Shia LaBeouf is a complicated public figure. He attained success atย a relatively young ageย before moving on to pop-culture ubiquity before he turned 20.ย Disturbiaย is the beginning of Shia LaBeouf’s breakthrough era.ย He quickly became the poster boy for the worstย blockbusters of theย 2000s and early 2010s.ย Little did we know that his boom period would lead to terrible thingsย on and off the screen. In a way, this thriller introduced the world to adult Shia LaBeouf, and fans want to relive that experience.
Disturbia is Disturbing for Several Reasons
Disturbiaย is a riff on Hitchcock’s classic thriller,ย Rear Window. LaBeouf stars as a struggling teen named Kale. He entered a grim spiral after his father’s death, leading him to strike a teacher for daring to mention his late old man. This lands him in house arrest, forcing him to make his own entertainment. He dons a pair of binoculars and selects leering at people without their knowledge as a new hobby. He creepily ogles his attractive next-door neighbor, which bizarrely pays offย with noย negativeย consequences. The 2000s were rough for this sort of thing, but you rarely see aย “stalking equals romance” narrativeย played this straight. Luckily, the film provides him with an excuse when heย starts to noticeย hints connecting his other neighbor to a string of murders.ย He’ll have toย solve the case without leaving his property or earning his neighbor’s wrath.ย
As a standalone project,ย Disturbiaย shows its age in all the worst ways.ย The premise is sharp, but it hardly gets credit forย borrowing from Hitchcock. Plus, Hitchcock borrowed it from a 1942 short story.ย Rearย Windowย is more than fifty years older thanย Disturbia, yet it feels so much more timeless. Hitchcock imbues the concept of voyeurism with a sort of camaraderie. After all, we’re watching everything James Stuart sees. It’s a communal experience, thus prompting the same haunting shock when our passive observation catches something real.ย Disturbiaย doesn’t have anything to say about the role of the observer or the risks of staring. It’s a straightforward thriller. It’s more interested in an Oprah Winfrey-esque suburban serial killer gimmick than anything as high-minded as curiosity as a problem and its solution. This absence of meaning should allow the film to lean into aesthetics, but it all amounts to nothing.ย
Disturbiaย is worth its 105-minute runtime.ย I’ve found it to be a perfect selection for theย type ofย person who doesn’t typically enjoy horror films. It’s a decent gateway, partially because it doesn’t lean too heavily in any particular direction. The same curious fear of choices will likely push it from your memory before long. Anyone who recallsย Disturbiaย likely has fond memories of it. I wouldn’t recommend revisiting it, especially withย theย knowledge ofย Shiaย LaBeouf’sย life since then.ย Thisย is aย glimpse into the pastย thatย made me want to close theย window.
