Entertainment and Media

I think the critics nailed it perfectly when they compared this to Rear Window. And even though they said it didn't quite live up to it, man, that's some serious praise nonetheless. Coming up just short of Alfred Hitchcock is still a lot better than most of the stuff out there.

I think the main reason this movie worked is because LaBeouf was completely believable in it. Well, for that plot anyway. Let's say that there is a creepy murderer living next door. Think of all the people in the world that could possibly be the person living next door. Tom Cruise? Nah, he'd get killed within seconds. Vin Diesel? Sorry, guys as hot as Vin don't really live next door to anybody. They just sort of inhabit their own universe. Bruce Willis? Bruce might live next door, but he'd kick the guy's ass right from the start. Nope, you need someone sort of normal, and I think that's one of the best qualities about Shia LaBeouf. He just seems like the kind of guy that would live on a normal street. He's the kind of guy that things happen to, rather than the kind of guy that makes them happen.