‘Rear Window’ goes to the ‘burbs in ‘Disturbia’

As unofficial remakes of “Rear Window” go, “Disturbia” offers an ingenious twist. Instead of the big-city apartment that James Stewart faced in the Hitchcock classic, our hero is stuck in the suburbs.

This is Kale (Shia LaBeouf), a high-school kid who’s grounded for the summer. Really grounded. Angry and resentful after the death of his father in a violent car accident, Kale punches his Spanish teacher and is taken to court.

He’ll spend the summer under house arrest, with an ankle bracelet that triggers an alarm if he leaves the vicinity of his home. After playing video games for a few days, he realizes that watching his neighbors is much more fascinating. “Reality without the TV,” as he puts it.

For a while this means appreciating the swimming style of his new neighbor, Ashley (Sarah Roemer), who quickly realizes she’s being watched and joins Kale in his game. Also helping is Kale’s buddy Ronnie (Aaron Yoo), who does comic-relief duty.

Something sinister develops as Kale becomes convinced that the fussy bachelor (David Morse) across the street is actually a serial killer. Is Kale just bored, or does he have a case?

Bad things will happen, which is the fun of watching this kind of movie. And director D.J. Caruso (“The Salton Sea”) squeezes suspense out of a few sequences that key on Kale’s helplessness inside his house.

The film has a lopsided quality: too much time spent on developing the early reels, and a too-quick rush to the overblown climax. But it does get a tremendous boost when the bad guy enters.

If you are a regular reader, you already know that looming, baby-faced David Morse (“Down in the Valley”) is one of my favorite actors, and even in this sketchy little role he scores. His creepy friendliness in his scenes with Ashley and Kale’s mother (“Matrix” lady Carrie-Anne Moss) is truly unsettling.

Meanwhile, Shia LaBeouf makes a capable hero, and Sarah Roemer is a knockout who can also act. Unfortunately, the movie can’t figure out how to fit her into the final action.

Is “Disturbia” more than a matinee time-killer with a good title? Not really. Renting a Hitchcock movie is a better bet. Or just look out the window.

Shia LaBeouf stars in “Disturbia.”