Farah R
The Stepford Wives meats teenage rebellion in this underrated sci-fi horror film that had the potential to become a cult classic. The small town setting and delightful 90's aesthetics are an instant nostalgia trigger, and the mediocre acting makes it all the more endearing. I'm not saying it's good, but at least it's original in its own way and not a replica of Scream, like most teen horror flicks released around that time.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
04/16/24
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Melissa L
I thought it was a pretty good, well-acted, and originally-plotted movie. I recommend it.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
04/12/24
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RAYMOND O
I loved this movie. The idea of turning the dregs of society into picture perfect students. But they crack when their teenage angst breaks through when aroused turning them into killing machines. Creepy and fun.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
09/22/23
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Audience Member
An under-rated movie with a good plot, cast and nice soundtrack. Katie Holmes was hot in this too. Nick Stahl does the best work in the movie though.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
07/31/23
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Forged S
🎶I'm not sick but I'm not well
And I'm so hot 'cause I'm in Hell🎵
Traveling back to the late '90s, during the time of teen angst, dreary music and equally dreary weather and the general attitude of, to quote Heath Ledger's Joker, "why so serious?" A time, similar to the '80s, where teenagers still rebelled but THIS TIME it was mostly against society AND their absentee parents. Ahh, how I miss the music of my people...
This movie sucked. There I said it. It was corporate trash put out to try and relate to the youth at the time but ultimately, it failed. So it's no wonder that I found out years later that studio interference caused many of it's issues. It's ONLY saving grace was that it introduced Katie Holmes to the masses, and the pubescent hearts of teenage boys.
Yet, there is a silver lining. While I hated the movie at the time, I watch it now with the certain fondness of someone much older and presumably wiser. It may not've accurately captured the realistic attitudes of the youth at the time, but it did capture the style of filmmaking that helped define the music video generation. Style over substance, with themes created to make the viewer form their own opinion, so the director didn't have to. Worth a watch, but don't expect anything more than a fun popcorn flick.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/23/23
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matthew d
Disturbing Behavior is an unnerving cult classic!
Director David Nutter, of X-Files fame, delivers his haunting psychological horror thriller Disturbing Behavior (1998) with a stylish flourish and a love of the irreverent His dark humor, atmospheric direction, and tender empathy for his forlorn outcast heroes is appreciated. You immediately side with the fun loving and endearing loners, stoners, and metalheads over the preppy jocks and bullies. I loved Disturbing Behavior. It's like paying homage to old classics like The Stepford Wives and A Clockwork Orange, while right at home with its contemporaries such as Pleasantville or Village of the Damned. Never conform, kids.
Disturbing Behavior fills the void with that gloomy 90's aesthetic and gritty thriller vibe that I adore. Nutter's direction is eerie and compelling as he nails both the coming of age teen drama and freaky horror situation that feels increasingly disturbing. It's got hilarious commentary on teenager social dynamics with a playful judgmental attitude that's so 90's it is unreal.
Writer Scott Rosenberg is super creative. I enjoyed his sci-fi concept of teenagers changing their entire personalities into stoic prep kids prone to a phenomena like roid rage. I was enthralled by Disturbing Behavior. David Nutter did a fantastic job directing a slick and engaging horror of the mind movie. It's disappointing that studio executives and test audiences disagreed and forced Nutter to recut the film, but it does come to a strong conclusion with a brisk pace and a delightfully short run-time of 84 minutes. Disturbing Behavior is a true blue cult classic of innovative direction, creative writing, caring empathy, endearing acting, delightful 90's aesthetics, and a killer alternative rock soundtrack.
Disturbing Behavior is paying tribute to old classics The Stepford Wives and A Clockwork Orange, while paving the way for the Nicole Kidman version of Stepford Wives and Florence Pugh's Don't Worry Darling. Disturbing Behavior is like a late 1990's version of The Stepford Wives with its mind control and personality replacement concepts just with edgy 90's teenagers instead of suburban housewives. I think it's effective at generating sympathy for outcast teens and dissenting opinions. It's an eerie thing to see kids act totally different and even violent towards old friends. It's all about free will and individual expression verses repressing emotions and oppressing people with different personalities.
Editor Randy Jon Morgan really cuts swiftly from high school clique estrangement to suspenseful encounter with violent jocks. Disturbing Behavior's sleek 84 minutes feels surprisingly fully fleshed out besides the lightning fast pace. Everything cut out was not necessary for an excellent story that takes Scream and slams it together with The Stepford Wives.
However, I'd love for David Nutter's vision to be restored one day in a full original version. The recent MVD remastered on blu-ray looks lovely and feels like it got love put into it. One can dream. John S. Bartley's close-up shots of eyes and faces are immediate and daring with gorgeous wide shots for the town. All the medium shots of teenagers talking are very fun and inject a lifeblood into Disturbing Behavior. It has icy looks, spooky lighting, foggy nights, and shadowy depths imbued in the frames.
Production designer Nelson Coates creates an overly cheery high school, dingy psych ward, and dreary homes for that isolating small town vibe suburban teenagers cannot wait to escape. It's a charming movie to watch. Vancouver in the backdrop is beautiful with all the towering trees and expansive lakes. Art direction from Eric Fraser, Roxanne Methot, and Michael N. Wong shows off dissonant lighting and these frames that keep all the teenagers separated and lonely, outcast by their peers.
The gritty 90's look will never truly age poorly as everything looks so real. Louise Roper adorns the sets with school desks, motivational posters lining halls, desserts dressing the yogurt shoppe tables and bake sale prep tables to bring that insufferable do-gooder vibe to the yuppies. Visual effects artist Richard Trus warps eyes into a robotic red and really transforms the teenagers with his neat CGI. I think it still looks intimidating to have a searing hot eye implant veering towards your iris.
American actress Katie Holmes is drop dead gorgeous as Disturbed Behavior's heroine Rachel Wagner. She looks like a bad girl with her hardened attitude and dismissive manner. But once you look in Katie Holmes' hurt eyes you realize she is guarding herself from all the sleazy guys and cruel world surrounding her. Rachel is constantly belittled and bullied for being easy, but clearly she's just the sweet girl next door in a hard suburban area. Katie Holmes is the prettiest and most lovable she's ever been within cinema as Disturbed Behavior's sympathetic heroine Rachel Wagner. She's perfectly cast and has a tender romantic chemistry with James Marsden.
Beloved American actor James Marsden is handsome, charming, and sincere as Disturbed Behavior's stalwart hero and outcast teenager Steve Clark. Marsden proves he can be a compelling dramatic lead as you feel for his troubled teenager's angst and frustrations. You can feel his character drawn to the popular jock lifestyle, but smartly chooses to be nice with his real friends in the weird group. Marsden should have had considerably more lead actor roles as a likable hero and sympathetic, kind-hearted man besides Disturbed Behavior. American actor Nick Stahl from The Thin Red Line and Bully is hilariously irreverent and chillingly distant as loner stoner Gavin Strick. He's an absolute blast to watch judging and insulting his teenage peers.
Canadian actress Katharine Isabelle is wonderful as Steve's impressionable sister Lindsay Clark. She's now a legendary horror scream queen from Ginger Snaps and Hannibal, but Katharine Isabelle proves she was already talented with her comedic and dramatic chops with her playful sister portrayal and sincerely trusting personality in a gripping performance. She was already an adorable redhead and an endearing starlet from the get go in Disturbing Behavior.
Canadian actor Bruce Greenwood is excellent as the chilling shrink Dr. Edgar Caldicott with his unwavering dedication to forcing troubled teenagers to obey and conform. American actor William Sadler, Death himself from Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, is hilarious and likable as the smart janitor Dorian Newberry, keeping to himself to observe the others in town. His clever ruse to pretend to be stupid to seem unremarkable is fascinating. He's an interesting supporting character in Disturbing Behavior. American actor Ethan Embry, of Empire Records fame, is excellent in his brief flashbacks as Steve's lively and emotionally volatile deceased teenage brother named Allen Clark.
Canadian actor Chad Donella is likable as the amiable albino stoner U.V. He's the kind of steadfast and funny friend that would always be by your side. Canadian actor Tobias Mehler is completely unhinged as violent jock Andy Effkin. American actor Steve Railsback is unbelievable as Police Officer Cox that just allows tons of violent crime to go unpunished for dark reasons.
Canadian actor Terry David Mulligan's stern father Nathan Clark with repressed feelings over his son's suicide and Canadian actress Susan Hogan's incapable of loving mother Cynthia Clark are both poignant 90's parental figures that have no idea how to parent their grieving and mature teenagers. Irish-Canadian actor A.J. Buckley is supremely creepy and easy to hate as the rapist jock appropriately nicknamed Chug. You'll loathe this guy.
Canadian actress Crystal Cass is pretty and unforgettable as preppy girl Lorna Longley, who comes onto James Marsden in a chilling and disarmingly sudden sequence. She's actually frightening at that moment. Canadian actor Derek Hamilton is chilling as Trent with his casual dismissal of others outside the jock clique realm as the frosty Trent Whalen. Julie Patzwald is unnerving as the mentally abandoned girl Betty Caldicott, left to rot in a psych ward only to repeat her mania aloud in the form of a melancholic poem.
Composer Mark Snow's darkly atmospheric score is chilling from the opening credits to the bittersweet ending. His creepy melodies echo out with a slight chiming tone above his heavier rhythms crawling underneath everything. Disturbing Behavior features a killer alternative rock soundtrack with some real eclectic choices from 1998's alt rock scene. The Flys' "Got You (Where I Want You) is haunting and beautiful with a dark romance to it. I adored the mental hospital sequence ending with one hit wonders Harvey Danger's iconic alt rock anthem "Flagpole Sitta" for massive edgy resistance feelings. Disturbing Behavior did not deserve its bad reviews panned by critics and audiences at the time.
I liked costume designers Trish Keating and Tess Brummitt's all black Goth clothing and baggy fits. Disturbing Behavior nails the emo alternative slacks, cozy sweaters, sea of long sleeves, piercings, black eye liner, dark eyeshadow, and casual looks of 90's teenagers. They even find fashionable vests and conformist button shirts for the yuppie jocks. Lisa Love's make-up is outstanding and gives everyone in the outcasts that hot Gothic black eyeliner and dark eyeshadow. Katie Holmes has never looked sexier. It's cool that there's so much variety in the clique's costumes.
In all, Disturbing Behavior is so much fun and an off kilter 90's thriller sure to intrigue you.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
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