Disturbing Behavior review.
Disturbing Behavior came and went with a whimper 25 years ago. Studio edits condensed it down to a swift 84 minutes that are very much of its time. How does it hold up?
Classic movie reviews will contain spoilers.
Disturbing Behavior
Directed by David Nutter
Written by Scott Rosenberg
Starring James Marsden, Katie Holmes, Nick Stahl, Bruce Greenwood and William Sadler
Disturbing Behavior Review
A quarter of a century ago Disturbing Behavior came and went from theaters leaving little mark in its wake. A song used in the film (and trailer) made a more significant cultural impact than this (then) modern retelling of The Stepford Wives. While it will take every ounce of my being to refrain from making this review into a discussion of the greatness of Harvey Danger’s Flagpole Sitta…I will begin it by linking the music video for everyone to enjoy while they try to pretend to care about a review of Disturbing Behavior.
A quarter of a century ago Disturbing Behavior came and went from theaters leaving little mark in its wake. A song used in the film (and trailer) made a more significant cultural impact than this (then) modern retelling of The Stepford Wives. While it will take every ounce of my being to refrain from making this review into a discussion of the greatness of Harvey Danger’s Flagpole Sitta…I will begin it by linking the music video for everyone to enjoy while they try to pretend to care about a review of Disturbing Behavior.
Isn’t it glorious?
The movie that (briefly) features it actually holds up better than you’d expect too. It opens with a pretty crazy opening sequence that introduces us to the flaw in the town’s Blue Ribbon program. They’re reprogramming at risk kids and turning them into model citizens. The opening makes clear that it needs a few tweaks. We get two quick, shocking deaths to set the stage for the danger that lies ahead. My memories of the movie were foggy at best 25 years after its release…so I was excited to see such an enjoyable start.
I’d spend the next 75 minutes or so waiting for Disturbing Behavior to get bad. While it never really rises to the heights of the opening segment…surprisingly, that never happened. I don’t think that the movie, with its wholly unoriginal story and lack of risks, is necessarily better than I remembered. I think that it holds up far better than you’d expect it to. While it is very much of its time, like most post-Scream horror with familiar young faces who talk smarter than they act, it does feel true to its time. The lack of CGI, the look of the characters, the banging soundtrack…it’s every bit of the late 90s.
It also boasts a fine cast. James Marsden, Nick Stahl, and Katie Holmes form our lead trio. A mustachioed Bruce Greenwood takes the villain role. William Sadler is the helpful janitor whose work on the local rat problem turns out to be the key to stopping the brainwashed horde. Katherine Isabelle plays Marsden’s sister. Even Ethan Embry cameos as Marsden’s dead brother via brief video clips.
The story is basic, but the brief run time keeps it from falling too far off track. Steve (Marsden) and his family move to the town of Cradle Bay following his brother’s suicide. He meets Gavin (Stahl) and Rachel (Holmes), two outcasts at his school. Gavin witnesses the craziness of the opening scene and is convinced there is a conspiracy afoot. His once wayward friends are now Blue Ribbon members…and everything that once defined them has been erased.
It’s strange that Gavin has such a hard time getting anyone to believe him. Not only would Rachel know that these people had radically changed personalities overnight…everyone can see there is something wrong with these kids. Steve and Rachel will believe eventually…but only after Gavin’s parents sign him up for the program. Stahl is excellent as the loose cannon turned Blue Ribbon. With respect to Greenwood’s awesome mustache…Gavin’s turn as dead eyed soulless puppet is the creepiest aspect of Disturbing Behavior.
The story is largely predictable. Only Sadler’s Mr. Newberry offers any kind of wildcard. We know what the town is doing to young people. We know that Steve and Rachel will escape in the end. There aren’t many risks taken in between. Some decent scenes involving Blue Ribbon’s shorting out, investigative work in a mental institution and the inevitable capture and escape of our leads give Disturbing Behavior a nice momentum. Playing Flagpole Sitta as they escape the institution certainly helps. Just a reminder to restart the video if you’re still reading.
The climax works, but again avoids risks. Steve and Rachel are confronted by the Blue Ribbons. Mr. Newberry, who basically has every heroic moment in the film, saves the day by leading the horde off a cliff. His rat radio signal MacGuffin paying off exactly when you’d expect. Steve finally manages to do something, kicking Bruce Greenwood off the cliff. He and Rachel escape on a Ferry heading towards some unknown destination. We learn that Gavin is the one Blue Ribbon to survive…appearing at the end as a teacher ready to shape new young minds. It’s all…perfectly fine.
Legend has it that the studio hacked apart the original cut of the movie. That makes sense when you watch it. The bones are all here…but the bones are all that we get. There’s a better movie out there. It may even have existed before the studio got their hands on it. I’d love to see a Director’s Cut of Disturbing Behavior because what is here fundamentally does work. What’s missing is, to be blunt, interesting ideas. If they’re out there…someone add them back in already.
1998 was the year that we saw The Faculty, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and Urban Legend released. Disturbing Behavior fits right into what the popular movies of the time were doing…yet all those films did bigger business and left more of an impression. Rewatching it today…that seems like a shame. It’s at least as good as those movies…and I’d argue it holds up better than all of them. That doesn’t mean it’s “good”. But it is “fine”. For the late 90s, “fine” tends to rank pretty high.
Plus…no other movie had Harvey Danger and the best song of 1997.
Scare Value
Disturbing Behavior might be a little better than its reputation. There is a solid core here that could have been built upon. Given how much the studio reportedly cut out of the original cut…they may have even done it. 25 years later we still don’t have an official Director’s Cut from MGM…though a fan edit is out there somewhere. Watching the studio cut today only makes you want to see a full version even more. Hopefully with more Harvey Danger.
2.5/5
Disturbing Behavior Links
Streaming on Tubi
Rent/Buy on VOD from Vudu
Buy on Blu-Ray from Amazon
