Disturbia

Last night I went to see “Disturbia” and it was two thirds of a pretty good thriller, but the last third was so poorly written and directed it negated what occurred before.

“Disturbia” is an updating of “Rear Window”, only instead of a voyeur trapped at home with a broken leg who spends his time watching his neighbors, we have a young man named Kale (Shia LeBouef) under house arrest who, after having his television and video games privileges taken away, spends his time observing his neighbors. Eventually, he begins to suspect his neighbor (David Morse) is a serial killer.

A good enough premise, and the story is updated nicely with all the technological gadgets for spying on someone (though Kale and his friends are equipped with enough surveillance equipment for a small country.)

Minor Spoilers Ahead:

But it falls apart in the last 20 minutes or so because director D.J. Caruso doesn’t create and maintain suspense. There’s a potentially terrific sequence where Kale enters the house of his neighbor to search for a loved one, but nstead of frantically searching the house, he meanders through the house like he’s on a Sunday stroll. I’m trying to avoid describing the conclusion for those that haven’t seen it, but zero tension is maintained due to the very leisurely approach taken by the director.

The cast is capable and leading lady Sarah Roemer is very easy on the eyes, but oh that ending.

Give it a re-write, tighten up the last 15 minutes or so and you would have had a fun romp. Instead, the shadow of Alfred Hitchcock turns into a suburban-lite version of “Saw”, and how boring is that?

Rating for “Disturbia”” Two and a half stars.