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</script></div>{/googleAds}Film buffs and the Alfred Hitchcock-faithful, alike, can attest to the explosive combination of spine-tingling suspense and incomparable wit that became Hitchcock's voyeuristic thriller, Rear Window (1954). A true movie masterpiece, Rear Window frighteningly explored the nosy diversions of a wheelchair-bound photographer, whose glass pane and telephoto lens unexpectedly revealed the murderous side of a New York City neighbor. Incapable of entering the other side of the camera himself, he enlisted his model-girlfriend and no-nonsense nurse to investigate this newfound obsession, only to find that prying into the private lives of strangers can lead to the deadliest of consequences.

Now, more than fifty years later, in a society where web-cams and reality television reign supreme, Director D.J. Caruso has created Disturbia - a technologically twisted Rear Window for the YouTube generation.

At the center of Disturbia lies Kale (Shia LaBeouf) - a once ordinary, well-behaved teen - who, at sixteen, lost his father in a horrific car crash. With no outlet through which to express his emotional rage, Kale becomes increasingly despondent and further immersed in a sea of questionable behavior. Now seventeen and with a growing rap sheet, Kale again finds himself standing before the court; this time, for clocking his Spanish teacher, who made an unwarranted comment about Kale's deceased father. With paternal mercy shown by the judge, Kale is sentenced to merely three months of house arrest (which conveniently takes place during summer vacation). Forced to wear an ankle-monitoring device, not only is Kale's mobility limited, but his contact with the outside world, restricted.

After Mom (Carrie-Anne Moss) suspends his X-Box Interactive and I-Tunes accounts (um, hello, what on earth is a kid to do?) and his friends abandon him for the summer sun, Kale begins to develop a serious case of cabin-fever. Left with little to occupy his days, Kale grabs his binoculars and begins spying on the neighbors from afar - the afternoon affairs, the pre-teen boys sneaking peeks at Skin-emax, the marital discord between outwardly perfect couples and more often than not, the striking new eye-candy that just moved in next door (Sarah Roemer).

However, when Kale notices that his neighbor, Mr. Turner's (David Morse) erratic behavioral patterns mimic that of a fugitive serial killer, movement-restricted Kale recruits best friend, Ronnie (Aaron Yoo), and new love interest, Ashley (Roemer) to assist in a high-tech surveillance scheme in order to uncover the truth. But when the innocent fun turns into a desperate fight for their lives, these three friends begin to wonder just who has been watching who.

Without question, Disturbia hits its mark for the under twenty demographic. Awkwardly-hip, I-savvy teens whose lives revolve around the latest gadgetry; mild flirtation with high school romance and movie-style mystery; a moderate amount of thrills and chills for the easily-squeamish; and lacking the parental-abhorred adult language, drug references and overly gratuitous violence that plagues most films of its kind. With those few, simple ingredients, Caruso has made a fun and mildly entertaining PG-13 film for the summer vacation crowd, while simultaneously redefining the teen scream genre.

As for those of us who can legally purchase beer, well, Disturbia leaves us feeling that we, too, were under 104 minutes of house arrest. Reason being, it lacks any level of adult-inspired complexity, there is not one shred of spell-binding suspense, and it flaunts a wholly unbelievable and all-too predictable plot structure.

Let me explain through examples. Amazingly, the cop who monitors Kale just so happens to be the Spanish teacher's cousin. (Do I smell a vendetta?) On a crowded, suburban street only Kale hears chainsaws and watches as blood splatters on Turner's windows. Not to mention, the nightly news warns residents to be on the lookout for a blue mustang with a busted front end fender. Take one guess as to what Turner drives? Oh, and if you ever want the blueprints to a neighbors house, their garage door opener schematics or high-resolution autopsy and crime scene photos, just ask Kale because apparently, he has unlimited access to everything. By the way, are police academy's still not teaching officers to look, before walking by a killer standing in a corner? And that, my friends, is only a mild taste.

But what is most disturbing about Disturbia is that it truly had the potential to be a fun, fright-fest for all ages, but Writers Christopher Landon and Carl Ellsworth let every potentially terrifying twist drop without further development (e.g., Mom accepts a date with Turner) and instead, chose to devote the first hour to Kale's voyeuristic tendencies and budding romance with Ashley. It is not until the last act that we are invited into Turner's house for one climactic scene that sadly turns into a complete joke when we find revolving walls, a labyrinth of torture chambers, and not-so-sterile operating rooms with the ever scary flickering lamp overhead.

Nevertheless, newcomer Shia LaBeouf offers an amazingly paranoid performance and we can expect nothing but great things from this young actor in the future. Ronnie, as the token-Asian-comedic-sidekick (complete with â"Me So Horny" ring-tone), offers some fine laughs but eventually becomes borderline annoying. And Ashley. Oh, Ashley. Seventeen years old and strategically peeling off her clothes for a peeping-Kale; seductively biting her lip when Kale starts to sweat; and thinking how â"sweet" it is that Kale knows everything about her from what she reads at night to what she has for breakfast, compliments of his over-used binoculars. Can you say â"restraining order?" And please don't get me started on what I refer to as the â"Dawson's Creek-Syndrome;" where no teen utilizes the words â"like" or â"um," and instead, embraces a limitless vocabulary that would make even Webster's Thesaurus blush.

That being said, if anything keeps the adrenaline pumping, it is Disturbia's high-energy score. Featuring an eclectic mix from Lou Rawls to System of a Down, the soundtrack rocks. Unfortunately however, the promise for big scares and non-stop twists and turns, rolls...downhill, fast.

As such, while the, shall we say, technologically-challenged adults starving for the thrilling and suspense-driven mind of Hitchcock will be left only mildly entertained, Disturbia will undoubtedly reign supreme as the quintessential romance turned B-slasher, teen-date flick of the summer. But after the high-tech gizmos, high school flirtation and high level PG-13 screams of Disturbia die down after Labor Day, maybe some of its fans will actually take the time to watch Rear Window - the film that planted the seed of Disturbia. Only then, will they be able to understand the electrifying chills that Hitchcock, the Master of Mystery, can send down one's spine, and truly appreciate that while his terrifying stories and timeless style will forever be copied by promising film-makers such as Caruso, they can never, ever, be duplicated.

DVD Details:

Screen formats: Widescreen Anamorphic 1.85:1

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Language and Sound: English: DTS 5.1 Surround; English: Dolby Digital 5.1; English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; French: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Other Features: Color; interactive menus; scene access; trailer; audio commentary; deleted scenes; making-of featurette; outtakes.

* Commentary: With Director D.J. Caruso, Labeouf, and Sarah Roemer.
* Featurettes
o The Making of Disturbia (14:50)
* Outtakes
* Deleted Scenes - (04:35)
* Theatrical trailer - Four additional scenes that didn't make the final cut, in addition to an alternate ending clip
* Music Video - This World Fair's Don't Make Me Wait
* Quiz - Serial Pursuit/Pop Up Quiz
* Photo Gallery
* Previews

Number of discs: - 1- Keepcase packaging

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