Proficient Entertainment

Rating: 6/10 (24 August 2007)

Disturbia is an interesting film, most definitely based, as others have commented, on the very superior Hitchcock film, Rear Window, which is highly recommended.
What distinguishes this film from other remakes is an excellent lead performance by LaBeouf (as Kale) and good support from the generally excellent David Morse as the villain (written as Mr. Turner in the script) as well as Aaron Yoo, in the 'best friend' comic relief role. Unfortunately, Carrie Ann Moss is underused. The movie is ruined by the last section. Rather than the apparently methodical and reasoned rationale for his character that we have viewed so far, Turner (Morse's character) becomes reckless and openly homicidal, going after a cop, and the entire set of neighbors (without any thought given to the ramifications of these acts  for example, that there would be a police incident report, with the same self officer involved, listing his name and address on the report). This same section is ruined by the overly elaborate secret room, within a secret room, with a basement literally flooded with dead bodies (as if Turner has been carting them around from all his previous crime scenes). It particularly is annoying because the bodies in the water scene look very intact, which would apparently diminish the need for the surgical room (other than the fact that all of this probably provides the audience with a good fright). All of this exposition and character development is highly reckless and not in character with the way Turner is represented, both in his earlier crime spree, where he apparently eluded the authorities undetected, and with the way Morse portrayed Turner at the hardware store, with Kale's mother at the grocery store, and with the earlier police incident and the deer.
Finally, no explanation is given for either the cause or the actual two instances of priors that lead to the slugging of the Spanish teacher to be a third. In fact, the only real need for this in the script is to justify the entire set-up: the death of the father leads to the punch = house arrest, because of the two unexplained priors. Kale is otherwise a very normal, albeit bright and perhaps unchallenged teenager, not some gang member or somehow economically disadvantaged youth who-must-steal, or misunderstood young man who-must-fight. As with Turner's ability early on to be at the wrong place at the right time (in the world's largest parking garage to a very small looking hardware store and at the grocery store to meet Kale's mother), these plot points exist because the screen writers couldn't find a way to otherwise explain something needed to move the story forward.
This is a very polished, largely well-acted and well made movie, that might have gotten a higher rating with more imagination and plotting in the script, as well as some direction to take into account these elements and attempt to minimize them.