Disturbia

Anyone who has seen the previews for “Disturbia” will tell you that it’s nothing more than a remake of a movie that Alfred Hitchcock did first, and probably did better. This is true, he did do it first, and he did do it better. However if we’re going to start criticizing the stealing of plots, in part or in whole, we wouldn’t have many movies to appreciate. As for doing it better, Hitchcock was the undisputed master of suspense, and the brilliance of his work only grows with time, so a movie that doesn’t do it as well, still might be a pretty good one. “Disturbia” is one such movie.
The Hitchcock movie in question is “Rear Window” and it happens to be the first Hitchcock movie I ever watched. Not that this little detail has much to do with you the readers, but rest assured that as my first Hitchcock film it holds a special place in my heart and the disrespect done to it by a shoddy knock off would be even more insulting to me than usual.
“Disturbia” is not a shoddy knock off; it’s an update of a great story into the twenty first century that retains the most important elements of the original while seamlessly blending in the modern day elements.
A few years back, when home video editing and cell phone advances were really cutting edge, this movie would have seemed like a cheap attempt to market products to every junior voyeur who wanted to catch their murderous neighbor. I get ahead of myself; perhaps I’ll take a step back to fill in those who missed “Rear Window.”
The plot revolves around a young man who is immobilized and amuses himself by observing the people who live around him. In the original film, Jimmy Stewart was the young man, and he’d broken a leg in a photography accident. This time around, Disney Channel veteran Shia LeBeouf plays Kale, a boy still mourning the loss of his father who hauls off and hits his Spanish teacher and is sentenced to three months house arrest.
Some might argue that the sly romantic interactions and interjections of humor have been added in this version, but those who remember the original clearly will recall that in between the nail biting suspense we had Grace Kelly drifting around the screen making eyes at Stewart, and the dry remarks by the house keeper that were, while somewhat darkly so, very amusing.
“Disturbia” manages to update the hero, the girl, and the mood well, but in a movie like this, it would still be a rather pointless cinematic exercise if the villain weren’t spot on. The villain here, I’m glad to say, is more than just spot on, he is a chilling and ominous character who manages to be even more frightful than his predecessor, Mr. Thorwald in “Rear Window.”
Perhaps it is because this time around the camera is free to move outside the room of the observer that basically the same story does not register as a rehash, perhaps it’s because we get a much more detailed view of the killer’s handiwork. Whatever it is, “Disturbia” is excellent entertainment even after I’d seen “Rear Window” about two dozen times, and even though everybody knows right from the get go that the villain is a villain, the girl and the guy will end up together, and any opportunity for a jump scene will be taken.
Hitchcock only ever remade one of his own films, and it wasn’t “Rear Window.” Even so, I honestly think that he would be pleased with this movie because it stays true to the spirit of the story without carbon copying its source. It has the most suspenseful last twenty minutes of any recent film, but it’s never too horrifying and it never goes so far that we check out. We just let our nerves, and our suspension of disbelief, stretch a little further and a little further and fortunately the filmmakers don’t blow their opportunity. Simply put, this movie delivers.

B+