Disturbia
Shia LeBeouf rise to popularity has been something I am very happy to have witnessed. I first saw him in The Battle of Shaker Heights, a film lent to me by a good friend a couple of years ago and ever since have felt he had a special quality as an actor. Now with Disturbia and Transformers, and the upcoming Indiana Jones film I think it’s fair to say he has arrived as a name to look out for in the future.
Disturbia is a modern day play on Rear Window, LeBeouf plays Kale, a fairly typical teenager who has started to go off the rails since his dads sudden death. Eventually he pays the price for his behaviour and is sentenced to three months house arrest during the summer. Tagged with an ankle bracelet he is left to occupy himself during the long hot summer. Of course things don’t stay this way and soon he is hitting on the cute new next door neighbour and starts suspecting his other neighbour is a serial killer.
Slick, tense and enjoyable Disturbia is a joy to watch, it uses its set up well and the more human elements to the script, LeBeouf’s distancing from people and even the sometimes uncomfortable nature of his voyeurism are touched upon making this much more than a modern day re-make. As I have said LeBeouf has impressed me before and he does it once again here, his natural confidence and likeability immediately set the tone, as much of film is spent following him around it prevents this from ever becoming dull or repetitive. The film itself has its fair share of scares and tension filled scenes and the maker manage to wring all they can from the premise.
If I had a criticism it would be that the end deteriorates slightly into more traditional horror fare, but even then the emotions we have caught up with the characters help it pull through. Overall this is a fun and exciting film that works both as an entertaining thriller and a more personal look at teenage alienation. It may not be the smartest or the most original film of the year, but its one of the ones I’ve had the best time with and one that is well worth you tracking down.
A tense and exciting thriller that makes the most of its Hitchcock-like premise to provide a fun and surprisingly tense experience that doesn’t wear out its welcome, aided greatly by another fantastic performance by Shia LeBeouf.
Shia LeBeouf rise to popularity has been something I am very happy to have witnessed. I first saw him in The Battle of Shaker Heights, a film lent to me by a good friend a couple of years ago and ever since have felt he had a special quality as an actor. Now with Disturbia and Transformers, and the upcoming Indiana Jones film I think it’s fair to say he has arrived as a name to look out for in the future.
Disturbia is a modern day play on Rear Window, LeBeouf plays Kale, a fairly typical teenager who has started to go off the rails since his dads sudden death. Eventually he pays the price for his behaviour and is sentenced to three months house arrest during the summer. Tagged with an ankle bracelet he is left to occupy himself during the long hot summer. Of course things don’t stay this way and soon he is hitting on the cute new next door neighbour and starts suspecting his other neighbour is a serial killer.
Slick, tense and enjoyable Disturbia is a joy to watch, it uses its set up well and the more human elements to the script, LeBeouf’s distancing from people and even the sometimes uncomfortable nature of his voyeurism are touched upon making this much more than a modern day re-make. As I have said LeBeouf has impressed me before and he does it once again here, his natural confidence and likeability immediately set the tone, as much of film is spent following him around it prevents this from ever becoming dull or repetitive. The film itself has its fair share of scares and tension filled scenes and the maker manage to wring all they can from the premise.
If I had a criticism it would be that the end deteriorates slightly into more traditional horror fare, but even then the emotions we have caught up with the characters help it pull through. Overall this is a fun and exciting film that works both as an entertaining thriller and a more personal look at teenage alienation. It may not be the smartest or the most original film of the year, but its one of the ones I’ve had the best time with and one that is well worth you tracking down.
A tense and exciting thriller that makes the most of its Hitchcock-like premise to provide a fun and surprisingly tense experience that doesn’t wear out its welcome, aided greatly by another fantastic performance by Shia LeBeouf.
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