Swap out James Stewart’s character, L.B. Jeffries, with a young troubled teen under house arrest and the result is “Disturbia,” a “Rear Window” for the 21st century.
“Disturbia,” directed by D.J. Caruso, focuses on Kale (Shia LaBeouf), a capricious teen who struggles to cope with his emotions after the death of his father.
Kale, who is sentenced to house arrest after hitting one of his teachers, finds himself observing the actions of his neighbors to relieve his boredom.
With the help of his friend Ronnie(Aaron Yoo) and new next door neighbor – Ashley (Sarah Roemer), Kale becomes suspicious of local resident, Mr. Turner (David Morse).
As Kale’s suspicion grows, questions arise as to whether Turner is really a serial killer, or if Kale is becoming anxious as a result of an overactive imagination brought on by cabin fever.
Throughout the film, Kale struggles with his house arrest, which he says is from being “spatially challenged.” He is required to wear an ankle monitor that alerts the police if he strays too far from his house, hindering his attempts to pursue his beautiful neighbor Ashley.
Ronnie, who is the type of friend many people wish they had, does his best to stand by Kale. However, when Ronnie comes over to check on him, he is eventually dragged into Kale’s obsessive surveillance of Turner.
While the movie’s plot is fairly predictable and provides no major twists, these shortcomings are offset by effective performances from LaBeouf, who is convincing as the good kid gone bad, and the supporting actors. By mixing comedic relief with suspicion and suspense, “Disturbia” manages to relieve the tension with humor.
One might be hesitant to see “Disturbia” because of its PG-13 rating and the limitations this places on thriller/suspense movies.
Despite the lack of gore and violence typical of a movie such as “Saw,” “Disturbia” is able to keep up the intrigue and entertain with a climactic final chase scene, which leaves the viewer with plenty of “oh crap” moments.
While “Disturbia” may not be a classic like Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window,” but it is still worth the price of admission.
David McNeely can be reached at [email protected].
