Disturbia (2007)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

D.J. Caruso

Writers (WGA):

Christopher B. Landon (screenplay) and
Carl Ellsworth (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 April 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Every killer lives next door to someone

Plot:

A teen living under house arrest becomes convinced his neighbor is a serial killer.

Plot Keywords:

Neighbor | House Arrest | Arrest | Serial Killer | Teacher

Awards:

4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Shia LaBeouf	...	Kale
Sarah Roemer	...	Ashley
Carrie-Anne Moss	...	Julie
David Morse	...	Mr. Turner
Aaron Yoo	...	Ronnie
Jose Pablo Cantillo	...	Officer Gutierrez
Matt Craven	...	Daniel Brecht
Viola Davis	...	Detective Parker
Brandon Caruso	...	Greenwood Boy
Luciano Rauso	...	Greenwood Boy
Daniel Caruso	...	Greenwood Boy
Kevin Quinn	...	Mr. Carlson
Elyse Mirto	...	Mrs. Carlson
Suzanne Rico	...	News Anchor
Kent Shocknek	...	News Anchor

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 on appeal for sequences of terror and violence, and some sensuality.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS

Certification:

Ireland:15A | Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-15 | UK:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Germany:16 | USA:R (original rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Italy:T | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Sweden:15 | France:-12 | Chile:14 | Brazil:14 | South Korea:12 | Malaysia:U | Philippines:PG-13 | Taiwan:PG-12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Norway:15 | Denmark:15 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating on appeal) (certificate #43260) | South Africa:13V (theatrical rating) | South Africa:16LV (DVD rating) | New Zealand:M | Iceland:14

Filming Locations:

Bishop, California, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

The script was written in the 1990's and was optioned. The original studio let the option expire after hearing about Christopher Reeve's remake of Rear Window (1954) (Rear Window (1998) (TV)). It wasn't till 2004 that script was rewritten and sold.

Goofs:

Continuity: You can only see the top 2 inches of it sticking out of his pants but Kale's underwear keeps changing back and forth between white boxer-briefs and plaid boxers. These scenes were probably shot or re-shot on different days and nobody thought to keep the same underwear that's sticking out of Kale's pants the same.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Kale: Do you think he sees us?
Daniel Brecht: No, he can't see us. But trust me, he can feel us watching.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Indiana Jones 4: Pre-production (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Great American Napkin

A Terrific PG13 Horror thriller

Disturbia is one of the best PG13 thrillers that I've seen in a long time. After all the other rated PG13 thrillers that have come out in the past six years or so, DJ Caruso, who directed, proves that it has always been possible to make a good suspenseful thriller these days without all the gore.

Shia Labeouf plays Kale Brecht. After witnessing the death of his father in a car accident, he becomes sullen and withdrawn. This leads to him being put under house arrest after he punches out an unsympathetic teacher. Imprisoned in his own house, and unable to go beyond 100 yards, he finds himself turning into a peeping tom and spying on all the neighbors. One of them is the attractive new girl in town named Ashley (Sarah Roemer) and another may be a killer named Mr. Turner (David Morse). With the help of the new girl Ashley, his friend Ronnie (a great comedic turn by Aaron Yoo), Kale goes about investigating Mr. Turner to see if he is the killer or not. The three teenagers use cell phones and the internet as well as video cameras in the investigation, and DJ Caruso shows some of his sly wit by using these same devices in the film to not only investigate the spooky neighbor, but also to create some humor to go along with everything else.

The plot is a familiar one. That would be because the great Alfred Hitchcock used it first with his famous suspense thriller Rear Window. Yes Disturbia is a blatant rip-off of that movie, but it is done with skill, and the acting by all, including Carrie Anne Moss as Kale's mother, was very good. All the characters are likable, and David Morse's turn as the creepy Mr. Turner was well done as well.

Disturbia may not be a great movie, but it is definitely one of the best PG13 thrillers in years. It outshines such horror thrillers as Cursed and Pulse, as well as the recent horror thriller The Messengers. Disturbia also once again proves that you don't need a bunch of gore to make an effective horror thriller. Horror directors take note.