DVD Reviews

Disturbia

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When 17-year-old Kale (Shia LeBeouf) punches his Spanish teacher in class, he's sentenced to three months house arrest, which is a bummer since that means spending the whole summer indoors. Whiling his time away watching TV, playing video games and taking sneaky peaks at sexy next-door neighbour Ashley (Roemer) bathing in the sun, Kale's summer couldn't be more boring - until Mr. Turner (Morse) moves in next door. Things start going bump in the night and Kale is determined to get to the bottom of it. Disturbia, this generation's Rear Window, is two ideas mashed together: guy under house arrest falls for hottie next-door but is forced to watch as she flirts with other guys; guy under house arrest suspects next-door neighbour is a serial killer but no one will believe him. Although the two ideas fit together, there's a feeling that both plots are wafer thin and the burgeoning love story between Kale and Ashley is just filler, dragging out the running time until the whole murder thing kicks off. Kick off it does, but late in the day and one is left feeling that Disturbia is all set up and pay off with no second act. Roemer has nothing to do but stand around looking good (which she does very well it has to be said), Moss is underused, while Morse, trying to be subtlety spooky, is let down by the moody music that springs up every time he's on screen, making his performance look OTT. LeBeouf keeps the movie's head above water and although Disturbia might be a slight blip in an otherwise impressive career start, this won't bother him.
Director: D.J Caruso.
Starring: Shia LeBeouf, Sarah Roemer, David Morse, Carrie-Anne Moss.
Details: US / 105mins (15A).

Review by Gavin Burke