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''Disturbia'' is a 2007 American
neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...
psychological thriller film Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and c ...
directed by D. J. Caruso and written by Christopher Landon and Carl Ellsworth. Starring
Shia LaBeouf Shia Saide LaBeouf (; born June 11, 1986) is an American actor, performance artist, and filmmaker. He played Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series '' Even Stevens'', a role for which he received Young Artist Award nominations in 2001 and ...
,
David Morse David Bowditch Morse (born October 11, 1953) is an American actor, singer, television director, and writer. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison in the medical drama series '' St. Elsewhere'' (1982–88). His film c ...
, Sarah Roemer and
Carrie-Anne Moss Carrie-Anne Moss (born August 21, 1967) is a Canadian actress. After early roles on television, she rose to international prominence for her role of Trinity in ''The Matrix'' series (1999–present). She has starred in '' Memento'' (2000) for ...
, it is about a teenager who is placed on house arrest for assaulting his school teacher and begins to spy on his neighbors, believing one of them is a
serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
. Partially inspired by
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
's ''
Rear Window ''Rear Window'' is a 1954 American mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder". Originally released by Paramount Pictures, the film ...
'', the film was released on April 13, 2007. It received generally positive reviews, and grossed $118 million against a budget of $20 million.


Plot

Troubled by the sudden death of his father in a car accident, outcast teenager Kale Brecht punches his teacher who invokes his father while reprimanding him at school. For the assault, Kale is sentenced by a sympathetic judge to three months under
house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if a ...
, with an
ankle monitor The ankle, or the talocrural region, or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular join ...
and a
proximity sensor A proximity sensor is a sensor able to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. A proximity sensor often emits an electromagnetic field or a beam of electromagnetic radiation (infrared, for instance), and looks for ...
. Kale is initially happy with his punishment, watching television and playing video games, until his frustrated mother Julie cuts his TV cable and internet access. Kale's boredom leads him to watch his neighborhood using binoculars, including his new next-door neighbor Ashley Carlson, whom Kale is attracted to, and his other next-door neighbor Robert Turner, a single man living alone. Upon observing his neighbors, he learns things about them, and one night Kale becomes suspicious of Turner after he returns home in a 1960s
Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best sellin ...
with a dented fender, which matches the description of a car given on a news report of a
serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
at large. Kale befriends Ashley, and the pair begin to spy on Turner together, along with Kale's best friend Ronnie. They observe Turner arrive home with a woman; she is seen running around his house in a panic, but later appears to leave in her car. His anger is exacerbated by Ashley throwing a party at her house next-door, where Kale observes Ashley flirting with people and socializing with popular groups from school. As a petty act of jealousy, Kale moves his speakers out onto the roof and blasts
Minnie Riperton Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single " Lovin' You" and her four octave D3 to F7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use ...
in order to spoil the party. Ashley furiously comes into the house to turn off the music, and Kale reveals he has been observing her since she moved in and is romantically interested in her. The pair share their first kiss. The following day, Kale asks Ashley to follow Turner to the supermarket so that Ronnie can break into Turner's car to get the code of the garage controller. Ashley agrees, but is caught in the parking lot by Turner, who then intimidates her. She tells Kale she doesn't want to take part anymore, shaken by her encounter with Turner. Ronnie realizes he left his phone in Turner's car and breaks into Turner's house to retrieve it, with Kale watching at a distance. While inside, Ronnie gets trapped when the garage door closes; Kale attempts to rescue him but alerts the police upon leaving his property with the ankle monitor. The police arrive and search the garage, as Kale angrily accuses Turner of murder, but they find nothing but a bag containing a roadkill deer. In an attempt to ask Turner not to press charges for Kale's breaking and entering, Julie goes across the street to talk to Turner. Ronnie reveals that he has escaped from Turner's house. Kale watches the video Ronnie made while running through Turner's house and he notices something strange behind a vent, something wrapped in plastic. Upon freezing the frame and zooming in, Kale discovers it to be the corpse of the woman from earlier; proving that he was right all along. Meanwhile, next door, Turner incapacitates Julie and holds her captive. Turner then enters Kale's house, knocking out Ronnie and binding and gagging Kale. He reveals his plan to frame Kale for the murders and make it appear that Kale then killed himself. Ashley arrives, giving Kale a chance to attack Turner. He throws him from the top of the stairs before Ashley frees him from his bindings. They then jump out of the window into the pool as Turner resurfaces. Kale's ankle monitor again alerts the police, and he enters Turner's home to search for his mother. In a hidden room, Kale finds ample evidence of Turner's previous murders, including a woman's dress and wig, indicating Turner pretended to be the woman leaving the house the night Kale and Ashley were watching. The officer who monitors Kale's escapes arrives at the scene but Turner breaks his neck. Meanwhile, Kale stumbles upon the decaying remains of murder victims, as well as their driver's licenses and belongings, and finds his mother bound and gagged in the cellar. Turner appears, slashes Kale in the back and pins him to a wall, but before Turner can kill Kale, Julie stabs him in the leg with a dagger, allowing Kale to grab a pair of gardening shears and impale Turner in the chest with them, finally killing him. In the aftermath, Kale is shown having his ankle bracelet removed by the authorities for good behavior. Later he gets revenge on his young neighbors, the Greenwood boys, who had pulled pranks on Kale previously. After that he kisses Ashley on his sofa, while Ronnie playfully video tapes them.


Cast

*
Shia LaBeouf Shia Saide LaBeouf (; born June 11, 1986) is an American actor, performance artist, and filmmaker. He played Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series '' Even Stevens'', a role for which he received Young Artist Award nominations in 2001 and ...
as Kale Brecht, a 17-year-old high school student who is under house arrest and begins to suspect that his neighbor is a serial killer. *
David Morse David Bowditch Morse (born October 11, 1953) is an American actor, singer, television director, and writer. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison in the medical drama series '' St. Elsewhere'' (1982–88). His film c ...
as Robert Turner, Kale's neighbor whom the three teens suspect of being a serial killer. * Sarah Roemer as Ashley Carlson, Kale's neighbor and love interest who assists in Kale's mission to get to the truth. *
Carrie-Anne Moss Carrie-Anne Moss (born August 21, 1967) is a Canadian actress. After early roles on television, she rose to international prominence for her role of Trinity in ''The Matrix'' series (1999–present). She has starred in '' Memento'' (2000) for ...
as Julie Brecht, Kale's mother who begins to develop a more authoritative attitude towards him. *
Aaron Yoo Aaron Yoo (born May 12, 1979) is an American actor. He is best known for appearing in the films '' Disturbia'' (2007), '' 21'' (2008), and ''Friday the 13th'' (2009), as well as playing Russell Kwon in the sci-fi series ''The Tomorrow People'' ( ...
as Ronald "Ronnie" Chu, Kale's best friend who helps him spy on the neighbors. *
Viola Davis Viola Davis (; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the only African-American to achieve the Triple Cro ...
as Detective Parker, the detective in charge of Kale's case. *
Jose Pablo Cantillo Jose Pablo Cantillo (born March 30, 1979) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Ricky Verona in ''Crank'', Miguel in ''Cleaner'' (2007), Pepe in '' Streets of Blood'' (2011), Detective Martinez in '' El Chicano'' (2018), Hector Sal ...
as Officer Gutierrez, a police officer who is in charge of Kale’s case and likes to torment him. *
Matt Craven Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...
as Daniel "Danny" Brecht, Kale's father. * Luciano Rauso and Brandon and Daniel Caruso as the Greenwood boys. * Kevin Quinn as Mr. Carlson. * Elyse Mirto as Mrs. Carlson. * Suzanne Rico and
Kent Shocknek Kent Shocknek is an American television and film personality who branched into acting toward the end of a successful career as a TV newscaster. Because of the length of his journalism career, duration of his broadcasts, and breaking news events, ...
as news anchors. * Rene Rivera as Señor Gutierrez, Officer Gutierrez's cousin and Kale's Spanish teacher whom he assaults, resulting in Kale’s house arrest. *
Amanda Walsh Amanda Walsh (born October 3, 1981) is a Canadian actress, writer, and former VJ for the Canadian television station MuchMusic. Early life Walsh was born in Rigaud, Quebec. She went to Hudson High School, in Hudson, Quebec. Career Walsh sta ...
as Minnie Tyco. * Charles Carroll as Judge. * Gillian Shure as Turner's Club Girl. * Dominic Daniel as Policeman. * Lisa Robin as Big Wheel Mom. * Cindy Lou Adkins as Mrs. Greenwood.


Production


Development and writing

The script was written in the 1990s and was optioned. The original studio let the option expire after hearing about
Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, best known for playing the title character in the film '' Superman'' (1978) and three sequels. Born in New York City and raised in Princeton, New Jersey ...
's remake of ''Rear Window''. It was not until 2004 that the script was rewritten and sold. Executive producer
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...
arranged for LaBeouf to be on the casting shortlist for this film because he was impressed by LaBeouf's work on '' Holes''. Caruso auditioned over a hundred males for the role in five weeks before settling on LaBeouf as he was looking for someone "who guys would really like and respond to, because he wasn't going to be such a pretty boy". LaBeouf was attracted to the role because of the director's 2002 film '' The Salton Sea'', which he complimented as one of his favorite films. Before filming started, the two watched the thriller films ''
Rear Window ''Rear Window'' is a 1954 American mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder". Originally released by Paramount Pictures, the film ...
'' starring
James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...
, '' Straw Dogs'' starring
Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is t ...
, and ''
The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Harrison Ford, Teri Garr, and Rob ...
'' starring
Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is an American retired actor and former novelist. In a career that has spanned more than six decades, Hackman has won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, two BAFT ...
. They also viewed the 1989
romantic film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...
'' Say Anything...'' and "mixed all the movies together." LaBeouf says he spoke to people on house arrest and locked himself in a room with the bracelet to feel what the confinement of house arrest is like. He commented in an interview, "...it's hard. I'm not going to say it's harder than jail, but it's tough. House arrest is hard because everything is available. ..The temptation sucks. That's the torture of it." Caruso gave him the freedom to
improvise Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...
whenever necessary to make the dialogue appeal to the current generation.


Filming

Filmed on location in the cities of
Whittier, California Whittier () is a city in Southern California in Los Angeles County, part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 census figure. Whittier was incorporated in ...
and
Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...
. Filming took place from January 6, 2006 to April 29, 2006. The homes of Kale and Mr. Turner, which were supposed to be across from each other, were actually located in two different cities. During filming, LaBeouf began a program that saw him gain twenty five pounds of muscle in preparation of his future films ''
Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, su ...
'' and ''
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' is a 2008 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and the fourth installment in the ''Indiana Jones'' series. Released and taking place 19 years after the previous ...
''. According to LaBeouf, David Morse who plays Mr. Turner, did not speak to LaBeouf or any of the other younger actors while on set. LaBeouf said, "When we finished filming, he was very friendly. But he's a method actor, and as long as we were shooting, he wouldn't say a word to us."


Music


Soundtrack

''Disturbia: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' is a soundtrack to the film of the same name, released on March 4, 2007 in the United States by
Lakeshore Records Lakeshore Entertainment Group, LLC is an American independent film production, finance, and former international sales and distribution company founded in 1994 by Tom Rosenberg and Ted Tannebaum (1933–2002). Lakeshore Entertainment is headquar ...
.


Score

''Disturbia: Original Motion Picture Score'' is a score to the film of the same name. It is composed by Geoff Zanelli, conducted by Bruce Fowler and produced by
Skip Williamson Mervyn "Skip" Williamson (August 19, 1944 – March 16, 2017) was an American underground cartoonist and central figure in the underground comix movement. Williamson's art was published in the '' National Lampoon'', ''High Times'', ''the Realis ...
. It was released on July 10, 2007 in the United States by
Lakeshore Records Lakeshore Entertainment Group, LLC is an American independent film production, finance, and former international sales and distribution company founded in 1994 by Tom Rosenberg and Ted Tannebaum (1933–2002). Lakeshore Entertainment is headquar ...
.


Release


Home media

The film was released on DVD and
HD DVD HD DVD (short for High Definition Digital Versatile Disc) is an obsolete high-density optical disc format for storing data and playback of high-definition video. Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to th ...
on August 7, 2007 and on
Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of stor ...
on March 15, 2008. In the United States, DVD sales brought in $35,084,232 in revenue, from 1,485,244 sold DVD units. This does not include Blu-ray sales. In the "Making of ''Disturbia''" section of the DVD's special features section it is revealed that LaBeouf and Morse did not have much contact off-set, so as to make the fight scenes at the end of the movie as realistic as possible.


Lawsuit

The Sheldon Abend Revocable Trust filed a lawsuit against Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks, its parent company Viacom, and
Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
on September 5, 2008. The suit alleged that ''Disturbia'' infringed on the rights to
Cornell Woolrich Cornell George Hopley Woolrich ( ; December 4, 1903 – September 25, 1968) was an American novelist and short story writer. He sometimes used the pseudonyms William Irish and George Hopley. His biographer, Francis Nevins Jr., rated Woolrich the ...
's 1942 short story " It Had to Be Murder" (the basis for the
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
film ''
Rear Window ''Rear Window'' is a 1954 American mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder". Originally released by Paramount Pictures, the film ...
''), and that DreamWorks never bothered to obtain motion picture rights to the
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
and evaded compensating the rights holder for the alleged appropriation. (Ownership of the copyright in Woolrich's original story "It Had to Be Murder" and its use as the basis for the movie ''Rear Window'' was previously litigated before the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. Federal tribunals in the United States, federal court cases, and over Stat ...
in '' Stewart v. Abend'', 495 U.S. 207 (1990).) Contrary to some media reports, the claim was based on the original Woolrich short story, not the movie ''Rear Window''. This claim was rejected by the U.S. District Court in ''Abend v. Spielberg'', 748 F.Supp.2d 200 (S.D.N.Y. 2010), on the basis that the original Woolrich short story and ''Disturbia'' are only similar at a high level of generality and abstraction. "Their similarities derive entirely from unprotectible elements and the total look and feel of the works is so distinct that no reasonable trier of fact could find the works substantially similar within the meaning of copyright law." ''Disturbia ''contained many subplots not in the original short story. After the dismissal of the copyright claim in federal court, the Abend Trust filed another lawsuit in California state court against Universal Studios and the Hitchcock Estate on October 28, 2010, for a
breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other pa ...
claim based on earlier agreements which allegedly restricted the use of ideas from the original Woolrich short story and the movie ''Rear Window'' whether or not the ideas are copyright protectable, that the defendants had entered into with the Abend Trust after the Supreme Court's ''Stewart v. Abend'' decision.


Reception


Box office

''Disturbia'' grossed $80.2 million in North America and $37.9 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $118.1 million, against a budget of $20 million. The film was released in the United States on April 13 and opened first at the box office with $22.2 million. The film remained number one at the box office for the next two weeks, grossing $13 million and $9 million, respectively. In its fourth week, it earned $5.7 million and finished second behind the record-breaking ''
Spider-Man 3 ''Spider-Man 3'' is a 2007 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi from a screenplay by Raimi, his older brother Ivan Raimi, Ivan and Alvin Sargent. It is the final installment in ...
'' ($151.1 million).


Critical response

On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a score of 62 out of 100 based on reviews from 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. The film earned a " two thumbs up" rating from
Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's succes ...
and
A.O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic. He has been chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' since 2004, a title he shares with Manohla Dargis. Early life Scott was born on July 10, 1966 in ...
(filling in for
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
), with Roeper saying, "This is a cool little thriller with big scares and fine performances." William Thomas of ''Empire'' gave it 3/5 stars and wrote: "despite the 'edgy' title, ''Disturbia'' is content to be a multiplex-friendly teen thriller with a higher degree of slickness and smarts than most of its contemporaries." David Denby of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' judged the film "a travesty", adding: "The dopiness of it, however, may be an indication not so much of cinematic ineptitude as of the changes in a movie culture that was once devoted to adults and is now rather haplessly and redundantly devoted to kids."
Peter Bradshaw Peter Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at '' The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at '' Esquire''. Early life and education Bradshaw was educated at Haberdashe ...
of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' gave it 2/5 stars, writing: "Despite the interesting set-up, the action degenerates into obvious implausibility and silliness - fatal for a suspense thriller - and boredom sets in."


Accolades


See also

*
List of films featuring surveillance There is a significant body of films that feature surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observ ...


References


External links

* (archive) * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Disturbia (Film) 2007 films 2007 psychological thriller films American psychological thriller films American slasher films American serial killer films 2000s English-language films Films about security and surveillance American neo-noir films Teen thriller films Films shot in Los Angeles County, California Films involved in plagiarism controversies DreamWorks Pictures films The Montecito Picture Company films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by D. J. Caruso Films scored by Geoff Zanelli Films with screenplays by Christopher B. Landon Films set in Wisconsin 2000s American films