Disturbia Review
by Jerry Saravia (Faust668 AT msn DOT com)July 11th, 2008
DISTURBIA (2007)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
RATING: Two stars
If "Disturbia" was made without "Rear Window" as its inspiration, I might have still found fault with this mediocre thriller. "Disturbia" tries to be a modern-day "Rear Window" knockoff, but it lets its tricks out of the bag too soon, with middling, predictable results.
Shia LaBeouf, a fast-rising young actor, is Kale, a troubled high- school teenager who is still grappling with his father's death by car crash (the only truly intense scene in the entire movie). He is so distraught that the mere mention of his father's name by his Spanish teacher gives him justification to knock him out. This lands Kale in a three-month house arrest, though that may not be the worst of it. His mother (Carrie-Anne Moss) has canceled his X-Box game account and cut the cord to his bedroom TV (he still has a computer and an iPod, so all is not lost). In order to kill time, Kale looks through his binoculars, observing his neighbors, including the young attractive blonde (Sarah Roemer), who could pass for Jessica Biel, who moves in next door. But something disturbing is happening across the street. A certain Mr. Turner (David Morse) may have been responsible for the disappearance of women around town. He has the same Mustang with the same dented bumper that the newspapers describe at the scene of the kidnappings, and carries around bloody bags to his garage!
"Disturbia" moves at a fast enough pace but it rings hollow by the the time we get to a climax right out of Leatherface's digs. For one, Kale is a little one-dimensional for my tastes. Here is a kid who loses his father, adopts an ankle bracelet for his house arrest, and his biggest regret is that he can't play X-Box. Of course, he gets to kiss the blonde girl and does some smart detective work but the movie never quite establishes his character convincingly enough - he is just a clumsy kid who gets into trouble. Shia certainly has presence and gives a decent enough performance, but he has little to work with.
Carrie-Anne Moss appears only when the script requires her to, which is mostly berating her son for going past his boundaries. Sarah Roemer as the girl could easily have drifted in from that reality show, "The Hills" - her character is simply the anonymous kind you forget. As for David Morse, let's just say that it will be no surprise to anyone what this seemingly cold-blooded neighbor is up to. From his first introduction behind a wooden fence with a rabbit, all level of suspense is thrown out the window.
"Disturbia" may be acceptable fare to some but, for myself, I've seen better. In the way of suspense, thrills and mounting tension, "Disturbia" is certainly no "Rear Window" or any of its derivations, including the underrated "Bedroom Window." It is definitely no "Fright Night," a certainly different genre piece, but the peeping tom aspect of spying on your neighbors is the same. "Disturbia" could've been infused with more of a kick in the character and thriller departments. By the time it ends, you'll find it more disposable than disturbing.
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