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This teen thriller builds slowly and indulges in a somewhat baroque conclusion. But in between, D.J. Caruso’s outing effectively straddles entertaining and pleasantly nervy. Mired at home under house arrest, Kale (Shia LaBoeuf) amuses himself by keeping tabs on his comfy suburban street through binoculars. His peeping nets him a new gal pal (Sarah Roemer) and possibly something much more alarming: Could his quiet but slightly creepy neighbor (David Morse) be a serial killer? Will Kale’s boredom push him into actually finding out? The plot is nothing new — it’s virtually a note-for-note rip-off of Rear Window, with updated gadgetry — but Disturbia bounces along better than most of these formulaic pics. And it’s nice to see crime move out of the city for once. Starts Fri., April 13. (AH) [capsule review] 
This article appears in Apr 12-18, 2007.
