As a self-professed Hitchcock fanatic, I have seen the 1954 classic "Rear Window" quite a few times. In the film, a broken leg forces a famed photographer to remain housebound. To combat his boredom, he begins to spy on the lives of his neighbors through his rear window only to discover that one of the subjects of his observation appears to have murdered his wife. The film is the epitome of suspense thrillers with superb performances from Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly. Needless to say, I was a bit miffed at the idea of a modern makeover of one my favorite classic films. However, I put aside my apprehensions when sitting down with my box of Reese's Pieces and awaited the opening credits with an objective mind. Unfortunately, "Disturbia" lived up to my meager expectations.
In this ill-fated remake, Jimmy Stewart is replaced by a young but accomplished Shia LaBeouf as Kale Brecht, a high school senior who, after attacking his Spanish teacher, is sentenced to house arrest. He brings spark to the otherwise overdone character motif of the angst-ridden teenager with a chip on his shoulder (which sounds like every other main character from a 90s sitcom). When his mother ("The Matrix" series vet, Carrie Ann Moss) takes away the joys of television, he resorts to spying on the lives of his neighbors. His slice of American suburban pie includes a bratty batch of preteens, a cheating husband, a creepy middle-aged man, and of course a blonde bimbo (Sarah Roemer) who just moved into the house next door. Where would a bad movie be without a dull-minded pretty girl who can't act? The live-action drama outside his window becomes serious when he suspects the aforementioned creepy middle-aged man, Mr. Turner (David Morse), is a serial killer.
The film has some moments of solid entertainment. The investigation scenes are sprinkled with bouts of comic relief in the form of Kale's jumpy friend Ronnie (Aaron Yoo). But even the light in these rare bright spots begin to burn out as the film absentmindedly transitions into a cheap-thrill horror flick in the last third. This transition is filled with predictable plot turns at every corner along with gaping holes in the storyline.
The thing about this movie that especially saddened me was the wasted talents of Shia LaBeouf and David Morse. LaBeouf, a rising star with so much potential, has little to dig his teeth into with this role. There are moments of emotion, but he never gets enough room to stretch to his limits, due to a script that would rather fill the holes in character development with cheap thrills and high-tech gadgets. If I hadn't seen his previous work in movies like "The Battle of Shaker Heights" and "Holes," then I would have pegged him as another teen film star who would fade into oblivion until VH1 comes up with another teen movie countdown.
As for David Morse, his role as a stock serial killer with few lines and even fewer glimpses into his psyche leave one pondering how much better the film could have been if his part were expanded.
The final nail in the coffin, as they say, was the direction of D.J. Caruso, who has been successful in his small screen work but lackluster in the movie junket. His work on "The Shield" was inspired and original in camera angles and the like. However, the box-office bomb "Taking Lives" is as forgettable a film as "Disturbia."
I highly doubt that the film will have any impact upon American culture except for teenagers who have never heard of "Rear Window" or, perhaps more devastatingly, Hitchcock, who would be none-too-pleased to see his brilliance smeared into thoughtless film made not for art but for box office receipts. If I were to make a recommendation, I would skip this sleeper and rent "Rear Window" or watch paint dry -- either one would be healthier for you mind than this garbage.
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