Samuel L Jackson, Patrick Wilson, Kerry Washington
Running time: 110 mins
Rating: Four stars

ABEL Turner is the neighbour from hell, as California cul-de-sac newcomers Chris and Lisa Mattson find out.

This is all the more surprising as Turner (Samuel L Jackson) is a veteran Los Angeles cop. Yet there’s something increasingly disturbing about him as the Mattsons (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) discover.

He’s taken it upon himself to be the watchdog of the neighbourhood. His protection, though, turns into harassment as he takes the law into his own hands.

Turner is a one-man security force and singleparent guardian of his two young children. He takes against his new neighbours because of their inter-racial marriage and his teenage daughter’s friendship with Lisa, orchestrating a series of incidents to drive out this undesirable couple.

He focuses his bright security lights into their bedroom, sabotages their airconditioning unit at the hottest time of the year and damages their car. In a neat twist, he gets Chris in a compromising position with a stripper, tapes it and shows it to his wife.

After his embarrassing and unnecessary remake of The Wicker Man, director Neil LaBute does a much better job with Lakeview Terrace as the terror escalates. Jackson exerts real menace as the cop who’s no guardian angel, with Wilson and Washington understandably terrified as his neighbours.