Does justice to Hitchcock's Rear Window - an excellent modern thriller!

Rating: 8/10 (16 September 2007)

Like most serious horror fans, I'm not pleased by the way that the genre is being flooded by too many remakes! A modern re-imaging of Alfred Hitchcock's classic 'Rear Window' therefore didn't seem too promising on paper, but director D.J. Caruso has done an excellent job with this film! It takes all the things that made Rear Window a classic, adds in a modern twist and keeps the whole piece just different enough for Disturbia not to feel like a rip-off! Rather than a broken leg, our protagonist this time around is housebound via a modern means. After a family tragedy, Kale finds himself frustrated and angry, and a smart comment from his Spanish teacher ends up with the teacher on the floor and the Kale under house arrest, enforced by an electronic tag that puts an automatic call into the police station if he's more than 100 years away from his house for more than 10 seconds. Bored, he turns to the window, where he discovers sexy new neighbour Ashley...and something more sinister in the form of 'Mr Turner' - the next door neighbour whom Kale comes to believe may be a Texan serial killer...
Disturbia is brought to life by an excellent cast, who all perform excellently in their respective roles. Shia LeBeouf is thoroughly likable in the central role; giving it a nice mix of angsty teenager and curious rogue. Sarah Roemer and Aaron Yoo fill out the other two young persons' roles nicely, while Carrie-Anne Moss convinces as the mother - and David Morse gives his best performance in years as the villain of the piece! Being more used to seeing him in more gentle roles in films such as The Green Mile, it's surprising to see just how well he fits into the bad guy role. Director D.J. Caruso, who previously made the less than brilliant Taking Lives, does a real good job of providing the thrills with Disturbia. The film works on two levels; on the one hand, it's a teen drama and on the other it's a thriller and these two elements mix brilliantly. At times, the tension is almost unbearable - and it's that which made Rear Window such a blast fifty three years earlier! Overall, this might not be completely original - but it's a great thriller in spite of that fact, and I'm sure it will appeal to most members of the audience. Highly recommended!