A Nutshell Review: Disturbia

Rating: 7/10 (22 July 2007)

Disturbia played it smart in its release locally, by having pushed back its release date until almost every cinema goer had seen Michael Bay's Transformers, and become acquainted with the latest Hollywood "It" kid, Shia LaBeou, otherwise also better known as "the Transformers boy".
Being an uncredited remake of Hitchcock's classic Rear Window, Disturbia has our boy hero playing Kale, who's put on house arrest for having knocked the lights out of his teacher. So his home and front yard becomes his playground, but when mom (Carrie-Anne Moss, would you believe that?) cut off his XBox and ITunes subscription, he turns to voyeurism to beat the blues and occupy time. In a scene in Transformers, LaBeou had to look for something at home. Now he turns to looking for entertainment in other people's home. And that included spying on the hot chick new neighbour Ashley (Sarah Roemer), while keeping an eye on a possible serial killer staying next door, Mr Turner (David Morse).
It doesn't help that the trailer plays out almost the entire plot of the movie, and therefore you're pretty sure of what you're gonna get from it. The first half played on the teenage drama romance bit, with Kale figuring out how to woo the most attractive girl on the block, with the handicap of not being able to meet her in proper circumstances outside his home. But the movie banked heavily on Shia LaBeouf's boyish charisma, and that probably payed off loads. He's a lucky chap, as Sarah Roemer makes it two in a row (the other being Megan Fox) where his character gets up close and personal with hot chicks.
The second half of the movie turned the spotlight a bit on the mystery on hand to solve, and while it isn't naturally original, I'd say it still managed to pull off an above average thriller, thanks to David Morse's ability to send some chills with his build, and two-faced acting, being perturbed by his privacy being invaded (hey, serial killers need time alone to do their stuff), and yet wanting to be perceived as a gentle giant. Morse's one of the understated character actors today, and while his role is nothing groundbreaking, it still served its purpose.
Don't expect too much from this movie, and you might find it an enjoyable breeze. Just keep a look out for LaBeouf's name to marquee bigger projects in the near future, starting with the new Indiana Jones movie.