It's like the darkness is the light

Rating: 8/10 (25 February 2012)

Here's a teen thriller that isn't fueled by raging teenager hormones and doesn't act on impulse during tense situations. Well, most of the time. Disturbia is a crafty and intense thriller that may not pack in the originality of other films of the same genre, but has enough to effectively sustain its runtime and its ideas. Although not perfectly executed, it finds little shortcuts around some clichés, but still offers essentially the same things you'd get in a regular 2000's decade horror film.
This is a treat for Shia LaBeouf and his fans as well. Finally we can see him in a film with coherency, plot, and characterization. He finally shows his acting talents that do not involve running away from metal giants and screaming at them with full power. He is more controlled, and more developed in Disturbia, leaving much to be desired. He plays Kale, who was just in a car accident that killed his father, and has been placed on house arrest after punching his Spanish teacher. He's been throughout a lot, and is the typical teenager that likes music, TV, and girls, so we can still see he isn't a bad kid, but a victim of somewhat uncontrollable circumstances.
In a random act of boredom, he starts spying on his neighbors which include deviant little kids, a gorgeous young woman (Roemer), a cheating couple, and a mysterious elder, played wonderfully by David Morse. He becomes more acquainted with the young woman, whose name is Ashley, and they begin spying on the elderly man, who they believe might match a killer who has been kidnapping women across town.
LaBeouf and Roemer strike up a believable chemistry, and the film isn't too much sex, too much cartoony violence, or too much blood. It's all well managed. The film takes about an hour before it kicks itself into high gear, so these characters are left to develop at an efficient rate. The result works favorably, and when hell starts breaking loose, we feel even more sorry for the characters because we know them well. They're not faceless caricatures.
As some could pick up from the plot, this is a modern retelling of Hitchcock's classic Rear Window, now updated with computers, cell phones, and cameras. I'm not for remakes, but I am somewhat for reimaginings and updated versions of films from decades past. As long as they're made with suspense, characters, coherency, and enjoyment. Here, there's respect for Hitchcock's original story, but there are also touches of the film's own personal take on the story. Because of these alterations, the films can't be dubbed as a remake, but a reimagining.
Disturbia is a fine blend of terror, voyeurism, and suspense with good looking teen actors who are bound to do well in the future. Once LaBeouf ceases with the Transformers films, and Aaron Yoo wanders out of remake hell I can see both of them doing films of all different genres. Hopefully they'll put the binoculars away next time and go out and play.
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Sarah Roemer, Aaron Yoo, David Morse. Directed by: D.J. Caruso.