Paranoïak

This film is a call back to that 2005-2010 era of movies where they have something special about them, less CGI, less connected storylines, just a basic plot and some decent young acting.

Disturbia is an entertaining movie that showcases Shia LaBeouf's acting skills and commitment in his roles. He is the main focus of this movie and he certainly holds it as well, the side characters are alright, but this is definitely a Shia Showcase!

The plot of the movie is okay enough, nothing special happening, typical teenager thinks his neighbor is a killer and then proceeds to play detective and see if it is true type of story.

All in all, this movie is worth watching or re-watching just for Shia alone, but the movie holds promise albeit letting some cliches hold it back. So strap in, make sure your seat belt is on and swerve into this guilty pleasure.

'Disturbia' is a solid, entertaining thriller that does exactly what it says on the tin. Whilst it's nothing new or special, it is well made, suspenseful and effective in building and sustaining tension.

Shia LaBeouf and David Morse deliver solid performances as Kale and villain Mr Turner. Their characters are interesting and unpredictable and work well with the theme of the film. 'Disturbia' is well paced, the developments are appropriately timed and the film does a good job at keeping you guessing.

All in all, a perfectly decent mystery thriller. One of the better ones I have seen of late, and one I would recommend.

Disturbia tells the story of a teenage boy named Kale who is sentenced to three months house arrest after punching a teacher in the face for making a comment about his recently deceased father. When his mother takes away his TV and his computer, he resorts to spying on the houses surrounding him. Things begin to get frightening when he begins to suspect one of his neighbours is a serial killer. He gets his friends involved with his impromptu investigation, and soon the neighbour realizes he's being watched...And he's not too happy about it. Disturbia is loosely based off the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock classic Rear Window, but it is still a film all in itself, and it is the best thriller I've seen in a while.

What makes this movie better than most horror movies that are released today is that is doesn't rely on excessive gore and gross out tactics to frighten you. It relies on mood and suspense, and that works so much better. As the film went on, the tension got so high that I was literally on the edge of my seat rubbing my hands together because I was so anxious to see what was going to happen next. I actually felt the adrenaline rush that the characters in the film must have been feeling when they were snooping around in the neighbour's garage. The movie has a realistic feel of how creepy it would be to have a serial killer living across the street from you and you had no way to prove it. Everything in this movie is done well. The writing, the directing, the way it all pans out. I was actually shocked when I left the theatre over how good this movie really was.

The acting was very good from everybody involved. Shia LaBeouf has come a long way from Even Stevens. Something tells me that he has a nice career ahead of him. David Morse is perfectly sinister as the neighbour. He's just one of those actors that you might not know who he is to hear his name, but he pops up here and there and you always say, "Cool, it's that guy." Overall, this was an amazing thriller, and I'm glad I went to see it because I really wasn't expecting that much. It leads me to wonder why Hollywood continues to pump out absolute garbage like the Saw trilogy, Hostel, and Dead Silence when they could be making movies like this instead.

8/10

After hitting his Spanish teacher, seventeen year-old Kale (Shia Labouf) is sentenced to three months of house arrest and must wear an ankle bracelet to make sure he stays put.

After Mom (Carrie Ann-Moss) literally cuts the cord to other forms of diversion, Kale begins watching his neighbors. The cute new girl (Sarah Roemer) that just moved in the house next door gets most of his attention, but Kale also begins to notice strange happenings at the nearby home of Mr. Turner (David Morse.)

LaBouf's Kale doesn't quite measure up to the standard set by Jimmy Stewart so many years before and the frenetic pace of the film can be annoying. but "Disturbia is still a somewhat entertaining re-telling of "Rear Window" complete with bathroom humor, close-up shots of female rear-ends, and the inevitable use of cell phones and personal computers as plot devices.

I had seen the trailer of the movie and found it appealing. Later I found that it is somewhat similar to Rear Window – the Hitchcock movie and is on the same lines; that made me go and see this movie.

It is the story of a young boy Kale (Shia LaBeouf) who is sentenced to 3 months of house arrest and finds ways to peep through his windows in neighbors' lives – one, the recently moved neighbor girl Ashley (Sarah Roemer) and another middle aged guy Mr.Turner (David Morse) who our young boy and his friend Ronnie (Aaron Yo) suspects as a killer. Is Mr.Turner a killer? Or this is just paranoia of our young gang? The Director D.J.Caruso – who has specialized in crime thrillers in past 4-5 movies, does a very decent job in keeping the audience engrossed in the narrative and unfolds the story slowly and nicely. The movie presents many aspects of drama, and takes us through a ride of varied sub-plots with good interest. There are a couple of minor annoying scenes – like the love aspect (quite unnecessary I thought, but may be required for today's young audiences) and the usual cliché of thriller movies. But overall the movie is entertaining.

Shia LaBeouf is not a great actor, but does a decent job, so does the Sarah Roemer, Aaron Yo and David Morse.

The camera work is excellent because it shows only that much which would make you eager to peep beyond the camera frame to see what is there – and that keeps you engaged. The music is okay.

Yes, the movie is not close to the classic Rear Window, but I should say that I liked the movie.

(Stars 6.75 out of 10)