Customer Reviews

Disturbia (Widescreen)

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Disturbia proves to be a good thriller that provides some pleasant entertainment. It may not be original (which has been pointed out endlessly) but at least it offers a good time. I believe D.J. Caruso did a nice job behind the camera. He took about fifty minutes to build the story up and develop the characters before releasing the suspense. There was plenty of suspense in the last thirty minutes or so in the movie and it was more than just "gotcha" scares but actual suspense which really made the film enjoyable. The viewer really gets behind the main character so don't be surprised if you find yourself rooting out loud for Kale's survival.

The writing was also decent even if most of it felt a bit recycled. There were many plot points that were easy to figure out but this didn't damage the movie too much. Some of the dialog was really annoying though like the "You can't have a stakeout without coffee and doughnuts" line but while the lines were very corny, they were only a minor problem therefore not too damaging to the film. Also, for those expecting something like Red Eye (Widescreen Edition)or Cellular (New Line Platinum Series), look elsewhere. Those films really had the suspense going the entire film while Disturbia really only has a shocking beginning followed by forty minutes of character and story development. I'm not saying the film was boring, just not very suspenseful during those forty minutes or so. After that, Disturbia did get very exciting and it was fun to watch.

Shia LaBeouf was shockingly good as Kale. Generally, I think he's an okay actor all yet he was actually pretty convincing here along with Transformers . If he had a given a weak performance then the film would have failed but he was able to give a charismatic performance and he was entertaining to watch. David Morse was effectively creepy as Mr. Turner. His subtleness really crept me out and he was very convincing. Carrie Anne-Moss was decent and it was nice to see her again on screen. Sarah Roemer looked really nice and she was also decent although a bit on the bland side. You will either like or hate Aaron Yoo's performance. Either you will find him really annoying and unbearable or you will think he's actually pretty funny. I thought he played a good supporting character and he was also fun to watch. Overall, "Disturbia" was a nice suspenseful thriller to watch.

There seems to be a lot of movies like this these days about the mundane life of the suburbs (see Little Children for a great take on this). In this film, Shea Leboeuf (Transformers, Indiana Jones 4) plays a youth with a short fuse who's been confined to 3 months of home arrest for assaulting his Spanish teacher. Bored, he begins to develop a fascination with spying on neighbours and dissceting their routine lives. One neighbour in particular, might be a serial killer and Shea, along with the help of his new girlfriend, tries to unravel the mystery of whether or not the guy really is a serial killer. Although disturbingly similar to a 1989 Tom Hanks movie called "The Burbs", I found this to be thoroughly entertaining and very well acted. Highly recommended.

most horror movies are just jumpy, or ones that make you scream, but thwey aren't all that interesting. Disturbia is both. It's gorey, it's scary, and it is VERY interesting. Kale, a teenager under house arrest, finds himself being a neighbour of a seriaal killer who kills women that are 20-40, then stuffs them into a wall. all he has to do is make sure this doesn't happen again, and that the killer gets caught. the only problem is that he knwos Kale knows what he does. But also, because he went out of the distance from his house for more than 10 seconds so much, when he tries to use is to his advantege, the cops delay.

I suspect that a large segment of those who watch "Disturbia" are not going to be aware that it is inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's classic "Rear Window" unless somebody tells them. But the parallels would have beeen obvious to me thirty minutes into the film and my perspective is that of someone who knows the original and is willing to see a different take on the story. The screenplay by Christopher Landon ("Another Day In Paradise") and Carl Ellsworth ("Red Eye") maintains the basic premise of Cornell Woolrich's short story: someone confined to seeing the world by looking out their window becomes suspicious of a neighbor they discover is a murderer. Instead of Jimmy Stewart having a broken leg or quadriplegic Christopher Reeve trapped in a wheelchair, we have a young boy under house arrest confined to his home by an ankle bracelet (thanks to Paris Hilton's legal escapades this summer more people have an understanding of how such monitors work, that is for sure).

"Disturbia" begins with a pair of scenes to set up the premise in a rather unusual way (Ironically we had caught the start of "Final Destination 2" on television this afternoon). The whole idea is to justify having Kale (Shia LaBeouf) confined at home with that ankle monitor and it is an interesting choice to have the highway scene and the schoolroom scene be the two halves of the equation. There are a lot of ways of setting up the situation and there are some implications for the character and the story by setting it up this way. Because this is the 21st century it is also necessary for Kale's mom (Carrie-Anne Moss) to strip away his ties to the Internet and other media and technology to make him willing to pick up a pair of binoculars and start spying on his neighbors ("reality without the TV," as he calls it).

Two people in particular attract Kale's interest once his lets his voyeuristic side loose. The first is Ashley (Sarah Roemer), the girl who has moved next door with her family. Kale has a great view of her bedroom and gets to watch her while she changes and when she goes swimming, but he is also intrigued by the fact she spends more time on her roof reading books than inside her house. The other person of interest is Mr. Turner (David Morse, who certainly has played more than his fair share of villains since he was the idealistic young Dr. Jack Morrison on "St. Elsewhere"). Watching the news instead of his computer Kale picks up on a story about a missing woman and sees a connection to Turner. The more he watches Turner, the more connections he makes and the more he pushes Ashley and his friend Ronnie (Aaron Yoo) to go where he cannot go to further investigate. Of course, this is a most dangerous game and things turn deadly.

Directed by D.J. Caruso ("The Salton Sea"), this 2007 film does a good job of playing out the exigencies and constraints of Kale's home confinement to make the story work, with "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" added to complicate things . Unlike Hitchcock, who was working with looking out at a courtyard at a bunch of apartments with large picture windows, Caruso is using a neighborhood where houses have smaller window and those windows have curtains. This means Kale's view of what is happening in these other houses in never quite as clear and it forces Caruso to find other ways to allow Kale (and the audience) to get a picture of what is happening. The end game of "Distrubia" goes a way bigger than "Rear Window," which I suppose is a necessity for a modern film, but which does not result in a better finale. But by the time you get to the final act you have long abandoned trying to make everything in "Disturbia" match up with "Rear Window." Ashley is her own character and not a teenage version of Grace Kelly, and Ronnie is definitely not channeling Thelma Ritter. My major concern is that when we get to the tipping point, the moment where no matter what else happens the villain is not going to get away with it, things escalate.

Prepare to be scared: "Disturbia" is an effective and enjoyable thriller. 17-year old Kale (Shia LaBeouf) has experienced a terrible tragedy and, as a result, has quite a temper. He finds himself sentenced to three months of house arrest and must wear a GPS on his ankle. Just when making sculptures out of Twinkies starts getting old, a cute girl moves in next door, and Kale uses his binoculars to keep a close eye on her. She becomes a pal and together they watch their reclusive neighbor Mr. Turner (David Morse,) whose actions make him look a lot like a killer.

Yes, it's the old "Rear Window" plot - guy stuck at home spends all his time spying on his neighbors - but different enough with a teenage star and loads of high-tech gadgets to be quite fresh and engaging. LaBeouf has grown up a lot since his days as the wacky little brother on "Even Stevens," and gives a compelling performance. His character is sensitive and intelligent and you find yourself liking him right away. Morse is simply terrifying as the creepy neighbor. The story is fast-paced and intense, with quite a few shocking scenes that made me jump and one or two where I had to close my eyes. It's a well-told and scary tale.