Review: ‘Disturbia’ steps up in teen-horror genre

Directed by: D. J. Caruso

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, David Morse, Sarah Roemer, Aaron Yoo, Carrie-Anne Moss

Rated: PG-13

When watching the previews for “Disturbia,” any film fan will immediately recognize the movie owes a great deal to legendary director Alfred Hitchcock’s classic psychological thriller “Rear Window.” What one doesn’t get from the ads is the fact that director D.J. Caruso borrows as much from teen-angst film maven John Hughes as he does from Hitchcock. Rarely have teen horror movies – most of which are much heavier on blood and gore than psychological thrills – used two such disparate, and worthy, directors for source material.

Caruso, a veteran TV director whose best film is 2002’s “The Salton Sea,” does a great job balancing a story that “grown-ups” will find engaging and the lucrative “teen” market will flock to, as the principal characters are high school kids. And for once, they aren’t just pieces of meat waiting to be carved up by the psychopath-du-jour. Although there is a psychopath in “Disturbia” who is ready to do his share of maniacal mayhem.

Shia LaBeouf plays Kale Brecht, a high school student who is having trouble dealing with his father’s death. Kale and his dad were in a car accident with Kale behind the wheel.

When his Spanish teacher makes an inappropriate remark, Kale belts him. Not only is he suspended from school, Kale is hauled into court where the judge sentences him to three months (all summer) of house arrest, complete with an electronic ankle bracelet. One might think that a teenager being confined to his room –complete with Internet, cable TV, DVD and computer games – is hardly punishment. But Kale’s exile is not an easy one. His mom, Julie (Carrie-Anne Moss), cancels Kale’s interactive Xbox and iTunes service and, when he lets his room become a pig sty, she cuts the TV cable. You can see the sweat forming on the teen’s brow.

Then Kale discovers some old-fashioned “technology”: binoculars. Blessed with an upstairs with windows in every direction, Kale and his field glasses begin perusing the neighborhood on a regular basis. What he finds is a very real version of reality TV.

One of the first “stars” in his show is the new teenaged female neighbor, Ashley. Ashley enjoys sitting on her roof reading almost as much as she does taking a dip in the pool wearing the skimpiest of bikinis. Sarah Roemer – whose previous credit is the horror film “The Grudge” – has an air of calm and class around her and brings to mind many of the on-screen qualities Cate Blanchett possesses.

Kale’s buddy Ronnie (Aaron Yoo) returns from a Hawaiian vacation and joins Kale in his voyeuristic pursuits. Soon they are discovered by Ashley, who also joins in.

There have been reports of a missing woman on the news with a blue Ford Mustang implicated in her disappearance. Neighbor Mr. Turner – played by David Morse looking like Hannibal Lecter’s scarier brother – has a blue Ford Mustang. The teens also witness Turner chasing a scantily clad “club girl” around the house in a state of undress. At first they think foul play is afoot but then decide it’s just sex play.

Turner shows up at Kale’s house after helping the kid’s mom fix a flat tire. Kale gets a creepy feeling from the neighbor and it rekindles his belief that Turner is somehow involved in the disappearance of one young woman, and possibly many more.

Hampered by his electronic leg bracelet and a local police force that think he’s a teen troublemaker, Kale has no choice but to send Ronnie on a reconnaissance mission to Turner’s premises. The scheme nearly ends in tragedy, the police come, and Kale finds himself in deeper trouble.

This sets up the scenario wherein Kale’s mom has to go to Turner’s house to try and smooth things over.

Act three is more akin to modern “scary” movies than classic Hitchcock, but Caruso and writers Christopher Landon and Carl Ellsworth (he wrote the airplane thriller “Red Eye”) have already developed the characters and storyline enough to be forgiven for taking a turn here.

While not in the realm of Hitchcock – they don’t call him the “master of suspense” for nothing – “Disturbia” is a big step up from the norm in the teen-slasher genre.

Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.