Disturbia Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Every killer lives next door to someone
After his father's death, Kale Brecht (LaBeouf) becomes sullen, withdrawn, and troubled — so much so that he finds himself under a court-ordered sentence of house arrest after a run in with the law. His mother, Julie (Moss), works night and day to support herself and her son, only to be met with indifference and lethargy. The walls of his house begin to close in on Kale. He becomes a voyeur as his interests turn outside the windows of his suburban home towards those of his neighbors, one of which Kale begins to suspect is a serial killer. But, are his suspicions merely the product of cabin fever and his overactive imagination?
| 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 #1 |
| Luciano Rauso | Greenwood Boy #2 |
| Daniel Caruso | Greenwood Boy #3 |
| Kevin Quinn | Mr. Carlson |
| Elyse Mirto | Mrs. Carlson |
| Suzanne Rico | News Anchor #1 |
| Kent Shocknek | News Anchor #2 |
| D.J. Caruso |
7.00 out of 10 (7648 votes)
Visitor Reviews
teenager on house arrest winds up finding some very creative things to do
posted on 26 Aug 2009I recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see a very well done movie from start to finish. The movie itself is actually a remake of the Hitchcock classic "rear window" but it has definitely been modernized but in a fun way.The main character winds up under house arrest with a high tech sensor attached to his leg which literally doesn't allow him to be more than a few more feet from the house without there being serious consequences. The nice part about this movie is that the script is really polished nicely from beginning to end. Once the main character starts off being under house arrest the fun begins. He is told to be very creative with his time, and even though he has his TV and computer games taken away from him he winds up having to use the environment around him to keep himself amused. This is where the well done script kicks into high gear with the other characters being well developed into action, each helping to make the story more interesting. Mainly the different characters help to make up different types of suspense which make it a top notch thriller. Even the "girl next door" who turns into his love interest develops in a nice realistic fashion. The best part about this movie is that the script is developed in such a professional manner that it just keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering how things are going to turn out. Probably the best part of this movie is that it is totally worth watching, because the director did such a good job and the actors did such a great job. If you don't get a chance to see it in the theatres then do yourself a favor and treat yourself to it on either rental or for purchase, you won't be sorry.
Decent re-imagining of Rear Window
posted on 26 Aug 2009This isn't a bad movie.It's not a quick movie to get your juices flowing - the first half to two-thirds deals with the set-up at a fairly leisurely pace - but the climax sets a high level of tension of the "killer in the house" variety.Shia LeBoeuf as the youngster under house arrest does very well in portraying the decent lad adversely affected by his father's death: he does less well in giving us the kid who is paranoid about the next door neighbour - we never really feel the conflict between his genuine concerns and the appearance of paranoia to others.David Morse is able to portray downright evil as easily as he plays sympathetic second-string leads, and he does so here.Sarah Roemer makes a confident and attractive young lead in only her third film.And the house arrest scenario is a good updating alternative to the original Rear Window.
Recycled story, but what about the techno-bloopers?
posted on 20 Aug 2009I don't mind that this takes heavy inspiration from Hitchcock's "Rear Window." I mind that it's nowhere near as good. This movie has severe story problems and a big tech problem, too, at least in the theater where I saw it.First, as the trailer clearly shows, the lead is a teenager on house arrest. What it doesn't tell you is that he's being punished for his reaction to being sadistically ostracized by a teach in a foreign language class. He punches the teacher once in the face. I personally would have killed the teacher for what he said.But I walked out because a boom microphone drops down into view about 20 times in the first 35-40 minutes of this film.In Flagstaff, AZ, we have only one theater, but that doesn't mean we're stupid. Maybe this copy of the film was sent to us by accident. What a disappointment.
Just another moneymaker
posted on 20 Aug 2009When I first saw this movie I regretted spending my money on the ticket. The plot was so predictable, with villains next door getting away with just about every accusation a young boy could throw at him. Shallow characters taken straight from other movies. No new features I have seen in any character of this movie. It was a simple mix of many different other poor productions. And some time later it struck me!!! I have seen this story before! And where else could I see this not other than... The Simpsons. Season 6, Episode 1: Bart of Darkness. Look it up here on IMDb.COM. This episode of The Simpsons features Bart getting his leg broken leg in a cast, getting a telescope from his sister, starting watching people from Springfield using the gift. Sees no other than Ned Flanders - the next door neighbor doing suspicious things... murder is in the air... This episode was inspired by Rear Window by Alfred Hitchcock (1954) later remade by Pei Chan in Hou chuang (1955) and yet another time on TV under the very same title Rear Window (1998) (TV) starring Christopher Reeve. Are there no new ideas in the writers heads? Has everything been already written? Why can't I see Alfred Hitchcocks' name when I type Disturbia in IMDb?? When I first saw Disturbia I regretted spending money on the ticket. Now that I discovered it was a cheap ripoff I think it was just another moneymaker by people who do not care about the art of film making and, what is even worse, they don't care about the viewer... they only think about their pocket.
Just watch Rear Window
posted on 18 Aug 2009Stupid shitty angst ridden teen pretends he is Jimmy Stewart in this horrible almost remake of an Alfred Hitchcock classic. Instead of a cast he has an ankle bracelet since hes so badass that he punched a teacher. There's no point in even discussing this trash, if you like the crapper that stars in this movie watch transformers at least there's some cgi, which I'm sure is far more important to you then story or characters. There isn't even any boobies to make up for the stupidity of this movie, so stupid. All in all, just watch rear window, if you want to see someone spying on people, only you also want to see a good movie at the same time.
A movie that means business!!
posted on 16 Aug 2009I've had the movie for awhile and I know that it got a lot of smack for ripping off "Rear Window" by Alfred Hitchcock. But in my opinion it is way better than "rear window". I watch this movie every night I go to bed. Shia LaBeouf turns in a magnificent role as Kale Brecht and makes you feel his pain of losing his dad. Ther is also a wide array of great actors in the movie ranging from Aaron Yoo, David Morse, Matt Craven and also the wonderful Carrie-Ann Moss. Just the actors in the movie make it more appealing. There is more to be said about this movie so that's why all the ones that have not seen it should go out and rent/buy it and see a good suspense movie.
Salvaged by Shia & Morse (JUST)
posted on 12 Aug 2009Inside this mess of a film there was an interesting idea, taken from Hitchcock's Rear Window, of a house bound teenager discovering his neighbour's dark secret. Instead of making the most of the two male leads, the film makers concentrate most of the film on a soppy love crush between LaBeouf and Sarah Roemer.The film is not shockingly bad and remains at least, watchable to the end. David Morse had a cool menace as the neighbour but is not given enough screen time to be a really scary villain. Too much time on the unbelievable love story, which consists of 'Kale' stalking/spying on the gorgeous neighbour girl and her finding it irresistible (worst part being the speech, to which the she replies "That's either the creepiest... or the sweetest thing I have ever heard." Trust me, its the former).In summary, not bad enough to condemn it but there's not much for thriller fans - definitely for ages 15 and under
I expected a bit more
posted on 12 Aug 2009Good sides: 1) Basic plot story is believable. All of us stayed in house for couple of days and when you are really bored, you just go and see what other people are doing. You're not a voyeur if you look through your window and it is possible that you'll find some strange things about your neighbors; things you don't notice every day. 2) Director D.J. Caruso managed to make a good movie on direction part. His camera angels are solid and the use of normal camera that is given to the characters is great, but it's not very original. 3) Acting of Shia LaBeouf is absolutely for praise. Shia confirmed that he could turn out to be a good actor. 4) "Disturbia" is not a bad movie but since I watched so many very similar movies this one will not leave any tail as great thriller in my memory. But this is movie that you can easily watch and it isn't good but it also is not that bad. And one thing; this is not horror thriller, because there is nothing scary in it. If you were afraid, you are either juvenile or person who can easily be scared.Bad sides: 1) The whole movie reminds me on few other movies like "Rear Window" and especially "The Shining". Why must the villain in this movie try to enter through the doors like Jack Nicholson? 2) After solid beginning this movie starts to sink when we realize that there is killer involved here. All the scenes from the moment Julie Brecht enters the house of Robert Turner are a bit stupid to me. Let me tell you why. We are presented with normal characters here and also they are very human; they do what normal people do in every situation. But do you have a killer next door? 3) The ending. I don't like it. Ronnie is hit with metal baseball bat and he is OK. Kale managed to beat a man who killed at least 10 people and of course our main characters lived happily ever after. Yes, only in "Disturbia". 5/10
Could have been better...
posted on 12 Aug 2009The beginning: The fishing dialog was so unnecessary to me. It added time to the film that was not needed. I have seen it twice and still cannot tell you what they were talking about - just a waste. I realize they were setting up the relationship between the father & son, but they could have done that in a shorter amount of time in the car before the wreck.The middle: I think the touches of humor through-out this part of the film were nice. I think it focused too much on the romance and made us wait too long for the thrills. A friend of mine said "If we hadn't been watching it with you, I would have turned it off. It was dragging out too long." The climax: When the actual thriller part of the movie started going, it was pretty good. I think it was well done. The comedic touches with the friend were great.The ending: As expected...Overall, entertaining but long. They could have shortened it by about 20 minutes without taking away from the film. Actually, that would have improved the film.
Quite Good
posted on 12 Aug 2009Kale is restricted to house arrest for the summer, and his mother (Carrie-Anne Moss) isn't going to make it easy for him, so Kale's new pastime involves spying on his neighbors, his favorite one being the super-hot Ashley (Sarah Roemer) who just moved in next door. Kale and his cohort Ronnie (Aaron Yoo) have also been watching his creepy neighbor Robert Turner (David Morse), who they suspect is involved with a recent spate of missing persons. When Ashley gets in on their game, things step-up as the trio try to find proof that Turner is responsible for the missing women.Disturbia proves to be a good thriller that provides some nice entertainment. It may not be original (which has been pointed out endlessly) but at least it offers a good time. I believe D.J. Caruso did a nice job behind the camera. He took about fifty minutes to build the story up and develop the characters before releasing the suspense. There was plenty of suspense in the last thirty minutes or so in the movie and it was more than just "gotcha" scares but actual suspense which really made the film enjoyable. The viewer really gets behind the main character so don't be surprised if you find yourself rooting out loud for Kale's survival.The writing was also decent even if most of it felt a bit recycled. There were many plot points that were easy to figure out but this didn't damage the movie too much. Some of the dialog was really annoying though like the "You can't have a stakeout without coffee and doughnuts" line but while the lines were very corny, they were only a minor problem therefore not too damaging to the film. Also, for those expecting something like Red Eye or Cellular, look elsewhere. Those films really had the suspense going the entire film while Disturbia really only has a shocking beginning followed by forty minutes of character and story development. I'm not saying the film was boring, just not very suspenseful during those forty minutes or so. After that, Disturbia did get very exciting and it was a lot of fun to watch.Shia LaBeouf was shockingly good as Kale. Generally, I can't stand him at all yet he was actually pretty convincing here. If he had a given a weak performance then the film would have failed but he was able to give a charismatic performance and he was entertaining to watch. David Morse was effectively creepy as Mr. Turner. His subtleness really crept me out and he was very convincing. Carrie Anne-Moss was decent and it was nice to see her again on screen. Sarah Roemer looked really nice and she was also decent although a bit on the bland side. You will either like or hate Aaron Yoo's performance. Either you will find him really annoying and unbearable or you will think he's actually pretty funny. I thought he played a good supporting character and he was also fun to watch. Overall, Disturbia was a nice thriller that I enjoyed watching. Rating 7/10
Great Movie!
posted on 10 Aug 2009Disturbia was a great movie. I personally thought Shia LaBeouf did an excellent job in this movie. He proved that he could be serious a times but also be a hilarious teenager. It had many high tension moments but there were also many comical scenes. I enjoyed the many comical scenes that was present during the movie. It had a lot of surprises that came out of no where. This was a great thriller, it kept me on the edge of my sit during the high intense scene. The section of the age group turned out to be a great picked. I can really relate to what LaBeouf did when he was really bored during his house-arrest. I highly recommend this movie if you are into Thrillers.
Best thriller I've seen in a while.
posted on 10 Aug 2009Disturbia tells the story of a teenage boy named Kale who is sentenced to three months house arrest after punching a teacher in the face for making a comment about his recently deceased father. When his mother takes away his TV and his computer, he resorts to spying on the houses surrounding him. Things begin to get frightening when he begins to suspect one of his neighbours is a serial killer. He gets his friends involved with his impromptu investigation, and soon the neighbour realizes he's being watched...And he's not too happy about it. Disturbia is loosely based off the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock classic Rear Window, but it is still a film all in itself, and it is the best thriller I've seen in a while.What makes this movie better than most horror movies that are released today is that is doesn't rely on excessive gore and gross out tactics to frighten you. It relies on mood and suspense, and that works so much better. As the film went on, the tension got so high that I was literally on the edge of my seat rubbing my hands together because I was so anxious to see what was going to happen next. I actually felt the adrenaline rush that the characters in the film must have been feeling when they were snooping around in the neighbour's garage. The movie has a realistic feel of how creepy it would be to have a serial killer living across the street from you and you had no way to prove it. Everything in this movie is done well. The writing, the directing, the way it all pans out. I was actually shocked when I left the theatre over how good this movie really was.The acting was very good from everybody involved. Shia LaBeouf has come a long way from Even Stevens. Something tells me that he has a nice career ahead of him. David Morse is perfectly sinister as the neighbour. He's just one of those actors that you might not know who he is to hear his name, but he pops up here and there and you always say, "Cool, it's that guy." Overall, this was an amazing thriller, and I'm glad I went to see it because I really wasn't expecting that much. It leads me to wonder why Hollywood continues to pump out absolute garbage like the Saw trilogy, Hostel, and Dead Silence when they could be making movies like this instead.8/10
Best thriller I've seen in a long time!
posted on 10 Aug 2009A few months back, I heard about this movie and wasn't really that excited about it. Don't get me wrong, it looked like it had potential, but I thought it was going to be an okay movie. To my surprise it wasn't! I watch shows like Ebert & Roper, read online reviews, newspaper reviews and all of the critics agreed, that this is a great film. One of the main complaints was that it looked too much like Alfred Hitchcock's:Rear Window. However, it seemed very original in it's own way,I liked the film and think that it is one of the best this year. I also must say, Shia LeBeouf gives an amazing performance; he has matured from his days on Even Stevens. I loved his performances this year in Disturbia and Transformers, he proves that he can be comical, but very serious at the same time. He reminds me of a young Tom Hanks. If he keeps going the way he is right now, then he is going be be a great actor.
Somewhat Disappointing Shia LaBeouf Vehicle
posted on 08 Aug 2009With a title as cool as "Disturbia," the final product couldn't quite live up to its name. The only disturbing thing about this movie is how studios can continue to peddle such run-of-the-mill fare.The pacing was indeed good, as was the acting. Shia LaBeouf and David Morse exhibited intensity in their roles and were enjoyable to watch. But the script and plot of the movie were so ho-hum and predictable that the wife and I left the theater with frowns on our faces. We were frustrated by the overall direction of the movie. It descended into a teen suspense film unwilling to take any risks. As a side note, the boom could be frequently spotted atop the screen.As far as I can tell, the only real theme to this movie is voyeurism pays dividends.
Really liked it
posted on 04 Aug 2009I didn't expect much of this movie since it's been a while since I saw a good thriller (especially one from the last year) but I REALLY liked it. The movie's got some really strong points where I was just shocked and terrified, it does one of the best jobs of making you feel what the characters feel, the actors are really great and the directing is amazing. Also, the soundtrack is one of the best ones I've heard in a movie in a while...I think the movie's really worth the shot (and actually think I'm gonna watch it again pretty soon) but maybe it only works if you have low expectations
The worst watched movie of the year.
posted on 29 Jul 2009How pity is that. Nothing in the movie. 2 Million dollar in one week. Go and watch Hitchkok, The Rear Window. The Godfather. This movie is like a grand grand son of Hitchkok. If you are between ages 14-18 it could be cool. But if you are serious film analyzer and a reader you would say. What the hell is that. Again an advertisement and trailer succession story. Nothing added to the grand father as I said earlier. Add a camera affect, I do not know, add something... Do not to that much bad copies and from ethical dimension I find it unethical, to show a film to the ones who did not know Rear Window. I do not know. Was awful.
Interesting, but it takes the (very) easy way out.
posted on 21 Jul 2009An intriguing premise is a must for any good thriller. Whatever bizarre set of rules or restrictions the film can set on it's protagonist, as long as they aren't outright ridiculous, can propel him/her/them on a wild ride. "Disturbia" starts like that with a great opening act that sets up an interesting situation: a housebound high schooler is convinced that his neighbor is a serial killer. He is on probation and on house arrest so he gets his friend and another neighbor to help him investigate. Obviously this is virtually a remake on the Hitchcock classic "Rear Window," but the fresh setting and reworked scenario make way for some great suspense as doubts about characters and situations are teasingly probed along the way.However, this clever and tense setup leads to a tense, but highly dull overdone conclusion. Thus, the set up is reworked, but the end is all the same, but with more violence than Hitchcock ever showed. All doubts are simply erased and the characters and situations suddenly become black and white. It's a shame that a film goes through obvious and noble attempts at showing something new, but then reverts back to the same old cliché for the end. It would have been better the other way around with a clichéd start and an unexpected and unpredictable ending. That way there would have been a good pay-off. But this is just taking the easy way out and that's a shame. --- 6/10BsCDb Classification: 13+ --- violence
what the heck?
posted on 21 Jul 2009OK I really liked this movie, but one thing I noticed was how could Turner tie up Kale's mom and then be over to knock Ronnie out like 5 seconds later? I mean it showed Kale figuring out where the body was at the same time that Julie (Kale's mom) was attacked, then while Kale was calling for Ronnie he was attacked, and that was only like 5 seconds after the original discovery. How that happen? But other then that the movie was a pretty amazing horror movie, even if it was a remake with a different name. I also heard that there was going to be a sequel but I don't have a clue what thats going to be about. Anybody got a clue? Well all in all a great movie.
Another good thriller from director D.J. Caruso
posted on 19 Jul 2009After CELLULAR the same director delivered another great work with Disturbia that I liked very much as an entertaining thriller fulfilling my expectations. It wasn't so violent or bloody as described in many critics. This is a modern remake from the classic REAR WINDOW with James Stewart and the director succeeded in implementing more plots, suspense and twists than in Hitchcock's one. There were scenes that my wife has to close her eyes so you can easily imagine what kind of effects DISTURBIA offers. If you like this genre I recommend you TRAPPED, THE BONE COLLECTOR or DON'T SAY A WORD. For all these reasons the total rating is a solid 7/10 that matches exactly with the vote of IMDb:Entertainment: 7/10 Direction: 8/10 Performance: 7/10 Screenplay: 8/10 Story: 5/10 Suspense: 8/10
Solid and Entertaining
posted on 28 Aug 2009Disturbia star Shia LaBeouf appears to have a great future ahead of him. In the past few years, amidst forgettable roles in I, Robot, and Constantine, he contributed strong performances in films like A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, and now in the thriller Disturbia. Although it is basically a remake of Hitchcock's Rear Window, Disturbia is unique in that it mixes elements of teen comedy, romance, drama, and gripping suspense in an entertaining way. Not to say the film is perfect, as it definitely isn't, but it accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do and then some. All of the acting is decent and believable, with standout performances by the aforementioned LaBeouf as Kale, and David Morse, as the suspected villain, Mr. Turner. Serving as great comic relief is Kale's friend Ronnie (Aaron Yoo) while the new girl next door, Ashley (Sarah Roemer), provides a romantic interest. Also notable is The Matrix's Carrie-Anne Moss as Kale's mother who is great as always, yet underused.Kale gets put on house arrest after punching his Spanish teacher in class. It's his third run in with the law since his father died in a car accident a year earlier. Under house arrest, he begins to learn the secrets of everyone surrounding him through the use of binoculars and video cameras. His most important realization in his voyeurism is that his somewhat reclusive neighbor shares many suspicious similarities to a wanted serial killer whom the police have not yet identified.It's generally difficult to create such suspense under the restrictions of a PG-13 rating (do not watch this at the theater between 7-9 PM to avoid the loud middle school crowd), but instead of just trying to shock, the film conveys paranoia and fright through the use of mood and mere suggestions of menace. The script could have used another rewrite to further develop the cast of characters, as the only one who is fleshed out at all is LaBeouf's. LaBeouf, who turns twenty-one in June, is looking to join Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ryan Gosling as one of the few great actors under the age of thirty if he keeps turning in strong performances in interesting projects. His star is certainly rising with Transformers due this summer and the fourth Indiana Jones film in the summer of 2008. We have to realize that even though there is so much that makes Disturbia unique, at heart it is a very commercial effort. The twists are quite obvious, many characters are underdeveloped, and there's product placement everywhere (which is realistic nonetheless). However, at a brisk 104 minutes, it would be a lie to say the movie wasn't extremely satisfying, and an undeniably entertaining film.