Pacific Heights

Patty and Drake save for years to fix up a modest house and turn it into a moneymaker to fund their dream of stability. They renovate, sign leases, and suddenly the property becomes their livelihood rather than a simple home. A tenant arrives who seems reasonable at first, then reveals a chilling willingness to bend rules, push boundaries, and test their resolve. The couple finds themselves negotiating power, safety, and privacy in a space that should feel secure. As the situation escalates, the line between cautious optimism and dread blurs, and the house itself becomes a pressure cooker for fear and control. The tension mounts as they learn danger may wear a familiar mask. Its watchful gaze never quite loosens.

Released in 1990 and directed by John Schlesinger, Pacific Heights came from an original screenplay by Daniel Pyne. It's not an adaptation, but a tightly wound stand alone thriller that pairs glossy domestic life with a growing sense of threat.

Box office numbers show a solid run, with worldwide gross around 55 million against an 18 million budget. The result demonstrated respectable commercial appeal for a tense character driven thriller and helped establish a lasting niche for director Schlesinger globally.

Pacific Heights helped sharpen the landlord tenant thriller dynamic and remains known for its taut atmosphere. The film underscores the vulnerability of homeowners against predatory behavior and has influenced later thrillers that dramatize domestic spaces as sites of power, risk, and fear in modern storytelling for audiences craving edge today.

Reception among critics skewed toward a tense, efficient thriller that plays on fear of home invasion and power imbalances. The film leans on strong performances, especially by Keaton, Griffith, and Modine, to explore trust, control, and the fragile line between hospitality and threat. Its pacing keeps the tension relentlessly high.