A Domestic 'Disturbia'

The much-maligned suburbs take another hit on the big screen with "Disturbia. "

From "Blue Velvet" to "American Beauty," we've learned that bad things happen amid manicured lawns and SUVs. So it is in the suburbia of "Disturbia."

Former Disney Channel regular Shia LaBeouf plays Kale, a bitter young man under house arrest in his very suburban home for punching out his high school Spanish teacher.

The teach sort of had it coming, having invoked the memory of Kale's dad, who died in a car accident a year earlier.

Things get mighty boring holed up at home, especially when mean old mom (a matronly Carrie-Anne Moss of "The Matrix" fame) cuts off access to his iTunes and Xbox (two of several product placements in the film).

That's when things get all "Rear Window"-like, as Kale fights the boredom by picking up his binoculars to check in on his neighbors. His subjects include the adulterous businessman across the street, porn-watching adolescents next door and a hot new neighbor (Sarah Roemer).

He spends lots of time focusing on her in various states of undress and ultimately -- aspiring peeping Toms, take note -- lands the girl.

But it's that quiet guy in the blue house (appropriately creepy David Morse; see In Focus on Page 33) who really intrigues Kale. Is that the skull of a cow in his garage? Hmmm, he drives the same blue Mustang that police are looking for in a kidnapping case.

And what's that bloody bag he's dragging out to his garage?

Despite going down a seemingly predictable road, "Disturbia" takes enough turns to keep you guessing until nearly the end. LaBeouf is appealing as the frustrated shut-in, and comic-relief cred goes to Aaron Yoo, who plays his neurotic buddy Ronnie.

The ending, though, drags, and the film quickly shifts from a clever homage to "Rear Window" to a bad parody of "The Silence of the Lambs."

-- John Maynard

Disturbia PG-13, 104 minutes Contains sequences of terror and violence and some sensuality. Area theaters.