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So many reviews have mentioned the fact that director DJ Caruso (“The Salton Sea”, “Two For The Money) has created a new film that nods to the Hitchcockian masterpiece, yet I found it more of something that takes the premise and makes a dull and forgettable “new” movie out of it. I will only remember this movie because I had my first “Up ‘n Smoke’d Bacon Pizza” at the legendary, Austin, Texas-based restaurant cinema.

But anyways, let’s get back to this movie. The opening to “Disturbia” is startlingly similar to the recent film “The Lookout”, where a car crash seriously impacts the life of a character. This character in particular is young Kale (Shia LeBoeuf), whose father dies after a fishing trip. This has left Kale sad and alone, you see, and because of this he has no problems taking a swing at one of his school teachers for making a comment about the car crash.

After the incident, Kale is put under house arrest, complete with a small device strapped to his foot that doesn’t allow him to go within 100 yards of his front door. His buddy Ronnie (Aaron Yoo) drops off often to see what Kale is up to while stuck in the house.

And this is some house; it is cleverly designed just enough to be able to get a clear view of every house around him, and especially of the ridiculously cute girl next door. This girl turns out to be named Ashley (Sarah Roemer), who becomes friends with Kale and Ronnie and suddenly the art of spying becomes a fun pastime where they can see the nicks and quirks of everyone around them. (While “Rear Window” earned its creepiness by keeping the camera within the corner of Jimmy Stewart’s apartment, “Disturbia” movies all over the enormous house, and then some.)

With all of the peeping that Kale is up to, he comes across another neighbour (David Morse) who is doing some creepy and unstable things in his house. The kids believe that hey may be a killer of some sort, although Kale isn’t able to do much about it besides send his friends out to spy on him, or to tell the disbelieving police.

The film is directed by D.J. Caruso (Who has done good films like“The Salton Sea” and “Two For The Money” yet is also responsible for the lousy “Taking Lives”), a filmmaker who no doubt has serious talent. The visuals are there, he knows how to establish mood and can even get some good performances out of his actors. I say this because “Disturbia” had me going for the first hour or so, until the entire thing dissolves into a noisy and predictable thriller that sours everything that came before it.

Out of all of the performances, Shia Leboeuf fares the best here. He has done solid work in the past and comes across as a likeable everyman here. Sarah Roemer looks great and can no doubt model a wet shirt, yet still has to work on things like line delivery and reacting to things around her just a hair bit better. David Morse, always effective in other work, comes across a bit stiff and awkward (he’s not known well enough to “phone it in”, but he seems to do that here anyway). Carrie Anne-Moss gets a thankless role as Kale’s mother, but has so little screen time until the very end.

Obviously, going in I did not want to hate “Disturbia” but the film decelerates at such an intense pace that you forget it as quickly as you walk out of the cinema. This watered down, PG-13 picture might do well with the kids who want nothing better than to be spooked on a Friday night, but I really didn’t see anything for them to scream at. For me, it was simple sadness of seeing a lousy movie as my first Alamo Drafthouse experience, with that delicious bacon pizza and large coke being the only major impression of the show.

link directly to this review at http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=15556&reviewer=350
originally posted: 04/14/07 04:03:28
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