labeouf starred in "disturbia", a thriller released on april 13, 2007, as a teenager under house arrest who suspects that his neighbor is a serial killer, which he considered a "character-driven" role. he received positive reviews for the role, with "the buffalo news" saying, he "is able to simultaneously pull off [the character's] anger, remorse and intelligence". first hosting "saturday night live" on april 14, 2007 he would also return barely a year later to host the may 10, 2008 episode. he next played sam witwicky, who becomes involved in the autobot-decepticon war on earth, in "transformers".