Comportement insolite

After the suicide of the teenager Allen Clark (Ethan Embry), his family decides to move from Chicago to the quiet Cradle Bay Island seeking a peaceful life for the siblings Steve (James Marsden) and Lindsay Clark (Katharine Isabelle). When Steve joins the local high-school, the outcast Gavin Strick (Nick Stahl) befriends Steve and introduces his also rejected friend Rachel Wagner (Katie Holmes) to the newcomer. Gavin exposes to Steve in the refectory the punks, the nerds and the different tribes of the school and he defends the weird theory that a sinister force changes the behavior of the annoyingly perfect "Blue Ribbons", a group of good students that wear identical jackets and gather in the Yogurt Shoppe. Further he tells that he had witnessed the blue ribbon Andy Efkin (Tobias Mehler) killing their schoolmate Mary Jo (Natassia Malthe) that is missing and a police officer, but the local Officer Cox (Steve Railsback) covered the murders. Steve does not believe in Gavin words, but when his friend is submitted to the treatment of Dr. Edgar Caldicott (Bruce Greenwood) and immediately changes his behavior, joining the Blue Ribbons, Steve and Rachel decides to investigate the mystery discovering the dark secret of the perfect behavior.

"Disturbing Behavior" has an intriguing beginning, with a murder and a group of former troublemakers and potheads transformed in perfect students, like in the classic "Invasion of Body Snatchers". However, when the paranoid Gavin changes his behavior, the plot becomes silly and flawed, and the conclusion is awful. I saw this movie for the first time on 25 March 2000 and I keep my original opinion that this movie is reasonable, but could be great with improvements in the second-half of the story. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Comportamento Suspeito" ("Suspicious Behavior")

Note: On 24 May 2024, I saw this film again.

This is a very sadly underrated film. This is a film that I believe was intended to wake kids up. It's no artistic venture, I know. It's all laid out in a very simple fashion, and was made for the MTV kids to be able to understand it. Still, the point is a great one, and was carried out well. After reading someone's review of this, I have to say I was enraged. The good guys sometimes smoke pot in this. Would it be worse if they were on crack? Yes, it would. The good guys look a little freaky most of the time. Would it make them better people if they wore "nice clothes"? No, it wouldn't. They cuss a lot and talk their weird, poetic jive. Would they be more interesting if they didn't? No, they would be LESS interesting. The good guys like rock music. Does that make them bad, scary kids? Absolutely not, because you can't judge a person solely on their tastes. And as for the brainwashed psycho kids that even a lot of kids nowadays would root for, they break people's necks because they're ashamed to be sexually aroused. Is that less scary than a kid who just wants to get laid and can't because he's viewed as a monster by society? If your answer is "yes", you are obviously very disturbed yourself. This movie is about the underdogs, those people who are good people but have no choice other than to fight when so many would rather oppress them for being who they really are. This hardens and depresses them considerably, and why shouldn't it? The world is not a "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood", and, though that is a nice fantasy, this movie, despite any fantastic contexts it might have, is full of harsh realities. If there's a world full of Blue Ribbons, things wouldn't be exciting to you unless you're totally brainwashed. If you're not, that makes it scary. That's why this movie sends chills up my spine, no matter how simple and MTV-styled it might be. This is one of the best horror films of the 1990s. At least it's not junk like "I Know What You Did Last Summer". This film has something to say, something only severely distorted people would see as completely negative and wrong. NOT FOR BLUE RIBBONS!

A sci-fi/horror flick aimed at the "Scream" crowd, "Disturbing Behavior" concerns at idyllic coastal town where everything seems just a bit too peachy. The local high school is populated by picture perfect teens who, despite their wholesome love of yogurt, tend to get a little trigger happy when the hormones start flying. When the new kid in town (Jason Marsden) stumbles upon a dark secret, it's up to him and a few other mistfits (Nick Stahl, Katie Holmes) to shut down the powers that be.

There's loads of potential in this film that is, unfortunately, never capitalized upon. You can thank the editing department for that one. If the deleted scenes are any evidence, this movie was trimmed and dumbed down to the point of no recognition. While the uninterrupted flow makes for an easy, breezy viewing, the overall story lacks substance and coherence. Its 84 minute running time, in turn, is a redeeming feature.

The director, David Nutter, spends much of the film building up ample amounts of atmosphere and is aided wonderfully by a brilliant score by fellow "X-Files" alumnus Mark Snow as well as some striking scenery thanks to it's Vancouver location. So, the film isn't a complete waste. You'll get some kicks out of the dialog and while Katie Holmes in particular isn't given much to do, she at least looks good in skimpy outfits while doing so. Also, it's hard to hate on a movie that is of a more intelligent cut than the other teen-geared fare being produced in its time. The movie at least aims high, and even when it doesn't quite reach, it never bores.

A passable sci-fi teen romp, "Disturbing Behavior" is entertaining late-night fodder that, surprisingly, will inspire repeat viewings. It's a shame, though, to think of how much better the whole could have been.

I caught this film on a late night TV slot (around 1:00). Since it was an evening of surprisingly watchable movies up until then (Michael Chrictons 'Runaway' & Clint Eastwoods 'White hunter, black heart') this mix of teeny horror and x-files type paranoia sci-fi was just the kind of icing on the cake I needed before finally calling it a night.

Even though it obviously suffers from some plot holes and studio interference, I must say that I still found it much better than other late 90's 'Scream' influenced (and included) teen horror revival stuff. Sci-fi element was, even though lacking in any deeper explanation, believable enough, especially the part with problems arising due to puberty related hormone/neurotransmitter surges (i.e. Lorna's sexual turn violent outburst at Steve's house) etc.

All in all, not really a shining example of cinematic art but still bearable enough for a late night entertainment.

In Cradle Bay on Crescent Island, football jock Andy is parked with a girl. His demeanor turns and kills her. Then he kills a cop and Officer Cox (Steve Railsback) lets him go. Gavin Strick (Nick Stahl) watches from afar. The Clarks from Chicago arrive in town after losing the oldest son. Gavin befriends Steve Clark (James Marsden) who explains the school is ruled by a clique called Blue Ribbon. Steve is taken with edgy girl Rachel Wagner (Katie Holmes). Dorian Newberry (William Sadler) is the school janitor and rat catcher. Steve and Gavin discovers the parents working with Dr. Edgar Caldicott (Bruce Greenwood). Gavin is picked to be the next candidate by his parents.

I like the Bodysnatcher feel to the story setup. There are probably too many kills too early and it probably effected the ending. The actors are all good in their roles. However the movie ends badly. I think the writer couldn't figure out a clever way to end the movie. It's too bad because the movie seems to be set up for a tense thriller. Instead, it's done without any finesse and it's unsatisfying.