Buy tickets for The Brink of War!

Pacific Heights

Find Movie Theaters & Showtimes

for
near
in
COMING SOON

Check back soon for more information.

Browse Local Theaters

Videos & Photos

Movie Info & Cast

Director:

John Schlesinger

Producer:

Gary Barber, Dennis E. Jones, David Nicksay

Writer:

Daniel Pyne

Runtime:

1hr 42m

Synopsis

Drake and Patty purchase a San Francisco Victorian hoping to fund their future through rental income. Their stability collapses when Carter Hayes occupies the studio, weaponizing tenant law to drain their finances and sanity.

Cast

  • Melanie Griffith
  • Matthew Modine
  • Michael Keaton
  • Mako
  • Nobu McCarthy
  • Laurie Metcalf
  • Carl Lumbly
  • Dorian Harewood
  • Luca Bercovici
  • Tippi Hedren

Letterboxd User Reviews

3.1
30.2K
7.1K
4.5K
RATINGS 13 FANS
3.1
  • Sep 19, 2013

    It's very fortunate for Melanie Griffith that Michael Keaton keeps such detailed records of every evil deed he's ever done, otherwise she'd be screwed. Potential drinking game: take a drink every time Matthew Modine acts WAY crazier than Michael Keaton (which is every…

    294 Likes
    Timcop
    Timcop
    Nov 25, 2020

    Nobody wants to talk about the monkey in the photo on this site?

    274 Likes
    Andrew Conway
    Andrew Conway
    Mar 15, 2025

    michael keaton is too good at playing crazy like i don’t trust that man

    156 Likes
    theo
    theo
  •
    Jul 17, 2019

    Landlord propaganda, pure and simple. THE MONEY PIT with murder. Discussed on Episode 14 of The Suspense is Killing Us.

    130 Likes
    matt lynch
    matt lynch
    Jun 17, 2026

    Was drawn to this because of Griffith and Modine’s chemistry in Demme’s films. Being landlord propaganda, what makes this aspect bearable is that it isn’t punching down. The antagonist, an icy Michael Keaton, isn’t a poor person, but a psycho who comes from old money. So…

    36 Likes
    jeliben
    jeliben

    35 Corey picking this for the pod was like digging up an ancient relic circa 1990. Definitely feels like a movie that wasn't supposed to be watched past its opening weekend. More here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1yCsMDECj2oLnpeMNNLoOm?si=l06IhzqMTuq17K-OXpWUXw

    110 Likes
    SilentDawn
    SilentDawn
  •
    Sep 20, 2013

    The economy must have been pretty good in 1990, because a Hollywood studio released a thriller about the horrors of purchasing a $750,000 property and renting a room to a "pointy-headed cretin" with the insidious abilities to disguise himself as a trustworthy rich white…

    106 Likes
    Joe
    Joe
    Sep 28, 2022

    Watchable but unremarkable, seemingly predestined to be basic cable background noise that’s vaguely engaging simply because the actors are interesting. As “yuppie nightmares” go, it mimics plenty of the Fatal Attraction beats, this time with a pointed, quasi-Oedpial…

    91 Likes
    anna nomaly
    anna nomaly
    Mar 28, 2022

    I really wanted to see Micheal Keaton eat a cockroach.

    89 Likes
    Kadino
    Kadino
See All Reviews on Letterboxd.com

Queue Community Reviews

81%
Community 180
❤️ LOVE
10%
👍 LIKE
71%
😐 MEH
16%
👎 DISLIKE
3%
Top Reviews
  • Beau
    Beau is "meh" on
    Pacific Heights

    Ending kind of quick and felt rushed and predictable. Still a good watch on a lazy day .

    1M
    aunttthrillhouse
    aunttthrillhouse loved
    Pacific Heights

    Michael Keaton as a psycho is sooooo good

    2Y
    Jacob King
    Jacob King liked
    Pacific Heights

    Note: Never rent to Michael Keaton.

    7M
  • Kent LeHoullier
    Kent LeHoullier loved
    Pacific Heights

    Great story, suspenseful as F

    10M
    Cooper Brashaw
    Cooper Brashaw liked
    Pacific Heights

    7/10. Solid.

    1Y
    Mark Bateman
    Mark Bateman liked
    Pacific Heights

    7/10

    1Y
  • Saints
    Saints liked
    Pacific Heights

    8.3

    2Y
    Sarah Dennis
    Sarah Dennis liked
    Pacific Heights

    .

    1Y
View More Popular Pacific Heights Reviews on Queue

Atom Users Reviews

No one has posted a user review yet.

Metacritic

55
metacritic
Based on 25 Critics
8.2

USER SCORE (25)

Universal acclaim based on 25 Reviews
50

Pacific Heights could stand comparison to Rosemary's Baby. Both films are about a young couple who are deeply concerned by events that seem to be happening in another flat in their building. The difference between the movies is instructive: Roman Polanski insinuates us into the gradually growing horror of his couple in Rosemary's Baby, while John Schlesinger, in Pacific Heights, seems concerned only with generating the most obvious shock effects.

View full review
Metacritic review by Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
50

Schlesinger doesn’t really have the low-down skills to pump up the pulp. He’s so concerned not to relinquish his credentials as a “serious” director that the film, instead of seeming serious, seems mostly silly--not scary enough to function as a crackerjack thriller and not complex enough to work as a psychological drama.

View full review
Metacritic review by Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
Los Angeles Times
See All Critic Reviews on Metacritic.com

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is Pacific Heights?
The movie is 1hr 42min long.
What's Pacific Heights about?
Drake and Patty purchase a San Francisco Victorian hoping to fund their future through rental income. Their stability collapses when Carter Hayes occupies the studio, weaponizing tenant law to drain their finances and sanity.
Who's the cast of Pacific Heights?
  • Melanie Griffith as Patty Palmer
  • Matthew Modine as Drake Goodman
  • Michael Keaton as Carter Hayes
  • Mako as Toshio Watanabe
  • Nobu McCarthy as Mira Watanabe
  • Laurie Metcalf as Stephanie MacDonald
  • Carl Lumbly as Lou Baker
  • Dorian Harewood as Dennis Reed
  • Luca Bercovici as Greg
  • Tippi Hedren as Florence Peters
Who's the director behind Pacific Heights?
John Schlesinger directed Pacific Heights.
Who produced Pacific Heights?
Gary Barber, Dennis E. Jones and David Nicksay produced Pacific Heights.