Disturbia finds one Kale Brecht (Shia LeBeouf) under house arrest after he slugs his Spanish teacher for a poorly-timed comment about his recently deceased father. Once mom (Carrie-Anne Moss) cancels his Xbox Live and iTunes accounts, what's a guy to do but pick up his binoculars and start spying on the neighbors. He discovers lots of dirty little secrets during his snooping jags. One day, an amazing thing happens. A beautiful girl named Ashley (Sarah Roemer) moves in next door. Soon, he begins spying on her as she takes dips in the pool and relaxes on her roof, reading or lost in thought.
Eventually, the two become friends and Kale involves Ashley and his other friend, Ronnie (Aaron Yoo), in on what becomes a stakeout, as he reveals that he suspects quiet next-door neighbor Mr. Turner of being a murderer. Soon, the group comes to realize that they aren't the only ones "watching" and as they attempt to gather evidence, things get out of hand. Unfortunately for them, every time Kale steps out of his boundary zone (his immediate property), an alarm goes off and the police come out. Because this happens several times by mistake, the police are more prone to think the kids are crying wolf.
I won't reveal any more because you simply need to watch the film yourself. While Disturbia is based on the classic Alfred Hitchcock film Rear Window, it takes a far more hip approach to things, sprinkling hefty amounts of humor and awkward teen situations in with the tense and scary moments. Carrie-Anne Moss does a great job as Kale's mom, although it's hard not seeing her decked out in vinyl a la Matrix. David Morse is excellent as the next-door possible killer guy. He does calm and serene, yet deadly very well. Everyone is great in their roles, actually, but Aaron Yoo really steals the show in all of his scenes.
Special Features includes Deleted Scenes that mostly convey interaction between Kale and his mom, Outtakes, which are few in number but funny still, a music video, an enlightening making-of featurette, and commentary plus pop-up video during the movie with director D.J. Caruso, and actors Shia LeBeouf, Matt Craven and Sarah Roemer. Once you've seen the movie, this is a cool way to watch it since you get lots of inside info on what was happening during filming.
Go run out and get your hands on Disturbia if you haven't already seen it. This is one to add to your collection as it's definitely worth seeing several times. With excellent acting, a tight script that leaves you on the edge of your seat, but throws in liberal laughs throughout, and an explosive ending, Disturbia has the complete package.
