All Rise...

Judge Patrick Naugle suffers from anti-social behavior.

Editor's Note

Our review of Disturbing Behavior, published March 14th, 2000, is also available.

The Charge

In Cradle Bay, it doesn't matter if you're not perfect. You will be.

The Case

Let's be honest: the 1990s were a dead zone for horror movies. A lot of this is due to Scream, Wes Craven's deconstruction of the teen slasher that gave not just a winking nod but a full-fledged head-butt to the genre. In the wake of Scream's success came a glut of self-referential horror films that were high on style but low on substance. From I Know What You Did Last Summer to sequels like Halloween H20, the genre slowly went on life support until the early 2000s rolled around and ushered in the remake craze.

Before that, however, there was 1998's Disturbing Behavior, a very poor entry into the teen horror genre that feels more like a made-for-TV movie than an actual horror film. While the comparisons may not be fair, they are apt—Disturbing Behavior plays like a variation (or at least distant cousin) of 1975's The Stepford Wives. The story, thin as tissue paper, is about the Clark family arriving at the coastal town of Cradle Bay. Teenager Steve (James Marsden, X-Men) and his younger sister (Katherine Isabelle, Freddy vs. Jason) attempt to meet new friends at the local high school and come across a weird group called the "Blue Ribbons," popular kids who wear the same lettermen jacket and are the absolute image of perfection. Well, maybe not that perfect—it slowly becomes clear that some of the school's teens display odd behavior, like losing their temper and acting out violently without warning. Steve gravitates towards a couple of outcasts, Gavin (Nick Stahl, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) and Rachel (Katie Holmes, Batman Begins), who together will unravel a hidden mystery in the sleepy Cradle Bay.

Disturbing Behavior is one of the most flaccid films to come out of the 1990s, which is saying something considering a good portion of the '90s horror output was rather anemic. The problems are many, though the most egregious may be how overwrought the dialogue is and delivered by the cast. Scott Rosenberg's screenplay is filled with passages that feels self-important and cliched; when one clearly evil character calls another character "brother," what do you think the chances are of the good character intoning, "I'm not your brother?" Disturbing Behavior doesn't have an original bone in its body. Poor Katie Holmes is given wannabe catch-phrases that were meant to be adopted by the kids seeing the movie, but just sound stupid in 2016. Holmes' response when she's asked to head to the beach and get some beers? "That'd be razor." I guess "razor" was supposed to mean cool, but in 2016 it just sounds like failed most of her high school English classes.

It's a bit surprising how many decent actors there are in Disturbing Behavior, and how wasted almost all of them are. James Marsden is an attractive, square-jawed hero whose personality is nearly non-existent. Katie Holmes plays a goth teenager because she wears torn clothes and black lipstick (Holmes as a depressed goth is about as convincing as Helen Mirren as a 25-year-old valley girl). Nick Stahl's role as the dour Gavin is the biggest crime in the film; Stahl seems to be harnessing the intensity of the sun, reciting dialogue that is equal parts yelling and seething anger. The supporting cast is just a waste of great adult talent with actors like Bruce Greenwood (the new Star Trek remake) as a local doctor, William Sadler (Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight) as a mentally-challenged school janitor, and Steve Railsback (Lifeforce) as the local sheriff making little-to-no impact on the viewer. If you've got a fantastic character actor like William Sadler in your film but can't make him the least bit interesting, you know you've failed as a director.

For those hoping for good old fashioned horror, your wait will be long and arduous. I have no idea why Disturbing Behavior was rated-R since there's hardly any violence, and what there is tends to be so watered down that it hardly qualifies as horror. Not surprisingly, this was director David Nutter's only feature film credit; Nutter has mostly toiled in television (including The Flash and Game of Thrones), which may be better suited for his talents. Adding insult to injury is composer Mark Snow's weirdly minimal film score, which isn't surprising since he also works mostly in television. Disturbing Behavior may have done well to have found behind-the-scenes talent that had more experience with feature films over TV shows.

Out of all the forgettable '90s horror movies, Disturbing Behavior seems to be the scraping the bottom of the barrel hardest. The film feels so inconsequential that I'm actually having a hard time recalling details (and I watched it less than a day ago). Katie Holmes, Nick Stahl, and James Marsden would all go on to do better work in much better films, all of which I'd advise you to check out before sitting through Disturbing Behavior.

Disturbing Behavior (Blu-ray) is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen in 1080p high definition. This MGM title (licensed by Shout Factory subsidiary Scream Factory) is in excellent condition. While the image is often dark (lots of blues and blacks), the picture is very clear and is almost totally free of any major defects or imperfections. The soundtrack is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround in English. This is an often aggressive soundtrack that feature s a wide range of directional effects and surround sounds, especially when the late '90s rock music cues kick in. Also included on this disc are English subtitles, as well as a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo mix in English.

Bonus features include an audio commentary with director David Nutter, a few deleted scenes, and an alternate ending to the film.

Clearly I was not a fan of Disturbing Behavior. I didn't find the film scary in the least and it's unfortunate 1990s trappings—the music, fashions, and dialogue—only enhance how uninteresting the story and characters are. Scream Factory's work on this title is better than it deserves, giving fans a very nice video and audio transfer as well as a few informative extra features.

The Verdict

Terrifyingly dull.

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