Finally... a horror movie that thinks.

Rating: 9/10 (24 July 2007)

Very little is implausible in Disturbia if you think about it. Okay, maybe a chick won't fall for a stalker so easily, and maybe it's not likely a visually unobstructed car will be hit by another car going full speed on the highway, and a few other small goofs, but Disturbia packs a lot of thought into what it does and removes the questions from the audience. This is the way horror films should be and exactly the reason why I avoid the genre of horror... because they never stop and think about how ridiculous their situations are. Meanwhile, I'm squirming in my seat, unable to enjoy the ride because I'm thinking to myself... Jesus, this movie is so dumb.
Disturbia isn't like that. Everything that is done is done by believable characters... Shia LeBeouf and the girl are excellent in their roles, as is the Asian friend. Everyone's excellent! Shia's character never falls into an emotionally devastated lull and continually whine or bring up the death of his father, as many trite and unsincere movies are wont to do. Shia sets his friend up to break into his suspicious neighbor's car, which may seem like a stupid scene, until you see that he has a lookout trailing the neighbor at the store. This alleviates the false tension which comes from many movies who simply throw their characters into situations without considering the obvious consequence (If you venture into a dark house, someone's going to pop out and stab you.) What I enjoyed the most? When Shia is in danger, in every scene, the first thing he picks up... is a weapon. AMAZING. More horror films should be like that. When I see horror protagonists carrying around weapons instead of running around locked complexes with their heads chopped off, I will start to care. Shia fights like someone who is trying to survive and win, instead of someone who has given up himself to die and merely wants to make that death as entertaining and gory as possible.
It's just so strong, the performance that the primary cast gives. The mother, a good mix of caring and firmness, the girlfriend, the friend, and not to forget the villain... a neighbor who wears an amicable veneer with a savage rage underneath (at one point he piledrives a female victim into a doorsill, knocking her unconscious).
Another thing of note is how MacGuyverish the movie plays out... as a boy on house arrest, Shia finds the time to rig a transmitter to his video camera and find blueprints of his neighbor's house. A pursuit worthy of someone whose xbox and itunes have been canceled.
One of the best movies this year, and one of the best suspense/thrillers I've ever seen, period. I never thought it'd be this good, but it is.