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"DISTURBIA"
(2007) (Shia LeBeouf, Sarah Roemer) (PG-13)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Minor Heavy Extreme Heavy Heavy
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Heavy Moderate Extreme Moderate Heavy
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Heavy None Moderate Moderate Extreme


QUICK TAKE:
Suspense/Thriller: Sentenced to house arrest, a troubled teen takes to spying on his neighbors, including a man he believes might be a serial killer.
PLOT:
A year after his father's death in a car accident, 17-year-old Kale (SHIA LaBEOUF) lives with his mom, Julie (CARRIE-ANNE MOSS), but hasn't been the same since his dad's passing. Accordingly, he receives a sentence of three months of house arrest when he punches his Spanish teacher in class. Unable to travel more than 100 feet from his ankle bracelet's sensor -- lest he receive a visit from Officer Gutierrez (JOSE PABLO CANTILLO) -- and with Julie removing or limiting his access to his favorite pastimes, Kale's diversionary options are limited.

He can always play video games with his friend Ronnie (AARON YOO), but he finds more interest in spying on his neighbors. Among them is Ashley (SARAH ROEMER), an attractive teen who's moved with her parents from the city to the 'burbs and draws the boys' interest due to her bikini-clad swimming in the backyard pool.

Of equal interest, but for different reasons, is Robert Turner (DAVID MORSE), a mysterious man who loosely -- along with the car he drives -- fits the profile of a suspected serial killer. Despite their previous ogling of her, Ashley soon joins Kale and Ronnie's stakeout of Turner. As their observations lead them to believe he might really be the killer, the teens must decide how to prove that without being caught in the act.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Teens might be interested in it, along with anyone who's a fan of someone in the cast.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13
For sequences of terror and violence, and some sensuality (on appeal from the original R rating, meaning no edits were made to get the lower rating).
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • SHIA LaBEOUF plays a troubled teen who's sentenced to three months of house arrest after punching his teacher at school (the teen is still reeling from his father's car accident death a year earlier). Bored, he takes to spying on his neighbors, including Ashley who he ogles, and Turner who he believes is a serial killer. Trying to prove the latter, he breaks the terms of his punishment as well as other laws. He also uses profanity and makes out with Ashley.
  • SARAH ROEMER plays the pretty girl who's moved in next door, doesn't get along with her dad, and doesn't seem to mind that Kale spies on (and ogles) her. She ends up joining him and Ronnie in spying on Turner. She uses some profanity and makes out with Kale.
  • CARRIE-ANNE MOSS plays Kale's widowed mom who's upset with and concerned about his behavior.
  • DAVID MORSE plays the neighbor Kale and his friends believe might be a serial killer. While sporting a bit of disarming charm, he also comes across as menacing, particularly as the story unfolds.
  • AARON YOO plays Kale's best friend who hangs out with him, ogles Ashley while spying on her, and breaks some laws while trying to get evidence of Turner being the killer.
  • JOSE PABLO CANTILLO plays the police officer who not only responds to Kale's repeated violations of his house arrest, but is also the cousin to the teacher that Kale hit in class.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    Here's a quick look at the content found in this PG-13 rated thriller. Profanity consists of a number of partial and bleeped out "f" words, while at least 28 "s" words, other expletives, and various colorful phrases are also uttered.

    Some sexually related dialogue and brief song lyrics are present, as is material involving some teens making out. Some male teens ogle a female teen from various distances, including close-up views (via binoculars) of her in a small bikini and other revealing or tight attire. Some young boys watch porn on the TV (seen from a distance, but including a woman covering her bare breasts with her hands/arm).

    A serial killer attacks several people (resulting in several deaths), and various previously dead bodies are seen, while a severe car accident leaves one person dead. Those scenes have bloody results, and they and other moments of potential peril might be unsettling, suspenseful, and/or scary to some viewers, particularly younger ones and those with low tolerance levels for such mayhem.

    Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, and tense family material includes the death of a parent and some tense parent/teen relationships. All sorts of potentially imitative behavior occur, as does some brief drinking, while some crude humor is present.

    If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

    For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, there are flashes of lightning during a thunderstorm.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • Spying on Turner getting out some wine or champagne for his date in his place, Kale jokes that he's going to get his date all liquored up.
  • Some teens may be drinking alcohol at Ashley's party (it's never identified either way).
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • Kale and his dad are a bit bloody following the first part of a car accident. After they're hit again, Kale is even bloodier (on his face and some on his leg).
  • After eating too much junk food, Kale looks ill. We next see him coming out of the bathroom, zipping up his pants.
  • Some kids leave a burning bag of excrement on Kale's front steps, prompting him to try to stomp it out with his sock-covered foot (we see the excrement spread on the porch as well as on his sock).
  • We see what appear to be morgue photos on a computer screen, showing a dead and discolored body of a teen or twenty-something woman who appears to have blood from her mouth.
  • We see (from a distance) what looks like blood splatter onto plastic covering a window, Turner pulling down that plastic, and then dragging a heavy and large bag down his steps.
  • We see part of a dead deer inside a bag that's been dragged out of Turner's garage (the police react to the smell coming from it).
  • Ronnie states that he has to "take a piss."
  • Kale has a little blood from his lip after being hit there.
  • Ashley jumps on the killer's back, scratching at his face and eyes with her fingernails (with some bloody results then, and then seen later on his face).
  • Kale turns and suddenly comes face to face with an old, dead body.
  • Kale falls through a floor into a sub-basement area and the body of liquid in it that's filled with various dead bodies (some partially decomposed that pop up and float around him).
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • An SUV cuts off Kale who's driving his dad (ultimately resulting in a car crash that kills the father).
  • After a teacher shows his disappointment in Kale's poor attitude in class and asks what his father would think, Kale punches the male teacher in the face (he gets three months of house arrest for that).
  • Kale spies on various neighbors from his house, including Ashley who he ogles, sometimes alone, sometimes with Ronnie. They also suspect that Turner is a serial killer and then set out to try to prove that, including by having Ronnie break into Turner's car and then garage.
  • Some kids leave a burning bag of excrement on Kale's front steps (and one calls him a "retard").
  • Kale notes a neighbor having an affair.
  • Ashley lies to her mom on the phone about her whereabouts.
  • To distract those at Ashley's party (specifically a guy coming on to her), Kale sets up a speaker and blares a less than party-worthy song in their direction.
  • Some younger kids pelt Kale with water balloons.
  • The killer obviously has extreme bad attitudes.
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful, or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material.
  • An SUV cuts off Kale who's driving his dad. Just then, the SUV swerves out of the way due to a stopped vehicle in front of them. Kale has no time to react and smashes into the vehicle, resulting in a bad crash where his car goes airborne, lands hard and ends up on its roof. He and his dad are injured and a bit bloody while hanging upside down, but just then another vehicle suddenly slams into them (in a severe crash, knocking them across the road). Even bloodier, Kale pulls himself from the car in pain, goes around to the other side of the car to help his dad, and then reacts in horror at the sight (we don't see his dad who's dead).
  • As Kale lies on the ground and tries to spy on Turner through a narrow vertical opening in the fence, Turner approaches, saying, "I found you," and looks quite intense as Kale panics. But he's relieved when Turner then picks up the rabbit he was addressing.
  • From a distance and through the window, we see the woman in Turner's house run in a panic, followed by some struggling. We think she's been killed, but later see her calmly leave the place.
  • When Kale closes the fridge door, Turner is suddenly standing there. Kale grabs a kitchen knife, but then learns that Turner helped his mom with her broken down car (nevertheless, he's still nervous around him). About the reason for Kale's house arrest, Turner says he had plenty of teachers he wanted to kill.
  • We see (from a distance) what looks like blood splatter onto plastic covering a window, Turner pulling down that plastic, and then dragging a heavy and large bag down his steps.
  • As Ashley keeps track of Turner in a local store and has phone contact with Kale who's serving as a lookout, a nervous Ronnie breaks into Turner's car at his house with a coat hanger. Ashley then loses track of Turner, with her telling Kale to get Ronnie out of there, but Kale wants him to stay long enough to report the garage door opener code. Just then, as Ashley starts to drive home, Turner is suddenly in her way. He then comes around the car, leans through the passenger door window, reaches over and turns off the car, and then takes the keys before getting in with her. He then comments about knowing what she's doing, and about his privacy. After a few tense moments, he starts her car and gets out.
  • Ronnie anxiously reports that he must have dropped his cell phone in Turner's car, meaning he must go back to get it. Kale then rigs a video camera to broadcast its signal back to Kale as Ronnie enters Turner's garage. We see alternating views of Ronnie's video feed and Kale's binocular view as Ronnie comments on a bad smell in the place as well as the sight of hair and blood. The garage door then closes, Ronnie panics and runs, and Kale thinks Turner is attacking him, especially after he loses all views of what's occurring, but hears what sounds like violence. Kale then grabs a baseball bat and races over to Turner's house where he finds the front door open and then slowly proceeds inside. Since he's out of his ankle bracelet zone, however, the police arrive and aim their handguns at Kale. After hearing Kale's claim, the police investigate and pull the heavy bag from the garage, but it's just a dead deer inside it (that Turner says he accidentally hit and was going to bury).
  • Kale worries about his mom's safety when she goes over to Turner's house to apologize to him about Kale's behavior.
  • Kale receives a text message to look at the video feed from Ronnie's camera. He does and sees his friend who appears to be dead, only then realizing the feed is coming from his own closet. Kale then slowly goes there to look, and when he opens the door, he sees his friend's body, but just then, Ronnie springs to life, part of a practical joke.
  • Zooming in on an image from a video camera looking through a wall vent, Kale makes out the view of a woman with a plastic bag over her head in Turner's place.
  • The killer suddenly slams Julie against a wall, knocking her out. Moments later, he hits Ronnie with a baseball bat, and then repeatedly tries to strike Kale with it as well. That's followed by some struggling, with the killer throwing Kale over a table, with Kale then hitting the killer with a chair. Kale then tries to flee outside and get past his ankle bracelet perimeter to alert the police, but the killer tackles him on the lawn, punches him in the face, and then drags his unconscious body back into the house. We then see that the killer has Kale bound and gagged with tape, and tries to get him to write a staged confession note, but Kale strikes him in the face with his bound hands. The killer then comes at him with a knife, but Ashley jumps on the killer's back, scratching at his face and eyes with her fingernails (with some bloody results then, and then seen later on his face). He bashes her back against a wall, with Kale then pushing the killer over the balcony railing down to the floor below (we don't see the impact). Ashley cuts Kale's bindings, but the power goes out, and a bat suddenly blasts through a door next to Ashley. The two teens flee out the window, across his roof to hers and then jump into her pool to escape.
  • Kale slowly makes his way through Turner's place, looking for his mom. But first, he removes a wall vent and slowly climbs into it, looking around, only to encounter an old, dead body there. He then continues his slow walk, occasionally hearing what sounds like his mother's muffled cries for help. As he proceeds into the basement, a cop arrives and enters, pulling his gun as he also slowly walks through the place.
  • The killer grabs a cop and swiftly breaks his neck.
  • Kale falls through a floor into a sub-basement area and the body of liquid in it that's filled with various dead bodies (some partially decomposed that pop up and float around him).
  • Kale finds his mom gagged and bound up by her wrists. Just then, the killer suddenly shows up behind her. He pushes her aside and swings something at Kale, but misses. His next attempt, however, slices Kale (we don't see the impact, but hear his reaction) and he then pushes Kale into an earthen wall. Julie then stabs something into the killer's leg, with him then knocking her back, but that allows Kale to stab his large garden shears into the killer's body. He then pushes the killer back into a body of liquid where he presumably drowns (or dies first from the shears wound).
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Knives/Baseball bats: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound, or attempt to kill others. See "Violence" for details.
  • Kale plays a military based video game where he sets off an explosion, while we also see and hear machine gun fire.
  • Cops pull their guns on Kale when arriving at his house, and one later pulls and carries one while walking through Turner's place.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "Bag of sh*t," "This is bullsh*t," "They are horny as sh*t," "Smart ass," "(You're a genuine) Jackass," "Kiss ass," "Keep dreaming, perv," "Chicas caliente" (hot girls), "Are you crazy?" "What a retard," "Oh crap," "Dude," "Chicks," "The ding-dong bitch," "Screw-up," "Jeez," "That sucks," "A type-A sociopath," "You guys are screwed," "You are seriously losing it," "Freak show," "Freaked out," "Skinny psycho," "Bimbo," "Dawg," "Are we cool?" "He scared the hell out of you," "You lying son of a bitch," "A hell of a week," "What the hell are you doing?" and "Gotta take a piss."
  • In Spanish class, Ronnie keeps saying "perhaps" since it sounds like "Kiss ass" in English.
  • After a teacher shows his disappointment in Kale's poor attitude in class and asks what his father would think, Kale punches the male teacher in the face (he gets three months of house arrest for that).
  • Julie uses scissors to cut off the plug from Kale's TV set.
  • Upset about being confined and with no satisfying distractions, Kale over-fills the washing machine (even putting weight on the lid to try to close it) as well as the dishwasher, making a mess while doing so.
  • Kale spies on various neighbors from his house, including Ashley who he ogles, sometimes alone, sometimes with Ronnie. They also suspect that Turner is a serial killer and then set out to try to prove that, including by having Ronnie break into Turner's car and then garage.
  • Some kids leave a burning bag of excrement on Kale's front steps (and one calls him a "retard"), prompting him to try to stomp it out with his sock-covered foot (we see the excrement spread on the porch as well as on his sock).
  • Ashley reprograms Kale's phone so that the ring tone is lyrics from the song that includes the repeated line, "Me so horny" and "Love you long time."
  • When she turns away from him, Kale focuses his video camera on Ashley's clothed butt.
  • To distract those at Ashley's party (specifically a guy coming on to her), Kale sets up a speaker and blares a less than party-worthy song in their direction.
  • Some younger kids pelt Kale with water balloons.
  • Ashley reads out on her roof.
  • A baseball bat suddenly blasts through a door next to Ashley.
  • Kale gives Ronnie "the finger" for videotaping him and Ashley making out.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • As Kale spies on Turner via binoculars, Julie unintentionally surprises her son from behind.
  • When Kale closes the fridge door, Turner is suddenly standing there.
  • Kale turns and suddenly comes face to face with an old, dead body.
  • Kale falls through a floor into a sub-basement area and the body of liquid in it that's filled with various dead bodies (some partially decomposed that pop up and float around him).
  • Kale finds his mom gagged and bound up by her wrists. Just then, the killer suddenly shows up behind her.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • An extreme amount of suspenseful and ominous music occurs in the film.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • Ashley reprograms Kale's phone so that the ring tone is lyrics from the song that includes the repeated line, "Me so horny" and "Love you long time."
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 3 partial or incomplete "f" words, 28 "s" words, 1 slang term for breasts (what sounded like "bags"), 8 asses (many of which are sound-alikes for the Spanish word for "perhaps"), 3 hells, 2 S.O.B.s, 1 crap, 1 damn, 11 uses of "Oh God," 4 of "Oh my God," 3 of "Jesus" and 1 use of "God."
  • A number of cuss words (including what's presumably the "f" word) are bleeped out on a TV program.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • Kale jokes with his dad about the teen getting some girl pregnant.
  • A TV program shows bikini-clad young women, as well as a close-up view panning up such a woman's torso, including her rubbing her hands up and along her bikini-covered breasts.
  • Ronnie jokes about some girl teaching him about a Hawaiian mating call.
  • There's a visual masturbation joke where we see a hamper in the bathroom rhythmically moving along with Kale's sounds of pleasure, but the camera then reveals he's just voraciously scratching his ankle around the penal ankle bracelet.
  • We see Ashley in some tight and short cut-off jeans, which prompts Kale to bump his head accidentally while spying on her.
  • From a distance (his room to hers in separate houses), Kale spies on Ashley undressing. Her back is to his view and we see the back of her bra strap and then her bare back before she exits the room).
  • Commenting on a buxom neighbor, Kale appears to use the term "big bags" about her. He also points out an affair occurring in another house (we see -- from a distance and through the window -- a clothed man kissing on a clothed woman).
  • Kale spies on Ashley swimming in her bikini, including a close-up view of her butt in that small bikini bottom when she gets out, and then her lying down, still wet, to do some sunbathing (her bikini top shows cleavage).
  • Kale spies on Ashley doing some yoga type stretching in a sports bra.
  • Kale and Ronnie spy on Ashley as she strips down to a bikini to go swimming (we see a close-up of her butt). She then becomes aware of their actions and comes over (wearing a top that's low-cut in the front), playfully toying with them and their embarrassment over being caught.
  • Ashley reprograms Kale's phone so that the ring tone is lyrics from the song that includes the repeated line, "Me so horny" and "Love you long time."
  • From a distance, we see a woman doing a sensual dance for Turner (he's seated). Turner then retrieves a knife and the teens think he's going to kill her, but he uses it to cut the price tag or strap on the woman's dress. They then do some passionate kissing (all seen from a distance, through the window). Ashley then makes a comment about what sounded like "Now who's gonna bust a move?" Moments later, we see the woman in Turner's house run in a panic, followed by some struggling. We think she's been killed, but later see her calmly leave the place. Ashley later comments that maybe the woman liked being chased around half-naked.
  • When she turns away from him, Kale focuses his video camera on Ashley's clothed butt.
  • From a distance and through the window, we see some young boys secretly watching porn on the TV (we briefly see a bare-breasted woman with her hand over her breasts, as well as two women together, etc.). One of the teens spying on them comments, "They are horny as sh*t."
  • Ronnie calls Kale and asks (about Ashley), "How far did you get?"
  • Ashley tells Kale, "Your mom's hot" (meaning how others would view her).
  • Knowing Kale will be spying on her party with his binoculars, Ashley tells him, "Keep those in your drawers" (double entendre).
  • Kale and Ashley do some passionate kissing while standing and then down onto his bed where he's on top of her, but nearby sounds distract and stop them.
  • Knowing she's been following him, Turner confronts Ashley and comments on his belief that she's coming on to him. He then puts his hand on her hair over her chest, making her uncomfortable, but he talks about wanting his privacy, and then lets her go.
  • Kale and Ashley passionately kiss.
  • We see the young neighbor boys watching porn again (the woman holding her hand/arm over her bare breasts), but Kale alerts their mother who storms the room and catches them in the act.
  • Kale and Ashley passionately kiss again, this time on a sofa where he's partially on top of her, but they're briefly distracted by Ronnie who walks up, videotaping them.
  • SMOKING
  • None.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • Kale sees his dead father after a car accident both were in (we don't see the father after the second impact, but Kale reacts in horror at the sight).
  • Kale has a melancholy look on his face while viewing photos of his family (including his now dead dad) and has the same reaction when he enters his late father's office.
  • Kale sees (but doesn't hear) Ashley's father yelling at her, and her then appearing upset.
  • Ashley says her parents moved to the 'burbs because her mom wanted to keep her husband (Ashley's dad) on a short leash, commenting on the temptations the city provided.
  • Julie becomes increasingly disappointed in the way in which Kale is acting.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • How house arrest works.
  • Spying on others.
  • Losing a parent.
  • VIOLENCE
  • An SUV cuts off Kale who's driving his dad. Just then, the SUV swerves out of the way due to a stopped vehicle in front of them. Kale has no time to react and smashes into the vehicle, resulting in a bad crash where his car goes airborne, lands hard and ends up on its roof. He and his dad are injured and a bit bloody while hanging upside down, but just then another vehicle suddenly slams into them (in a severe crash, knocking them across the road). Even bloodier, Kale pulls himself from the car in pain, goes around to the other side of the car to help his dad, and then reacts in horror at the sight (we don't see his dad who's dead).
  • After a teacher shows his disappointment in Kale's poor attitude in class and asks what his father would think, Kale punches the male teacher in the face (he gets three months of house arrest for that).
  • Kale plays a military based video game where he sets off an explosion, while we also see and hear machine gun fire.
  • We see Ashley in some tight and short cut-off jeans, which prompts Kale to bump his head accidentally while spying on her.
  • Some younger kids pelt Kale with water balloons.
  • Kale slams Ronnie back against a wall after not appreciating a practical joke.
  • The killer suddenly slams Julie against a wall, knocking her out. Moments later, he hits Ronnie with a baseball bat, and then repeatedly tries to strike Kale with it as well. That's followed by some struggling, with the killer throwing Kale over a table, with Kale then hitting the killer with a chair. Kale then tries to flee outside and get past his ankle bracelet perimeter to alert the police, but the killer tackles him on the lawn, punches him in the face, and then drags his unconscious body back into the house. We then see that the killer has Kale bound and gagged with tape, and tries to get him to write a staged confession note, but Kale strikes him in the face with his bound hands. The killer then comes at him with a knife, but Ashley jumps on the killer's back, scratching at his face and eyes with her fingernails (with some bloody results then, and then seen later on his face). He bashes her back against a wall, with Kale then pushing the killer over the balcony railing down to the floor below (we don't see the impact). Ashley cuts Kale's bindings, but the power goes out, and a bat suddenly blasts through a door next to Ashley. The two teens flee out the window, across his roof to hers and then jump into her pool to escape.
  • Kale uses garden shears to break a door window in Turner's place.
  • The killer grabs a cop and swiftly breaks his neck.
  • Kale finds his mom gagged and bound up by her wrists. Just then, the killer suddenly shows up behind her. He pushes her aside and swings something at Kale, but misses. His next attempt, however, slices Kale (we don't see the impact, but hear his reaction) and he then pushes Kale into an earthen wall. Julie then stabs something into the killer's leg, with him then knocking her back, but that allows Kale to stab his large garden shears into the killer's body. He then pushes the killer back into a body of liquid where he presumably drowns (or dies first from the shears wound).



  • Reviewed April 10, 2007 / Posted April 13, 2007

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