Pretty much a remake of Rear Window, it seems to be unable to decide if it's a teen romance comedy or a thriller. Little happening but teen romance, comedy, and boredom intermixed with the occasional is he/isn't he a killer plot, until the latest 30 minutes when it kicks into full-on thriller mode and goes for it. Shia is likeable as always, and his female co-star provides the eye-candy, but overall a fairly pedestrian thriller. I don't think I'd have any problems letting my kids watch it. It's just not that scary.

Plot Synopsis:

Kale and his father are in an accident after a fishing trip. His father is killed, but he survives. Later, after he's recovered, he punches out his Spanish teacher for making an off-hand remark about his father. Kale is placed under house arrest for the summer and has to wear an ankle monitoring bracelet that confines him to a 100 yard radius around his house. He spies on his neighbors with the help of his friend, Ronnie, and new neighbor, Ashley, and uncovers that there are a lot of similarities between his neighbor, Mr. Turner, and an unknown suspect involved in a string of local disappearances of women.

Kale sends Ronnie to investigate Turner’s house with a video camera but he gets trapped inside. When Kale runs out to help him the police are summoned thus making him look mentally instable after the police see there is nothing suspicious to Turner’s story. Kale’s mother, Julie goes over to plead to Turner to not press charges on Kale. However, when Ronnie returns (he had escaped the house and hidden in Kale’s closet) they view the video footage which shows a woman’s corpse behind a grating in the floor.

Mr. Turner is indeed the serial murder; his house had been expanded on wherein he stores their rotting corpses. Turner attacks Julie and ties her up in his basement, he then goes to Kale’s house and knocks out Ronnie. Kale sees him and tries to run out of the house past the perimeter to summon the police but Turner punches him out before he reaches it. Ashley comes over and rescues Kale and they both jump off the roof into her pool which summons the police. Kale searches Turner’s house and finds a dissection room, a lot of corpses, his mom, and then Turner. A fight entails where Julie stabs Turner in the leg and Kale impales him with garden shears. Julie and Kale leave the house where more cops have arrived after there was no response from the first unit sent: Turner killed the cop. As an award, Kale is released from house arrest and they all live happily ever after.