By J.E.
I wrote in a previous review that I can’t keep myself away from box office bombs because I have to see the wreckage for myself. Well, the same thing can be said for my tendency to watch $100 million box office smashes, even when the premise of the film looks dumb in the trailers and promos. Such was the case with Disturbia, a $20 million project that earned $23 million in its first weekend and went on to become a surprise hit by grossing more than $100 million worldwide. I refrained from seeing the film in theaters because it didn’t seem all that interesting, but once it came out on DVD, I couldn’t resist. Too bad, since my initial impression was accurate.
Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Disturbia opens with scenes designed to show what a swell kid the main character Kale (played by Shia LaBeouf) is. He’s fly fishing with his dad and they’re actually talking to each other, enjoying each other’s company. Kale’s obviously not your typical sullen, angry teen.
But that all changes when Kale’s father is killed in a car accident on the way home from the trip. Kale was driving, and he probably feels somewhat guilty for what happened (though the film doesn’t bother exploring that issue). Instead, the next thing we see is Kale acting out on his guilt by punching his Spanish teacher in the face. This earns him three months of house arrest for the upcoming summer, and sets the stage for the rest of the film.
Kale at first thinks he’ll be able to handle the confinement because he has cable television, his Xbox 360, and a bunch of other toys to help while away the time. But his mom soon cancels all of these services to help pay the $12/day fee associated with the ankle bracelet and monitoring system. So Kale has nothing left to do except stare out his windows spying on the neighbors, including new girl-next-door Ashley (Sarah Roemer) and menacing loner Mr. Turner (David Morse).
As the movie progresses, we see Ashley and Kale become friends and we see Kale and his buddy Ronnie (Aaron Yoo) become suspicious of Mr. Turner. There have been a rash of kidnappings and murders in the area (as well as in Texas), and Mr. Turner’s odd behavior leads Kale to believe that he’s the killer.
The rest of the film then deals with the two storylines that have been set up. The only reason the Ashley character was introduced was to give Kale someone to hook up with eventually, so, yeah, no surprise when that happens. And the only adult character who really does anything significant is Mr. Turner, so again there’s no surprise when it’s revealed what he’s been up to.
My Reaction: Honestly, I can’t figure out how this movie raked in all that money and currently has a 7.2 rating on IMDB.com. I found the plot to be utterly predictable and cliché, which caused the film to play out as though it were formulated in some kind of paint-by-numbers fashion. I mean, seriously: can anyone out there tell me they were surprised by a single thing that happened in Disturbia?
As soon as Ashley moved in next door, I knew there would be some kind of love scene between her and Kale before the move was done. As soon as the woman who set up the monitoring station in Kale’s house mentioned (like 5 times) that the cops would arrive on the scene within a few minutes if Kale left the premises, I knew that at some point Kale would want to deliberately set off the alarm in order to get help. As soon as Mr. Turner was shown keeping to himself and minding his own business, I knew he would be revealed as the killer.
I understand the concept of economy of character and not wanting to fill the screen with 20 people who could be suspects, so that wasn’t what annoyed me here. Disturbia still could have been a good movie if the writer and director had approached the basic story from a fresh or original angle. But no, we got only what was expected — nothing more.
Plus, there were several inconsistencies and unanswered questions along the way, which further detracted from the viewing experience. For example:
- What the hell happened to Ashley’s party? One minute there’s 50 kids in her backyard, then she goes to Kale’s house, makes out with him, and suddenly everyone’s gone?
- Why did Mr. Turner keep that body in the freakin’ vent where it could possibly be seen by someone? I mean, he had a whole separate room with freezers and everything, so wouldn’t it have been smarter to keep the body in there?
- Motive, anyone? Are we just supposed to accept the fact that Mr. Turner was a psycho killer? Couldn’t the writer have bothered to give us a motive for his crimes? A serial killer with no motive?? Boring!
- How the hell did Kale get Mr. Turner’s house blueprints off the Internet? That was a major stretch, wasn’t it?
Before I wrap this up, I just want to say that I am not on the Shia LaBeouf bandwagon. At. All. I thought he was annoying and unlikable in this film.
Overall, I thought Disturbia had very little going for it. An unlikable lead, stereotypical characters, and a thoroughly predictable plot with an unsatisfying ending lead me to give the film 4.0 stars out of 10. I’m just sorry I contributed in any way, shape, or form to its $100 million take.
