Movie Review: Disturbia

6/10

As always... beware of spoilers folks.

It is notable that a remake as blatant as this DJ Caruso version of Rear Window at no stage recognises or acknowledges the immense debt it owes to Hitchcock's classic tale of boredom and its resultant petty obsessions.

The task then, of Caruso's retread through this story, is to live up to and hopefully surpass the original in the hope of justifying its audacious existence.

In short, despite game turns from the leads and a suitably creepy performance from David Morse (seemingly the go to guy for creepy), it just doesn't succeed.

SPOILERS START NOW. YOU HAE BEEN WARNED.


Its good points are, ironically most apparent where it differs from the Hitchcock standard and heads off on its own. Whereas Jimmy Stewart was wheelchair bound following a dumb photography decision (in the middle of a race track if I remember right) Shia LeBeouf's "Kale" is housebound due to being under house arrest. This solves the problem of Shia only being able to see out of one window since the suburban setting does not serve this aesthetic.

When the differences appear, the lead is also allowed to shine in the acting department - the character of Kale (while having a distinctly silly name - isn't it a salad leaf?) is likable, if damaged and capable of eliciting a genuine affection from the audience. His co-stars are totally average. The dorky yet "zany" antics of his friend Ron, and the lame love interest (thought she does have Grace Kelly to live up to) are frequently annoying instead of entertaining, and unlike the love between Jimmy and Grace you never really buy into this teen fling in the same way.

It's also sad that the exploratory missions that Kelly's Lisa Fremont goes on in Hitchcock's classic are the province of Ron the best friend rather than the girlfriend, who incidentally as a clichéd "mom & dad keep fighting so I'm a rebel" type would be better suited that Fremont to do the dirty work. Rubbish. By doing this you lose that great sense of "oh god, that's the love of my life over there!"

The film also makes a major error in actually showing you, for certain, the crime that Kale and his friends suspect. This means that there is absolutely no suspense or ambiguity whatsoever in the plot, and my initial hopes that they were going to go down a different story route were dashed all too quickly.

What is slightly more impressive is the design of Mr Turner's creepy home, the sort of facade that is always half-suspected to be hiding behind your neighbours' nice family photos. The fact that this guy is a multiple serial killer - I counted at least four bodies in this house alone, and the film states he has moved before - just doesn't sit in the credibility scale like the crime of passion in Rear Window did. Surely the police would have some suspicion?

Anyway. There is little to recommend this film except LeBeouf and the story, which was better told in Rear Window. Don't believe anyone who says it's different enough to not require a credit to the earlier film because they are wrong.

Hey, I'm not saying it's terrible - but it may well be as pointless an exercise as Gus Van Sant's Psycho or the American remake of [REC].

A disappointment.

A