Sorry, this movie sucks

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Director Randy Aldridge must have been a film and/or drama teacher in high school with a slight background in the movie biz. One day, perhaps in the early 00's, he met Melissa D., the star of this film. Years later, working full-time as a real estate agent, he brought up an idea to his wife, make-up artist and co-producer Cindy Aldridge: "How about we use some of your mom's life insurance money and make a movie?" Thus started Disturbed, and Randy called up Melissa and Melissa thought this idea sounded better than her waitress gig. I will say this: Melissa D is a hard-core fox, and perhaps many ill- suited thoughts were laying dormant in the mind of Randy. Randy wanted to make a movie in which he could be seen torturing and killing not only Melissa, but other high school students. Undisturbed by these notions, wife Cindy had one declaration: "if you're going to make a movie about your rape fantasies, Randy, you should at least put our kids in it." And so the pimple-faced boy and the slow-girl are bandied about and nearly killed. It should be noted that Randy plays the killer in the film. Many scenes in Disturbed rely on cars pulling in and out of driveways, to give you an idea of what's disturbing to Mr. Aldridge, besides rape and murder. Also, the last three minutes of footage consists of following an ambulance. I'm not sure why any of the people associated with this movie exist, much like the movie itself. As part of the Wal-Mart 8 pack, the cost of this movie equaled about 57 cents, and I swear to you, I want that freaking 57 cents back.

Vicious serial killer Charles Mason (a genuinely creepy mute portrayal by Randy Aldridge) escapes from death row and embarks on a murderous spree in the quiet small town of Quartz Hill. A standard slasher premise for sure, but thanks to the unexpectedly believable and engaging teen characters who actually look, act, and talk like real adolescents, a strong and plausible depiction of the cozy suburban setting, a sizable amount of tension, competent direction by Aldridge and Brian McLaughlin, a steady pace, a satisfying smattering of sadistic violence and graphic gore, some inspired and effective cross-cutting juxtaposing jolting brutality with oblivious people happily partying, and a lively, gripping, and harrowing last third with Mason terrorizing several kids in a house, this slice'n'dice outing proves to be an above average entry in the sub-genre. The acceptable acting from the capable non-star cast qualifies as another plus, with especially praiseworthy work by Peyten Aldrige as the sweet and frumpy Peyten Fontaine, Melissa Deverian as her foxy, spunky, and protective sister Ashlee, Alex Aldridge as amiable slacker Alex, and Ronnie Wilbir as mean bitch Barbie Fall. Both the crisp cinematography by Michael Murray and Casey Stouffer as well as the shuddery score by David and Don Poole are up to speed. A real sleeper.

The main element of this movie that "disturbed" me is the vocalized thoughts. Although the dialogue is impressive, the monologues (when you hear the characters describe in detail what they are looking for, why they are anxious, etc.) are insulting. My guess is the actors were told to ad lib those scenes--given plot and motivational guidelines--and nearly every word spoken was then deemed worthy to leave in the final cut. But the dialogue, as has already been commented by another, is believably "teen." Not only the lingo, but the attitude and pace of the modern high school conversation is well captured. Outshining the other cast members was Alex Aldridge, whose downplayed character stands in sharp contrast to others who are somewhat "over the top."

Well, first of all, you have to realize the movie was probably made with low budget and can therefore not be compared with typical Hollywood movie. The story itself is not that bad, it's just one of those thriller movies where you have a bad guy who is on a killing spree. Despite all, the movie was watchable. I know it is hard to make a good movie, especially if your budget is very limited. As far as camera and photography goes, I can only say it wasn't that bad, but it could be a lot better. The acting cast is young which gives them somehow an excuse. The acting wasn't terrible but with the right acting coach these actors can be a future movie stars, especially the lead actress (Melissa Deverian). She also co-wrote the script. However, with her looks and sex-appeal, I can easily see her as a future Hollywood star if she will get in hands of some really good acting coaches. I am not saying her acting is terrible. I am just saying that in right hands she can easily be much better. All in all, I gave this movie a rating of 5 out of 10. The story was smooth and it kept me watching the movie to the end. Although, I would really like to see a movie that is more realistic and more importantly - more unique.