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SYNOPSIS:
Living under three months' house arrest, Kale Brecht passes
his days spying on the neighbours. It's all fun and games
until things take a horrifying turn for the worse. Kale is
convinced his neigbour next door is a serial killer - but
he can't prove anything, can't convince anyone and can't leave
his house without triggering an alarm. Enlisting the help
of his friends, Kale is determined to expose the truth - but
have they all taken on more than they bargained for with a
cold-blooded murderer on the loose? With nowhere to run and
nowhere to hide, Kale and his friends are in a race for their
lives.
MOVIE
REVIEW
DJ
Caruso’s “Disturbia” is clearly influenced
by the good old Hitchcockian’s thrillers of the past.
But while the MTV generation of today’s society might
not know or appreciate Alfred Hitchcock’s masterworks,
at least Caruso ("Two
for the Money") crafted a thriller that is close
to Hitchcock’s style and revolutionize it to suit the
taste of the younger viewers.
First,
he cast Hollywood “IT” boy, Shia LaBeouf (“Surf’s
Up”, “Transformers”)
in the main role as Kale Brecht who lost his father in an
accident. But things doesn’t get any better after a
year (from the accident), Kale was put under house arrest
after punching his Spanish teacher.
Second,
as no-brainer as it sounds, Caruso knows who to cast. For
newcomer Sarah Roemer, her role as Ashley, the new neighbour
of Kale Brecht will rise to be the next poster girl for adolescents
worldwide. Clad in skin-tight bikini while swimming and dancing
in underwear sure helps to crank up the hot factor.
And
third, young viewers will feel right at home with prominent
product placements such as the famous iPod and X-box. If you
insist, there’s Redbull and peanut butter as well.
Fortunately,
it’s not your typical slasher teenage movie. It takes
a while to build up the tension. The first half is more on
establishing the relationship between Kale and Ronnie, (Kale’s
best friend played by Aaron Yoo) Sarah and Kale’s mum
(Trinity aka Carrie Anne-Moss). The later half starts to get
in gear with the appearance of Kale’s mysterious neighbour,
Robert Turner (David Morse).
Suspecting
Turner of being a serial killer, Kale and gang become amateur
voyeurs and started to spy on Turner’s whereabouts and
activities. There are two heart-pounding sequences, one which
took place in a hardware store and the other Ronnie’s
attempt to break into Turner’s house that will get your
adrenalin running.
With
clever use of camera angles and homemade style camcorder shooting,
“Disturbia” demonstrates a convincing usage of
home digital equipments. Looks like we are not really safe
in our own homes either. Without resorting to extreme violence,
Caruso turns in an expected final act. A typical showdown
to end the movie but who cares since there’s no mystery
as to who the villain is anyway.
Nevertheless,
“Disturbia” succeeds partly on Shia’s charm,
comic-relief Yoo and the delicious Sarah Roemer. Veteran actor
David Morse must be commented for displaying his ultra-compelling
creepiness. Given Caruso’s chemistry with Shia and his
ability to click with the younger viewers, expect another
movie from the pair soon.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
I’m surprised that a low-budget movie such
as “Disturbia” has a slew of nice extras. (By
the way, I’m not the one who coined it as “low-budget”,
DJ Caruso mentioned it during the commentary as they couldn’t
afford to shoot raining scenes instead they have constant
wind and thunder towards the end)
The
Commentary with Director DJ Caruso, Shia LaBeouf,
Sarah Roemer is an interesting one. One that will
get you engaged throughout. You get phone interruptions all
the while courtesy of Caruso. First, his wife called then
his agent, followed by Aaron Yoo (who played Ronnie). Caruso
even mentioned something about Roemer’s PMS and constantly
commenting about putting Roemer in her bikini. Weird, but
like I say engaging. There’s a slight reference to Shia’s
upcoming movie too (i.e. Indiana Jones IV).
You
want to know who is the composer for “Disturbia”
and how much songs do a 60GB iPod stores? Serial Pursuit
Trivia Pop-Up/Quiz is an enhanced feature in the
form of a binocular which you can turn on during the movie
if you are interested in knowing tidbits about the movie.
The
Making of Disturbia is an approximate 15 minutes
feature that of course summarises the making of the movie
including interviews with the writers, director and cast.
Pity you don’t see Steven Spielberg who plays quite
a prominent role in getting this project greenlit.
Four
Deleted Scenes mostly scenes extension, have
Carrie Anne-Moss (who plays Kale’s mum) playing opposite
Shia LaBeouf. Adds a little more emotionalbetween mother and
son’s relationship.
You
might laugh along during the short, one-minute plus Outtakes
seeing Shia LaBeouf kissing a corpse dummy.
The movie’s Music Video: "Don't Make Me
Wait", Photo Gallery and the
Theatrical Trailer rounds up this Code 3
DVD.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
There are plenty of nightshots (be it exterior or interior),
shots from camcorder to fill up the entire length of “Disturbia”.
I guess some shots are deliberately done in low-res to convey
a menacing feel. Overall, I have no problem with the DVD transfer
given the genre.
The
audio gets a bit more exhilarating towards the end with speakers
getting busy all round otherwise the soundtrack emotes creepiness
effectively. Atmospheric sounds such as doorbell and dialogue
crisp and audible. Shia LaBeouf do speaks fluent Thai on the
alternative track.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
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