Shia LaBeouf does his motormouth thing in this rollicking, nail-biting teen remake of Rear Window. Forget Jimmy Stewart’s injuries. Young Kale (LaBeouf) has been placed under house-arrest for clocking his Spanish teacher because the dude was, like, totally busting his balls. An electronic tag ensures the young rebel can’t leave the confines of his house for three months without facing a juevvie rap. Worse still, his mom (Moss) has dismantled his Xbox to ensure that the punishment is just that. Bummer.
To pass the time he takes up spying on the neighbours, especially the bikini-babe next door (Roemer). Soon however, he becomes obsessed with the idea that David Morse, his sinister neighbour, might just be chopping up his girlfriends. This notion is made all the more alarming when this creep starts dating Kale’s mom.
The screenplay, co-written by Carl Ellsworth who penned the equally taut Red Eye, makes terrific use of the marvels of the modern age. Mobile phones and digicams are deftly worked into a story that owes as much to The ‘Burbs as the Hitchcock film. Grace Kelly’s role, meanwhile, is cleverly split in two. Aaron Yoo plays Kale’s horn-dog confidant, while bikini-babe provides the lust interest.
As the credits roll, you know there are plot holes and inconsistencies, but frankly, you won’t give a damn.