In case you weren't aware, Alfred Hitchcock is the master of suspense in cinema. His uncanny ability to make an audience over-think enough to be more afraid of what they aren't seeing than what they are is unmatched.
Because of this, every instance in film since Hitchcock's heyday that could even remotely be compared to the master's form of suspense is described as "Hitchcockian."
Disturbia is one of those instances.
At first glance it's an obvious choice, the film seems to have numerous allusions to the 1954 Hitchcock classic Rear Window. However, besides the main character being stuck at home beyond his power -- forcing him to be creatively voyeuristic for entertainment and thus stumbling upon a murder -- the comparisons stop right there.
As the film progresses, you find yourself picking out similarities between the two films less and less and becoming involved in the plot more and more.
Our hero is Kale (Shia LaBeouf), a typical, angst-ridden teen who goes beyond his boundaries and finds himself in house arrest.
With nowhere to go for summer vacation, he starts peeking in on the goings-on around the neighborhood. It's a veritable soap-opera: who's sleeping with who behind who's back?; who's the new hottie, Ashley(Sarah Roemer), that moved in next door?; and wait a minute ... is Mr. Turner (David Morse) a savage killer?
Kale's mind starts to wonder as he begins to speculate what's really going on next door. In the same way he gets his friends involved, the audience begins to conjure up their own wild ideas. Amongst all of the typical teen romance plot line, they find the time to dig deeper for the truth.
If lack of evidence completely convinces you that Turner is innocent, Morse plays him so eerily and with such an air of omnipresence that just the sight of him, coupled with his sinister candor, makes the audience wish with every fiber of their being that he's guilty.
At this point, you might be thinking the film will be entirely predictable, but that's where the beauty lies. If you've watched the TV spots for this movie, you know exactly what you're getting into and the movie delivers to your expectations and then some.
Everything from unrelated nuance of the opening gambit to the slow buildup leading toward the last 45 minutes of action-laced suspense will surely immerse the audience. That's how purely entertaining this film is; no matter how the filmmakers present the story, it works every time.
Couple this with characters that most teens can relate to and enough sex appeal to make David Hasselhoff jealous, there's no reason Disturbia won't be a box office winner.
There are many levels to this film in terms of appeal. The casual moviegoer will scream at obvious suspense. Horror buffs will love the classic enemy whose urge to kill is contained in a calm shell. Even self-proclaimed cinema experts will find a film that they can appreciate solely based on pure entertainment value without having to nit-pick at every flaw in the film simply because there aren't many.
In an age when the Saw films continue to be made because of their high-grossing box office numbers, Disturbia shines bright.
Since Saw drew an audience, no one cares that they've ruined suspense in cinema, all in favor of cheap scare tactics. The almighty dollar has taken the scary movie away from us.
In Disturbia it doesn't take much for the film to draw the audience into their little world and gain trust. While this might be a simple teen-popcorn flick at face value, it's a glimmer of hope for a possible new direction in 21st century suspense.
GRADE: B+
