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Disturbia  Hot
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Written by Dave Anderson   
Thursday, 26 July 2007


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Disturbia

Grade

Content Grade: B+
Sound Grade: B+
Extras Grade: A-
Picture Grade: A

Specs

Dreamworks 1.85:1 Widescreen English, French & Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital EX English, French & Spanish Subtitles Closed-Captioned 104 min., color, 2007 Rated PG-13 Review by Dave Anderson

Review

I avoided "Disturbia" when it came out in theaters earlier this year. It looked like a diluted thriller aimed squarely at adolescents who probably never heard of Alfred Hitchcock, and starred yet another former Disney Channel teen heartthrob. No thanks. So when given the task of reviewing the DVD, I reminded myself that I can't always just cover the movies I'm personally interested in. Believe it or not, sometimes this feels like an actual job. But "Disturbia" turned out to be pretty good. Really good, in fact. No, it ain't all that original, but it is fast moving, suspenseful, and often quite funny. The plot is obviously lifted from Hitchcock's "Rear Window," but the script puts a believable & interesting spin on the premise, so we buy into it.
Part of the reason the film works is the performances, particularly Shia LaBeouf in the lead role. Unlike many of his teen contemporaries, he can really act, and his performance anchors the film. Here, he plays Kale Brecht, a troubled teenager (his father died in a horrific car crash a year earlier, which he blames himself for), sentenced to house arrest after punching a teacher. Unable to leave the house, and cut-off from video games & computers by his oft-suffering mother, Kale passes the time by watching TV & spying on his neighbors from his bedroom window, which becomes more interesting once he befriends Ashley (Sarah Roemer), the beautiful girl next door (whom he also spies on). Later, based on info from the news regarding missing women, he begins to suspect his other neighbor (David Morse, who's really creepy, here) may be a serial killer. Of course, other than Ashley & best friend Ronnie, nobody believes him. So the three of them set out to gather evidence on their own. Of course, there are some plot contrivances and implausibilities, but the story glosses over them well enough that they aren't too distracting. There's also a lot of attention to character detail. We get to know everyone pretty well, and for once, the teenage characters talk and act like real teenagers, not young people spouting adult dialogue. Despite the familiar plot (well, familiar to anyone over the age of 20), "Disturbia" is actually pretty suspenseful, even scary at times, thanks to some deft direction by DJ Caruso.

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Picture and Sound

The film is presented in enhanced 1.85:1 widescreen, and I was impressed with the overall image. There's good use of color tones, which are well-represented in this transfer. A bit less impressive is the audio transfer, rendered in 5.1 Dolby EX. The sound is decent, but nothing particularly outstanding.

Extras

There's an entertaining audio commentary by Caruso, LaBeouf & Roemer, as well as a 15 minute making-of feature with a lot of behind-the-scenes footage. Also included are some deleted scenes, a very short blooper reel, a "Serial Pursuit Pop-Up Quiz" (which is actually kind of fun, a boring music video by the band, This World's Fair, and a photo gallery.

Summary

"Disturbia" is one of those films that's a lot better than you think it's gonna be, and even those familiar with "Rear Window" may enjoy seeing what others can do with the same premise, since the film comes off more as an homage than a rip-off. It's also well-acted, and LaBeouf turns in a star-making performance, showing he has the acting chops to do more than Disney fare like "Holes" & "Even Stevens." All-in-all, a small winner all around, and recommended. Similar Movies: "Rear Window"; "The 'burbs"; "Fright Night"

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