"Rear Window" goes high-tech in the derivative but modestly enjoyable thriller "Disturbia" from director D.J. Caruso, who steals -- or, more politely, "reworks" -- Hitchcock's 1954 masterpiece for the heightened paranoia of the cell phone-videocam era.

Shia LaBeouf stars as a troubled youth who spies on his neighbors' comings and goings in "Disturbia." Click photo for larger image. 'Disturbia' Starring: Shia LaBeouf, above, Sarah Roemer, Carrie-Ann Moss and David Morse. Rating: PG-13, on appeal, for sequences of terror and violence and some sensuality. Director: D.J. Caruso. Web site: http://www.disturbia.com/ Related article Family Film Guide: 'Disturbia'

It opens with a shocking car crash and the death of our hero's father. One year later, sullen and troubled Kale (Shia LaBeouf) socks his Spanish teacher in the mouth, which nets him court-ordered house arrest for three months. An ankle bracelet will alert police if he ventures beyond his front yard.

Firm-but-loving single mom Julie (Carrie-Ann Moss) slaves away to support him and herself, rewarded only by her son's hostility. When she cuts off his video games and iTunes, claustrophobia sets in Big Time. Home-alone Kale starts spying on the comings and goings of his neighbors -- especially the nubile Ashley (Sarah Roemer), who just moved in. Soon enough, he's a full-time voyeur, fixating and fixing his binoculars not just on Ashley but on the suspicious behavior of Robert Turner (David Morse) next door. Stoked by shocking news reports, best bud Ronnie (Aaron Yoo) and Ashley get caught up in the mystery, too.

Are Kale's suspicions the product of cabin fever and an overly hormonal imagination, or could Turner actually be -- A SERIAL KILLER?

Caruso combines ancient suspense gimmicks with techno-savvy. Bernard Herrmann-style violins kick in exactly when you'd expect them to, but complemented by a contemporary pounding percussion and smattering of rock tunes. Grainy Camcorder qualities vividly enliven a tense extended sequence in which Ronnie breaks into the suspect's house while Kale monitors the action via live digital feed.

"Disturbia's" prologue will stun you with one of the most hideously realistic car wrecks ever filmed. But after that, for an hour or so, your cardiogram will stabilize at ho-hum normal until the inevitable explosion of slasher-film violence -- with mummified victims, morgue and diabolical souvenir room -- at the end.

Otherwise, 17-year-old boys are the primary beneficiaries of a massive amount of time spent watching Roemer undress and swim, while their female counterparts may or may not swoon over the engaging hero. LaBeouf is no Jimmy Stewart, but then Roemer (notwithstanding doing yoga in her tube tops) is no Grace Kelly. Still, they're both a cut above most teen idols in most such vehicles.

Moss is a more-realistic-than-usual mom. Yoo starts out fine, then goes over the top, but shows stoner-comic potential as the kind of pal every kid has or wants to have. Morse is excellent as the seriously creepy Turner, reminiscent of Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter with his strange "sensitive" eyes and velvet voice.

Also present and accounted for in "Disturbia" is a young man of 9 named Luciano Rauso, who plays one of three brats who torment the home-bound Kale. At the film's premiere, someone asked the boy about his values, and he replied: "Good grades, respect the family and never forget where you're from." Asked where he's from, Luciano said, "Pittsburgh -- from a simple Italian blue-collar family."

That's our kinda kid, huh?

Meanwhile, Caruso the director lets boom mikes appear in half his shots but keeps the gore to a minimum. In transferring the "Rear Window" idea from Greenwich Village to SoCal suburbs -- from "then" to "now" -- he even manages a social comment or two about kids with too much time and technology on their hands.