Disturbia is Rear Window for the generation raised on MySpace and cellphones. And though it's not likely to become a classic like the Hitchcock film, it's a smart and well-acted teen thriller that serves up some lively scares.

Much of the effectiveness of Disturbia lies in its casting. Shia LaBeouf is the kind of youthful everyman who brings to mind a young Jimmy Stewart. He has an ease on camera and a low-key sense of humor that makes him likable and relatable. And as the murderer living next door, David Morse has just the right amount of quiet charm and coiled intensity needed for the part.

It says a lot for the film that we already know that a killer is LaBeouf's neighbor from the film's tagline and ads, but we still react with shivers and cringes to the jolts and well-paced turns of events.

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LaBeouf plays Kale, a good kid still traumatized by the death of his father in a car accident. After an unfortunate but understandable altercation with his high school Spanish teacher, the 17-year-old is placed under court-ordered house arrest. With an electronically monitored device clamped to his ankle, Kale cannot venture beyond his front lawn for three months. He begins to get stir-crazy. After he tires of playing video games and making creative use of junk food, he turns to watching the residents of his quiet street. All is not as it seems on this glossy suburban street. With some thrown-together surveillance equipment that relies heavily on a pair of binoculars and a video camera, Kale begins to watch Ashley (Sarah Roemer), the cute girl who moves in next door. He's taken aback when she finds him out and takes an interest in his neighborhood spying hobby. Kale and Ashley are joined in the surveillance game by his buddy Ronnie (an engaging Aaron Yoo).

But they realize that the solitary guy next door obsessively tending his garden (Morse) may be far more sinister than he appears. And worse, he has befriended Kale's widowed mom (Carrie-Anne Moss). As the trio of teens watch and conduct Internet searches on unsolved murders, they begin to think he's an elusive serial killer. In contrast to a film like Perfect Stranger— a thriller with long dull patches of Internet chats that is never scary or even unsettling — modern technology is used wisely to heighten the terror quotient.

Offsetting the chilly voyeurism is a viable teen romance and an appealing sense of humor. Though there are occasional lapses in logic, Disturbia is consistently suspenseful and entertainingly disturbing.