Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6558 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-01-21
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English, Dutch
• Subtitled in: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, English, Finnish, Dutch
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 104 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The soaring career of Shia LaBeouf was powered in no small way by Disturbia, an effective surprise hit thriller that he headlines alongside Carrie-Anne Moss and David Morse.

Covering ground previous trodden by the likes of Hitchcock’s Rear Window, Disturbia finds LaBeouf’s Kale, a year after the death of his father, subjected to house arrest. And as cabin fever sets in, he starts to look out of his window and spy on his neighbours. As you do.

This is, naturally, where the problems soon begin. Because Kale soon starts to get suspicious of the antics of the quiet Mr Turner, played by David Morse, eventually convincing himself that his neighbour is, in fact, a killer.

This fairly straightforward plot, however, is then mined effectively by a talented cast and director D J Caruso. And Disturbia, to its credit, has its fair share of bumps and jumps along the way, working best when it plays things low key.

It doesn’t, ultimately, manage to prolong the suspense it generates for the full running time, and neither is it a top grade thriller. But Disturbia is still good at what it does do: serving up solid entertainment, a few thrills, and showcasing one of cinema’s fast-rising talents. Well worth a watch. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
Shia LaBeouf (Constantine, I, Robot) is a young talent to be reckoned with, as he demonstrates in this genre-spanning film from director D.J. Caruso. Part teenage romantic comedy, part horror flick, Disturbia stars LaBeouf as the troubled Kale, who is confined to his home under house arrest after he punches out his Spanish teacher in the middle of class. Kale's array of available diversions dwindle considerably after his mum (Carrie Ann Moss, Memento) shuts off his X-Box and his iTunes, and he turns to voyeurism instead, carefully noting the daily activities of his neighbours. These include the swimming schedule of the hot girl who just moved in next door, Ashley (Sarah Roemer, The Grudge 2), whom he ogles with his best friend, the class clown, Ronnie (Aaron Yoo, The Bedford Diaries). When Ashley unexpectedly shows up and wants to know what the boys are doing behind their binoculars, they concoct a story about their neighbour, Mr. Turner (David Morse, Proof of Life), and their suspicions that he is the serial killer currently on the loose. The teens' subsequent stakeout makes them increasingly convinced that this is in fact the case, and their creepy interactions with Turner bring them ever closer to learning the dark secret that lies inside his impenetrable suburban existence. Despite a slight identity crisis and distracting product placements, Disturbia is carried by the strong performance of its lead character, and manages to charm with its portrayal of young love.

Customer Reviews

Great entertainment!
I watched this last night with my daughter and it was the first thing on my mind when I woke up. I kept wondering about things in a good way.

It tells the story of Kale, (played excellently by Shia La Beouf), who whilst driving home from a fishing trip with his father, has a head on collision with another vehicle. The crash in itself is worth seeing! Anyway, the father dies and we catch up to Kale a year later asleep in Spanish class while his best friend Ronnie is being the class clown. The teacher wakes up Kale and to cut a long story short, he makes a remark to Kale that has him lashing out at the teacher and giving him a black eye.

Kale is placed under house arrest rather than going to jouvie and he has to stay so for 90 days. His mother, (Carrie Ann Moss), is at the end of her tether with him and closes down his i-tunes and x-box and cuts the cord on his bedroom tv. She leaves him instructions to clean up his room and the kitchen. But Kale has found something much more interesting to do.

He has new neighbours move in next door and they have a great looking teenage daughter. Kale begins a ritual of watching her swim in the pool, do yoga and other stuff and he's quite content. Ronnie comes over and is equally impressed but accidentally lets the girl know that they're watching her. The girl, (Ashley), comes to the door and demands to know what they've been doing.

The boys quickly concoct a story about the neighbour next door being a serial killer. (Kale had watched a news report of a missing girl who was last seen getting into a blue 60 mustang which had a dent on one side.) This said neighbour owned such a car and had aroused his suspicions. So the three of them decide to do a stakeout.

There's some really funny stuff in here that us both laughing out loud. But equally there's stuff that makes your skin crawl with tension. Think of it as a modern day Rear Window and you're on the right track. It's definitely well worth taking the time to watch it. If you enjoyed Shia La Beouf in Transformers you will love him in this one. He steals the show completely. If you're looking for a horror I'd look elsewhere though.

spy on your neighbours, get the girl!!!
I really like the actor David Morse and he steals the show here. Well Labeouf is pretty good here too, in a very boy-next-door way, but Morse is genuinely frightening. The plot unravels in a pretty shoddy way. I mean what happens at the end? I understand it's a fun film but none of the characters look at all shaken up by what's happened; it's a bit sick actually, as if this is what happens regularly.

much camper than rear window, and downright silly in places, it is worth a watch, if that's your cup of tea and i have to admit it is mine.

Three and a half for a good effort
I wish you could give half points with these reviews, becasue I think this film was slightly better then average, but not fantastic.

Shia LaBeouf was entirely likeable as the messed up kid, grieving for his dead father, who then gets placed under house arrest for punching his teacher, (which he deserved!) He soon begins to nosy on the neighbours and suspects that one of them is actually a serial killer.

It's a little like Rear Window but I thought it was more similar to The 'Burbs- remember that? Tom Hanks was the nosy neighbour in that case, but he wasn't as endearing as Shia was in this film.

So why only three and a half out of five? Well, for one thing, it slightly glamourised the deaths of several women and we weren't ever really made to feel the full horror of it. Also, the film couldn't really decide if it was a comedy or a thriller. Therefore, it was like a stange hybrid of the Silence of the Lambs, The Burbs and Rear Window.

There were some genuinely scary moments, however and I did jump out of my seat. I would watch it again but I would rather rent then buy. Overall though, better then I thought it would be.