Strange Behavior

Overall, Strange Behaviour is a fairly lame sci-fi/horror hybrid with seemingly ordinary kids making a few bucks at a research facility and turning out a little bit...wrong. There are a few decent shocks here and there, but mostly it seems like there's just something missing - like the filmmakers lost part of the script on the way to the shoot and just went with it.

Cinematic ally, there's no real reason to watch it, but there's also no real reason not to.

However, our hero goes to a party (for no reason) and it's a costume party (for no reason) and eventually everyone breaks out into a synchronized dance to Lou Christie's "Lightning Strikes." That's quite possibly the greatest scene in a movie ever.

Definitely a film with its own personality, Strange Behavior can best be appreciated by those that remember when films didn't require fast editing to appease the short attention spans of MTV-weened young'ns. With lines like the one about the "fat ones" delivered by the great Charles Lane and a vision of a 1950s style small town set in the "present" (something director Michael Laughlin and writer Bill Condon again brought us in Strange Invaders), the film was a splendid hybrid of old fashioned Twilight Zone ambiance and the fun, then-fresh exuberance of New Wave music and sheer sense of FUN. To top off the great mix: a Tangerine Dream score.

Mad Scientists, teens partying (but in the pre-MTV, pre-home computer kind of ways), mysterious killings, and....strange behavior! Oh, and the kind of impromptu group dance that was a heck of a lot more fun than the big dance scene in Footloose! Where else would a sudden dance sequence just seem to fit into a film -- the way Strange Behavior smoothly incorporates old-style thrills with humor and wit, having a bunch of teens break out into dance to the song "Lightning Strikes" doesn't seem so unusual, especially since the theme of the party was 1960s TV characters! Disguising the location of New Zealand as an Illinois town was quite a treat as well.

The story could have easily been done a number of times: small midwestern town, teens used as behavioral science subjects, mysterious murders by different killers...but of course the collaboration of Laughlin and Condon assures us this is not going to be typical. the focus is not to scare you out of your wits, but to offer something more mysterious. Add to that a very great choice for the cast (including more seasoned actors the likes of Michael Murphy, Fiona Lewis, Louise Fletcher, Charles Lane and others, plus the ever-smoking Dey Young and Dan Shor bring a likable aspect as well without being pushy teens) and an eye for design, Strange Behavior rises far above the cookie-cutter horror (particularly slasher) films of that time, and even in the present. There are many master shots that go for lengthy takes, and those of us that care more for story and dialogue can savor what's going on. I wouldn't be surprised that younger audiences that are used to fast cuts and one-liners would find this film too slow (and then again youth that are smarter might embrace this as other films from over 20 years ago). The minimal bloodletting works just as well, and the needle-in-the-eye trick can still illicit a good squirm today just as it did in 1981.

It's great to see that Strange Behavior has influenced other films: Fiona Lewis' hairdo inspired the one Sean Young had in Blade Runner, and it's obvious the lackluster film Disturbing Behavior from 1998 was, to put it kindly, "inspired" by Strange Behavior. Joe Dante even wanted Fiona Lewis for Innerspace based on her being seen in this film.

Strange Behavior is a great reminder of how things were so much more based on literal creativity and storytelling. Nowadays, it's all about special effects done digitally and pushing soundtracks from bands or music styles no one's going to care about 10 years from now. Laughlin and Condon were smart enough to give us elements that remain to this day unique, memorable, and never wearing out their welcome. Sure, by today's standards the film may not seem so shocking, but having come from being a "teen" back in 1980, it was refreshing for its time and has well earned its cult status. Sure, even the songs in it are more cool than what's considered a hit these days!

Thank goodness Elite Entertainment has released the DVD in the film's original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, which also gives that widescreen feel of the 1950s thrillers in which Strange Behavior resembles so well. It makes my life much more fulfilling knowing such gems as this one are being given the respect and care in their restoration. Ignore the lower IMDb rating that it has at this time (just over a 4), because I feel it's being given a low rating by those who are too familiar with recent "shockers." The general reviews by the press were quite good for Strange Behavior back when it was released, and I for one feel that I do know a bit more about what quality is since I've experienced these kinds of films and their evolution up through to today's more slicker productions. It's also why you're hearing more references to older TV shows and songs in today's advertisements: they just don't make 'em like they used to, and there's just more distinction and personality in things from way back when! Or at least, some of them, since this film definitely was different from anything else when IT was released. Long live Strange Behavior!

In the late 70s/early 80s during the Australian film "renaissance", when historical dramas like 'Picnic At Hanging Rock' and 'Gallipoli' were all the rage, a producer named Antony Ginnane attempted to go against the tide and get some thrillers and horror movies made Down Under. He dreamed of being Australia's Roger Corman. Sadly it wasn't to be but hats off to him for helping movies like 'Patrick', 'Thirst' and 'Turkey Shoot' get to the big screen! 'Dead Kids' (a.k.a. 'Strange Behavior') is another underrated movie from this period that he co-produced. This time Ginnane and friends went to New Zealand instead of Australia, something to do with union hiccups I believe. The movie was actually filmed in Auckland, but set in the US with a mostly American cast, including Dan Shor ('Wise Blood'), Michael Murphy ('Manhattan'), Louise Fletcher ('One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'), Marc McLure ('Superman'), and Dey Young ('Rock'n'Roll High School'). Also appearing were the British born Fiona Lewis ('The Fury') and Aussie character actor Arthur Dignam ('The Devil's Playground'), who plays the enigmatic Dr Le Sangel, a role originally intended for Klaus Kinski. As well as a great cast this movie is noteworthy because it was directed by Michael Laughlin, the producer of Monte Hellman's 70s road classic 'Two-Lane Blacktop', and co-written by Laughlin and Bill Condon, who went on the write and direct the excellent James Whale biopic 'Gods And Monsters'. There are two outstanding bits in 'Dead Kids' which anyone who watches it will never forget: the syringe-in-the-eyeball scene, and the party sequence with a bunch of kids dancing to the Lou Christie oldie "Lightning Strikes". Music buffs will also appreciate the score from Tangerine Dream, and Aussies will get a kick out of (briefly) hearing The Boys Next Door's post-punk classic "Shivers" on the soundtrack. 'Dead Kids' is one of the my favourite horror movies of the late 70s/early 80s, a golden age filled with some very inventive and original shockers e.g. 'Evil Dead', 'Phantasm', 'Dead & Buried', 'Basket Case', to name a few. Eli Roth's super-hyped 'Cabin Fever' claimed to be inspired by some of these movies but totally missed the point in my opinion. Forget Roth, go for the real thing like this, which is both more entertaining AND scarier.

Not quite the underrated masterpiece other people are talking about, I'm afraid. It begins well enough, with an atmospheric, out-of-this-world Tangerine Dream score and hypnotically slow direction, but the story tips its hand too early; the basics (if not the particulars) of its plot become rather obvious to us well before they do to the characters. Still, this is above average for an early-80s horror film. (**)

Galesberg, Illinois is a sleepy, small town where brutally strange murders are occurring. Sheriff John Brady believes it has something to with some secret experiments being performed on the local teenagers by a collage's psych department led by Dr Gwen Parkinson. Also unknowingly to John, his son Pete has signed up to the program in the hope the money he earns off it, would go a long way for him getting into his preferred collage.

Slashers hey. God love 'em! Well this was around the same time when the craze for it was huge in the horror genre. But that in mind, while I found the New Zealand/Australian co-production "Dead Kids" to follow the conventional methods and clichés. It still manages to hold its own within the sub-genre because of its quirky charm, realistic touch and overall edgy style that sets it apart from many rancid entries. There's something quite compelling about it all, even though the fractured story could have been far more fulfilling in its matter.

Mainly it comes off because the sterling performances are very convincing in setting up their characters, the story's progression is unforeseeable with a unique premise (that could be lifted right out of those early horror 30's and 40's features of mad scientists) and Michael Laughlin's pastel direction has a freshly polish tinge about it that comes off very well in some superbly choreographed scenes that are stylishly unusual (loved the inspired party scene with Lou Christie's "Lighting Strikes"), unnervingly creepy (the scarecrow scene) or just plain suspenseful. If there's one downer to Laughlin's direction though, it's that the most of the imaginatively nasty death/or attack scenes are executed rather sloppily and can look silly. At least they were grisly and had some splatter to spare, but in the long run it wasn't trying to be pointlessly gory or wanting to up the body count.

It's a moody atmosphere that slowly engages the viewer with its mysteriously offbeat vibe and nail biting jolts created from its wholesome reality. Streaming through the script is a welcome slice of humour that has the right sense towards its material. The production is that of low budget, but it doesn't show up prominently with many professional elements working in favour on the project. While the film is set in US, it was actually filmed in New Zealand with a mostly American cast. The picture-perfect setting authentically comes across and makes good of the atmosphere. Louis Horvath's wide scope Panavison cinematography is gorgeously framed with such hypnotic verve and the Tangerine Dream's effectively airy music score has that alienating awe to it.

Australian producer Antony I. Ginnane backed this one and has some other great films under his belt that he managed to get the screen, like "Turkey Shoot", "Patrick", "Harlequin" and "The Survivor". Michael Laughlin would go on to direct "Strange Invaders" and screenwriter Bill Condon would be recognised for penning and directing "Gods and Monsters (1998)". Though, he first kicked of his flair for direction with effectively minor southern Gothic shocker "Sister, Sister (1987)". The performances are particularly fine. Dan Shor is ideal as the Pete and Dey Young has a very appealing presence on screen. Michael Murphy holds it together with an admirably focused turn as sheriff Brady. Fiona Louis really eats it up as the icy Dr Parkinson. Making up the rest in bit parts are Marc McClure, Johnny Guitar, Charles Lane, Arthur Dignam and very warm-hearted Louise Fletcher.

A definite oddity that works a treat in what it sets out to do. Recommended.