~ April Issue ~
 

Disturbia: Every Killer Lives Next Door to Someone
By Joshua Newsom, Editor
 

            Opening Friday the 13^th, Disturbia dazed viewers with its chilling elements that resembled that of the 1970s shock films. Directed by D.J. Caruso (Taking Lives) and written by Carl Ellsworth (Red Eye) and Christopher B. Landon the film stars newcomers Aaron Yoo and Sarah Roemer and some relatively known stars such as David Morse(16 Blocks), Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix) and the star of the film Shia LaBeouf (Bobby).

            The film begins with Kale (LaBeouf) who is troubled by the sudden death of his father. He is put on house arrest for decking his teacher in school because of a comment he made about his father. During the time of his house arrest he becomes utterly bored and entertains himself by becoming wrapped up in the neighbor’s affairs. He even becomes infatuated with the new girl next door Ashley (Roemer), who moved from the city recently. One day, Ashley notices Kale and his best friend Ronnie (Yoo) spying on her in the pool. She comes over Kale’s house and is quickly interested in his hobby of spying on the neighbors. One neighbor in particular, Mr. Turner (Morse), catches her eye because of his ordinary lifestyle. But Kale, Ashley and Ronnie quickly learn that Mr. Turner is far from ordinary and curiosity might actually kill the cats.

            The general story behind the film was a pleasant surprise. I personally thought it was the typical story of the troubled youth who lands into trouble, tries to clean up for the girl of his dream but unfortunately lands into more drama. It had more meaning behind that and Shia portrays the angst of his character tremendously. David Morse’s deceitful and terrifying demeanor added more suspense and thrills to the film. Also, the lack of embellished gory scenes and footage added a more thriller element that’s recently been missing in horror films. The movie also had some downfalls. Sarah Roemer’s acting abilities were mediocre and dull and seemed like the typical dumb blonde stereotype of any modern day horror film. Although Shia’s performance as whole was riveting his reactions to some of the terrifying events were dawdling and had the viewers scream at the screen, “Move you idiot”.

            The positives of the movie overwhelmingly out weighed the cons. It was one of the most suspenseful films of this and last film. I recommend this movie for anyone who wants to be scared out of their wits and do so in a dark theater anytime past 8.