Golden boy du jour Shia LaBeouf heads up this glossy fusion of John Cusack-style teen comedy and murky mystery thriller. As glib and magnetic as ever, LaBeouf plays Kale, a suburban kid with a “whole Martha Stewart thing going on” after being put under house arrest for assaulting a teacher. Amusing himself by spying on the neighbours, Kale begins to suspect that next door’s Mr Turner (The Green Mile’s David Morse) might be hiding a dark, murderous secret... or is he? Transplanting Rear Window’s voyeur-paranoia to today’s 24-hour surveillance society, DJ Caruso’s film couldn’t be more relevant if it tried. Even so, it can’t help stumbling over a few genre clichés en route to a denouement that is verging on daft. Luckily, there’s always LaBeouf’s sparky interplay with whomever he’s sharing a scene to keep things ticking along.
DVD Extras:
A gushy Making Of and four deleted scenes mean the extras are nothing to stay in for.
