by Thomas Ferguson

Alfred Hitchcock’s classic Rear Window was a masterpiece that showed movie audiences that you don’t need a lot of special effects or even elaborate sets to make a suspenseful and interesting story. The new release Disturbia gives a modern day twist to that same ideology.

In this updated film, troubled teenager Kale (Shia LaBeouf) witnesses a series of strange occurrences in his neighborhood and one neighbor’s secretive and suspicious activities have opened a can of worms that may land Kale in prison.

The movie starts with the violent accidental death of Kale’s loving father. After his loss, Kale withdraws from everyone around him. When he becomes confrontational with a teacher, he ends up on house arrest. He is confined to the house and a small portion of the land it stands on. If he travels outside the designated area, he has only ten seconds to get back in range before the police are dispatched to arrest him.

His sentence seems easy at first, but his frustrated mother Julie (Carrie-Ann Moss) confiscates his games and even disconnects the television. The only source of entertainment is the phone and looking out his bedroom window.

The view from his window becomes more stimulating when a new family moves next door with their beautiful and sexy daughter Ashley (Sarah Roemer). Kale’s full attention is on Ashley, who knows she’s being watched by Kale and his zany best friend Ronnie (Aaron Yoo).

Ashley becomes restless as well and takes the initiative to introduce herself. The three newly formed friends spend their lazy summer days together trying to get through without going completely crazy from the sheer boredom.

Things begin to spice up when local news stations report stories on missing women and a possible serial killer’s M.O… Several of these reports point to Kale’s next door neighbor Mr. Turner (David Morse), a loner who gives off a troubling vibe. This vibe frightens the teenagers and sends them into detective mode. They want to prove their suspicions are true before another victim can be taken.

Disturbia is a terrific film full of twists, turns, and loads of suspense. From the horrific accident that claims Kale’s father in the beginning to the heart- pounding climax, this film will have you rooting for the young teenagers.

I believe this film will make an even bigger name out of young actor Shia LeBeouf. This rising star is on the threshold of something big. Later this year, he will star in the highly anticipated Transformers movie. He recently picked up ShoWest’s Male Star of Tomorrow Award. Last year, Jennifer Hudson picked up their female award- look what happened to her. His performance in this film only solidifies his amazing talents. The supporting cast shined as well, especially Morse who gives a very chilling performance.

A great crowd-pleasing movie to get you in the mood for the slew of summer blockbusters on the horizon.