A major plot hole limits an otherwise good thriller

Rating: 6/10 (11 August 2007)

Kale (Shia Lebouf) is a teen struggling to cope with the death of his father as well as the typical struggles of school and social life. After hitting his Spanish teacher during class, Kale is sentenced to three months house arrest with the threat of facing a year in juvenile dentition should he screw up one more time. In order to ensure his cooperation with the sentence, he is given a monitoring device wrapped around his ankle which, as it turns out in Disturbia, is a major factor for what happens next.
During his weeks of house arrest, Kale begins to notice something strange with one neighbor in particular. Mr. Turner (David Morse), begins showing signs that he may have something to do wit the recent deaths of local women. Kale, who has taken up the hobby of voyeurism in order to pass the time, convinces himself more and more that Mr. Turner is hiding something and thus turns his now hobby into an obsession of proving what he believes to be true.
However, Kale's spying on the neighbors does bring one benefit. Ashley (Sarah Roemer), has recently moved next door to Kale who enjoys her many swimming times and yoga practices through his binocular lens. In real life this would lead to more trouble but in Disturbia Kale gains a new friend who, along with his best friend Ronnie (Aaron Yoo), becomes convinced that Mr. Turner is indeed a murderer and that they can prove it. Ashley is the typical hard to get love interest that all socially inept guys dream of while Ronnie is the standard side kick friend who is good for laughs but not really worth more beyond that. The characters may not be deep but for Disturbia they work.
The question of course is how they can prove it and this is where Distrubia falls. A seemingly random and pointless attack on Kale's mother Julie (Carrie-Ann Moss) after she attempts to explain her son's behavior after an apparent break in attempt at his house, later leads to Mr. Turner confronting Kale, Ashley, and Ronnie. The attack makes no sense because if Mr. Turner had simply let Julie leave without attacking her then there would have been nothing Kale or the others could have done about him. Kale was facing criminal charges and without him Ashley and Ronnie would have stayed far away from Turner. The climax is forced and can't escape the feeling that it is rushed without any real reason except to end the movie with a substantial conclusion.
I didn't expect much when I started watching Disturba and eventually found myself entertained as the movie continued. Unfortunately, Disturbia like so many other thrillers finds that it can only end with a stereotypical confrontation that leaves much to be desired. Disturbia is entertaining but falls short in its most crucial moments is thus forgettable in the long run.
6/10