Disturbia Both Brilliant and Disturbing

I have heard that this movie is feeble when compared to Hitchcock's "Rear Window," the movie "Disturbia" was based on. For those of us, like me, who haven't seen the original "Rear Window," this movie stands alone on its own pretty well. Shia LaBeouf is a light shining in the darkness of this chilling movie. He has also come a long way since his role on Louis Stevens on the Disney Channel series, "Even Stevens." "Disturbia" tells the tale of Kale Brecht, a troubled teenager (LaBeouf) who is sentenced to house arrest for three months and, in order to curb his boredom, resorts to spying on his neighbors. The result is a much more mature LaBeouf and a movie much different than other projects LaBeouf has been involved in.

With an intelligence team that consists of Ashley, the girl next door (Sarah Roemer, "The Grudge 2"), and Ron, a bizarre best buddy (Aaron Yoo), suspicions begin to arise in the minds of the three teens about Robert Hunter (David Morse, "16 Blocks") next door, and whether he just might be a wanted serial killer.

As the clues unfold and the kids become tangled up in the mystery, the film does a very successful job of wrapping up the audience. From a series of blood-curdling car crashes in the beginning minutes of the film-to the end, consisting primarily of people being clubbed and/or impaled with miscellaneous garden tools, "Disturbia" keeps its audience on its toes with the constant stream of disturbing images. Arguably, the on-screen make-out session playing underneath the closing credits was more disturbing to me than anything else.

Other than the blood, bodies, and death, the movie seemed a little scattered. There were a few miniature side plots going on that you always expected to be tied in somehow but never were. For example, a brief scene leaves the viewer with the impression that Ashley has a relatively rocky relationship with her parents. Does this go anywhere? Not at all. Ashley also spends a lot of time on her roof reading. You would think this had something to do with the movie, right? It doesn't. All random side plots aside, it was worth the $4.50 I spent to see the matinee showing.