Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window is my favorite film of all time. So when I see a film with a similar plot to that of Hitchcock’s masterpiece; I get really excited to check out if the film will be as good as Hitchcock’s.. While Disturbia is not the masterpiece that Rear Window is; it still holds it’s own as a pretty good flick.
While Disturbia takes a lot from Rear Window in terms of a similar plot, the storyline is a bit different. Disturbia starts out with a young man named Kale, whom at the beginning of the film loses his father in a fatal car accident. While not paying attention in class one day his teacher chooses to humiliate him at his dead father expense and Kale gives him one hell of a beat down. Flash forward and Kale is being sentenced to five months house arrest for assaulting him teacher. Of course this house arrest is during summer vacation. Kale chooses to spend his summer spying on his neighbors though his bedroom windows sometimes his friend Ronnie joins him. There is also a new interest in the neighborhood as well a new family has moved in next store and they have a beautiful daughter that is the same age as Kale. her name is Ashley, and they soon become friends when she catches Kale checking her out while she is swimming in her pool. The two of them along with Ronnie spend hours spying on the neighbors, but one neighbor Kale has his suspicions about. A single guy simply know as Mr. Turner, whom seems to be the playboy type, bringing home a new girl every night. Kale soon figures out that he is actually committing crimes and killing women, but he has no way of proving if it’s true or not. Along with Ashley and Ronnie; Kale will do his best to convince his mother and the police that Mr. Tuner is up to no good.
So by reading the plot outline above you can see how the plot is similar to Hitchcock’s Rear Window, but that the story is different. Disturbia’s script is no doubt very good, but it’s no Rear Window. The script has plenty of good twist and turns and at times can lead you believe the outcome will be different from what everyone anticipates. Most of the script concentrates on character development first and the story is secondary. However both have an even flow and in no way conflict with one another. In a nutshell we pretty much have an idea about how the film is going to pan out, so we tend to concentrate on our lead characters more.
The overall acting is very good. At first I was a bit skeptical about Shia LaBeouf being able to pull off the role of Kale. Especially since he’s really not an actor that’s been in many lead roles, unless you count the Disney film Holes. Well, needless to say he did a great job as Kale and was very convincing as a bad ass troubled youth. David Morse stole the show as Mr. Turner, because you never knew how this character was truly going to turn out. The rest of the cast which included Carrie Ann Moss as Kale mother, and newcomer Sarah Roemer and Aaron Yoo rounded off the rest of the superb cast.
In terms of production value and special effects we really don’t get much. The production value is good, but there are no over the top sets involved. I mean pretty much the film takes place in suburbia, in peoples homes. So we really don’t need much in terms of anything over the top. I will say however that there is a scene where a certain area of someone’s home looks like something out of Hostel or Saw. But that’s about the closest we get to any kind of horrific set piece. In terms of Special effects the film is not filled with over the top blood and guts, but does have plenty of bloody moments. However the film kind of relies more on the less is more routine most of the time, or the weapon use method of killings and beatings.
The DVD includes some decent extras such as commentary by Director D.J. Caruso and actors Shia LaBeouf and Sarah Roemer. A music video of Don’t Make Me Wait by This World Fair, deleted scenes, outtakes, photo gallery, some trivia and a pretty good documentary on the making of Disturbia.
Overall, I can’t say that Disturbia is anywhere near as great as Rear Window is, and while it’s not a remake of the classic film, it is a good piece that takes from the original plot of a great film and makes it it’s own. Much like what was done with the third installment of the Mimic series. So Disturbia is a good film, and is well worth checking out. If your a fan of suspense thrillers and like me think that Rear Window is the best movie ever made, you’ll like Disturbia and respect it for the good film that it is.
Check out some clips of the film: CLICK HERE
– Horror Bob
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- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
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