Disturbia DVD Review

Car and plane crashes just continue to get more realistic and horrifying on film, and Disturbia begins with a father/son fishing trip which ends horrifyingly with the son alive and the father gone. Shia LaBeouf is Kale Brecht, a troubled teen dealing with the loss of his father when instigated by his Spanish professor finds himself in even more trouble. Because of his unique situation the judge orders Kale into three months of house arrest, which leaves him with more time than he knows what to do with. This eventually leads him to spying on all of his neighbors when an attractive girl named Ashley (Sarah Roemer) moves in next door to him. He also notices his other neighbors, including a neighbor driving the same car as a suspected killer. When he gets caught spying on Ashley he tells her about the suspected killer as a way to distract her from his spying on her, but she becomes interested and soon they begin to find more coincidences.

They start to spy on the neighbor, played by the always creepy David Morse, and every time something suspicious happens everyone but Kale is conveniently gone. When the suspected serial killer starts flirting with Kale’s mom (Carrie-Ann Moss) Kale becomes even more paranoid, causing everyone around him to suspect his sanity as always seems to happen in order to prolong the tension. Fortunately there is only so much that can be done from the confines of a house when you aren’t Alfred Hitchcock, and Kale’s friends are enlisted to help him when suspect behavior leaves the neighborhood.

Although the premise has some slight variations, this is essentially Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window re-imagined. In replacement of the apartment complex is a suburban neighborhood, which Eight Days a Week and desperate Houswives have already proved is just as quirky and unpredictable as an apartment complex. Although there are difficulties spying on neighbors in without the wall of open windows which made James Stewart’s spying so convenient in Rear Window, Disturbia’s Shia LaBeouf is forced to pass the time with voyeurism for reasons other than a broken leg. This mobility along with some very convenient windows which are never closed makes the same plot nearly as believable in a different setting. The other difference is the age group this film is directed at. It is entirely possible that it was considered more than likely that the age bracket that would be most likely to see this film have never seen Rear Window. Either way these themes are timeless, and while there is no doubt that some may just prefer re-watching a classic, there is an undeniable charm to LaBeouf’s humor that makes the film likable.

The DVD includes a commentary track by director D.J. Caruso as well as Shia LaBeouf and Sarah Roemer, which is a good mix for the most part. Sometimes there is less technical talk when actors are added to the commentary, and this can be a good thing some of the time. There are also deleted scenes and a making-of featurette, but the outtakes are a highlight with LaBeouf on screen. There are also a few useless features like a photo gallery and a music video, but even a serial pursuit pop-up trivia game is a welcome addition in the special features.