A Suburban Nightmare: a Review of "Disturbia"

Alfred Hitchcock made some of the best thrillers you are ever likely to see. I think, quite honestly, and argument could be made that he was the greatest director of thrillers that the world has ever known. Don't believe me? Just look at some of his most-famous works and then come back to me. Notice how perfectly he builds the tension in "The Birds." See how he does it again in "Psycho." Then, of course, there is the unremitting tension and thrills in his classic "Rear Window."

It is this last one that people seem to remember so much and that filmmakers seem to remember so much they always want to make versions of it. Many times it doesn't quite work. Even the strict remake featuring Christopher Reeves was a bit more disturbing than exactly as exciting.

However, if you want to do a quality thriller, fill it with exciting scenes that leaves the viewer on the edge of their seat, and stock the film with quality actors, you could do worse than model your film after "Rear Window." This brings us, then, to the soon-to-be-released-on-DVD film "Disturbia" starring the up-and-coming new male star Shia Lebouf.

Shia plays a young man who suffers, at the very beginning of the movie, a truly devastating tragedy. This leads him, not long after, to commit a crime that leads, ultimately, to him being under house arrest. He has to be that way for most of his summer, wearing an ankle device that alerts the police if he steps across a boundary only feet from his property.

What is a young man to do when he is, essentially, stuck in his house? Especially when this young man has been doubly punished by his mother by having his Xbox, internet connection and cable television also taken away? Well, he starts to circle around inside his house and view his neighbors.

Just like in "Rear Window" he becomes interested in the lives he sees. He plots ways to get revenge against the tweener boys who live down the street and leave the old bag of flaming dog doo on his porch. He notices the very attractive young girl and her family who have just moved in next door. Finally, he notices his strange neighbor out behind his house who seems to mow his lawn the same time every day, no matter what.

At the same time, news starts to come across about a missing girl. Then there is another missing girl. Then another. It doesn't quite register on him until he is joined by the afore-mentioned young girl neighbor and his Asian friend from school. They begin to wonder if that strange lawn-mowing neighbor might have more than a few secrets in his house.

This is a movie that almost defies a review. How do you review a movie that relies on building tension and a mounting pile of circumstantial evidence without giving away key clues? The best answer is, you don't really reveal much more about the plot than is already given.

The performances in this movie are outstanding. I had seen Shia Lebouf in "The Transformers" movie and found him likeable. However, that is a movie about giant robots fighting other giant robots and not one to sit back and enjoy the subtleties of individual performances. I was able to remember him despite all of the action, so I guess he did a good job. However, he is remarkable in this movie.

The other great actor of note in this movie is that of David Morse. Now, he has popped up all over the place as of late. I remember when he was a doctor on "St. Elsewhere" and how everything that could possibly go wrong with a character went wrong with his. Then he showed up this past season on "House" as a copy determined to bring Dr. House down to the level of mere mortals. He has also shown up in a lot of movies playing bad guys.

In short, Morse has proven to be a remarkable and versatile actor, but one that so absorbs himself into his roles, you may not even know his name. Trust me, you will know his face. He has that face that can seem remarkably kind, and yet still hide this air of menace behind his eyes. He has a soft voice that can betray true evil. In short, he's a damn good actor and he plays a damn good villain.

Is he the villain in this movie? I will not say. He does manage to be creepy and lead you to believe he might be capable of anything. The revelations on whether or not he is up to what the main characters think he is, I will leave for you to discover.

I found myself completely caught up in this movie. I came in thinking it would be an interesting homage to "Rear Window" and then delighted in the ways the director managed to surprise me, build the tension anew, and update that storyline into modern day suburbia. I found myself on the edge of my seat. I found myself cringing at certain parts. I found myself totally absorbed in this movie.

It comes on DVD soon. For those of you who love their thrills and chills, get this one. Then turn out the lights and enjoy. I bet you never quite look at your neighbors the same way again.