Disturbia, unfortunately, seems far too outdated.

Rating: 6/10 (25 February 2018)

This is a tough one to review. On the one side I remember really enjoying this as a smart little teen thriller back in my youth. Re-watching it now, it's far too clichÃ©d and problematic to withstand any real thrills. Do I score this based on the time it was released, or how badly it's dated? We shall see. A grieving and troublesome boy is put under house arrest where he lives his daily routine by spying on his neighbours, a new girl on the block on one side and a potential serial killer on the other. You could class this as a modernised version of Hitchcock's famous 'Rear Window', it does indeed pay homage to this in a few subtle ways. The slow build up of suspense and tension is well crafted, much like 'Rear Window'. The first half is focussed purely on building up the protagonist, the second then descends into thriller territory. Do the two marinate? Not consistently. It does feel like you are watching two different films. A comedic light hearted teen flick then contrasts with a dark suspenseful thriller. I understand why, to show that any neighbourhood no matter how pleasant the exterior seems does indeed hold ominous secrets. In this case, a murdering psychopath. Separately these two halves work really well and are thoroughly enjoyable, although filled with mediocrity. They just don't blend together. Shia LaBeouf actually gives a decent lead performance. David Morse and Carrie-Anne Moss needed way more screen time, although the former was very menacing. Unfortunately, director DJ Caruso was too focussed on filming Sarah Roemer's ass and having fans blow into the actor's faces just to blissfully move their hair in a gentle breeze to care about the technical aspects of the film. The cheap alt-rock soundtrack, the forced romance which amounts to nothing in the final act and lack of character development. The whole film felt mediocre, but still pleasantly enjoyable. It's a weird one this, but I'm in a good mood so will grant it with the higher score. Entertaining but far too many flaws.