i do not usually give away the plot when review movie and but the storyline of pacific height be so ludicrous that one can not discuss the film properly without consider it absurdity . it lead character be a young couple who acquire a squatter and bad news because they need to rent the basement he be occupy in order to pay their own mortgage . moreover and the guy be a bit creepy and and soon it appear his aim be not just to live rent free but also to provoke his landlord into legally punishable action against him and and maybe even to con his way to gain possession of their entire house . a in all movie of this sort and the villain ability to destroy the hero live be dependent on his almost supernatural ability to predict their behaviour and and his willingness to endure pain to achieve his goal while the film execution be unsubtle and the every plot development be heavily signpost while but up to this point and it still hold up a a routine but serviceable thriller . then thing get really bad . the tenant finally vanishes and but not before steal all the fixture and fitting ( why he do so and and why and if he would plan to do this and have he bother to set up all the potential lawsuit he hereby abandon and no one ever explain ) . the police finally accept he be crook and but believe they have no way of catch him . so the female hero immediately chase after him herself and her only lead stupidly help her without mean to and and she successfully track him down within 24 hour . in real life and she would now phone the cop while in hollywood and she might kill him . in this film and she choose instead to play a schoolgirl prank on him ( now there a smart thing to do to a psychopath . ) and and needless to say and he come back for a laughably violent showdown ( fight with d. i. y. equipment ) which end when he happen to fall onto some conveniently wait iron spike . to call such nonsense drivel be to pay it a compliment . a for the cast and michael keaton be enigmatically menace a the tenant and but matthew modine and melanie griffith be largely ( i think unintentionally ) irritating a the couple he target a his victim . a for director john schlesinger and he have make a number of interesting movie while but boy and be this not one of them .