Disturbia

'Disturbia' is a solid, entertaining thriller that does exactly what it says on the tin. Whilst it's nothing new or special, it is well made, suspenseful and effective in building and sustaining tension.

Shia LaBeouf and David Morse deliver solid performances as Kale and villain Mr Turner. Their characters are interesting and unpredictable and work well with the theme of the film. 'Disturbia' is well paced, the developments are appropriately timed and the film does a good job at keeping you guessing.

All in all, a perfectly decent mystery thriller. One of the better ones I have seen of late, and one I would recommend.

This movie was extremely well paced -- there was very good character development without excessive dialog. The story is exciting and thrilling: a modernized Rear Window. The acting was very solid, and every actor, major or minor, sold their part. Shia LeBeouf was a likable protagonist, Carrie-Anne Moss did a great job in her role as the mother, and David Morse played an exceedingly ominous and creepy neighbor. The climax is very suspenseful, although it did contain a few minor lapses in rational behavior by both the heroes and the villain, but I suppose that could be written off as desperation. Overall, it was refreshing to see a well-paced thriller with great suspense, humor, and character development.

Disturbia is one of the best PG13 thrillers that I've seen in a long time. After all the other rated PG13 thrillers that have come out in the past six years or so, DJ Caruso, who directed, proves that it has always been possible to make a good suspenseful thriller these days without all the gore.

Shia Labeouf plays Kale Brecht. After witnessing the death of his father in a car accident, he becomes sullen and withdrawn. This leads to him being put under house arrest after he punches out an unsympathetic teacher. Imprisoned in his own house, and unable to go beyond 100 yards, he finds himself turning into a peeping tom and spying on all the neighbors. One of them is the attractive new girl in town named Ashley (Sarah Roemer) and another may be a killer named Mr. Turner (David Morse). With the help of the new girl Ashley, his friend Ronnie (a great comedic turn by Aaron Yoo), Kale goes about investigating Mr. Turner to see if he is the killer or not. The three teenagers use cell phones and the internet as well as video cameras in the investigation, and DJ Caruso shows some of his sly wit by using these same devices in the film to not only investigate the spooky neighbor, but also to create some humor to go along with everything else.

The plot is a familiar one. That would be because the great Alfred Hitchcock used it first with his famous suspense thriller Rear Window. Yes Disturbia is a blatant rip-off of that movie, but it is done with skill, and the acting by all, including Carrie Anne Moss as Kale's mother, was very good. All the characters are likable, and David Morse's turn as the creepy Mr. Turner was well done as well.

Disturbia may not be a great movie, but it is definitely one of the best PG13 thrillers in years. It outshines such horror thrillers as Cursed and Pulse, as well as the recent horror thriller The Messengers. Disturbia also once again proves that you don't need a bunch of gore to make an effective horror thriller. Horror directors take note.

Although this movie is based on the plot of hitchcock's movie "rear window'', it also has it's own merits and some of it's elements were surprising . It's catered to a teen audience.

This film is a call back to that 2005-2010 era of movies where they have something special about them, less CGI, less connected storylines, just a basic plot and some decent young acting.

Disturbia is an entertaining movie that showcases Shia LaBeouf's acting skills and commitment in his roles. He is the main focus of this movie and he certainly holds it as well, the side characters are alright, but this is definitely a Shia Showcase!

The plot of the movie is okay enough, nothing special happening, typical teenager thinks his neighbor is a killer and then proceeds to play detective and see if it is true type of story.

All in all, this movie is worth watching or re-watching just for Shia alone, but the movie holds promise albeit letting some cliches hold it back. So strap in, make sure your seat belt is on and swerve into this guilty pleasure.