early Jennifer Carpenter at work, and it is very interesting to say the least. This movie is worth it for that reason alone. The actual script had potential, as far as the storyline goes, but no budget to speak of I imagine.

Cons: Everything else. Oh, it's Judd Nelson alright, but it ain't vintage...

I whole heartedly recommend this for Jennifer Carpenter, she has some serious chops. She's kinda hot in this movie, too, depending on what character she is playing.

Get it, you have nothing better to do.