Starring: Carrie-Anne Moss, Shia LaBeouf, David Morse
Studio: Dreamworks 12442
Video: Enhanced for 16:9 widescreen, 1080p HD
Audio: English DD 5.1 EX, English DTS-ES 6.1, French DD 5.1 EX, Spanish DD 5.1 EX
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Extras: Commentary by Director D.J. Caruso & cast members, Deleted Scenes in HD, “The Making of Disturbia” in HD, Serial Pursuit trivia pop-up quiz, Outtakes & Bloopers in HD, Music Video “Don’t Make Me Wait” HD, Photo Gallery, Theatrical trailer HD
Length: 104 minutes
Rating: ****
Having read that this new feature was a teenage remake of Hitchcock’s Rear Window, my interest level wasn’t high. It turns out that was wrong. Yes, the protagonist is confined to his house and does start spying on the neighbors with binoculars out of boredom. And yes, like the Hitchcock, there is a teaser incident he thinks is a crime but is harmlessly explained. But this is not like that awful Psycho remake.
The approach is quite different, and the result is a good thriller with more scares than Hitchcock, though still not as good a movie. The teen, Kale, is under house arrest with an ankle bracelet due to socking his Spanish teacher when he made an insensitive reference to Kale’s father – who had been killed in an auto accident when Kale was driving. At first he turns his binoculars on the hot new girl who has moved in next door, but soon begins to suspect another neighbor might be the serial killer police have been looking for. He twice leaves the house for good reason and gets into further trouble with the police when his bracelet sends out an alarm. His best friend comes over to do some snooping Kale cannot leave the house to do, and the next door girl also eventually joins their “stakeout.” When he tries to alert the police to what he’s found, he is ignored. Things escalate and an added danger presents itself when Kale’s mother becomes friendly with the suspected neighbor and goes in his house.
Today’s horror movies think they have to show everything to be scary, and this one finally does. If you don’t mind that, you’ll find Disturbia a fun ride. Nothing especially creative about the cinematography, but it’s clear and a good transfer. The music and sound effects are effective without being over the top. Acting is also excellent. There are plenty of extras if you have the time and interest.
– John Sunier
