# Disturbing Behavior (1998)

### reviewed by
Jamie Peck

DISTURBING BEHAVIOR Reviewed by Jamie Peck

Rating: ** (out of ****) MGM / 1:23 / 1998 / R (violence, language, sexuality, brief nudity) Cast: James Marsden; Katie Holmes; Nick Stahl; Bruce Greenwood; William Sadler; Steve Railsback; Chad E. Donella; Crystal Cass; Tobias Mehler Director: David Nutter Screenplay: Scott Rosenberg

Combining brief flashes of a intense, roaming light with an understatedly eerie orchestral theme, the opening credits of "Disturbing Behavior" are really something spooky. But then the action begins, the sense of mystery vanishes and the movie quickly molds itself into the textbook definition of "uneven tone." A must-be-seen-to-be-believed prologue sequence -- involving a vicious bit of pseudo-coitus interruptus -- is supposed to provide the audience with a fast jolt that'll only hint at the freaky weirdness yet to come. Instead, it kicks off the first in a long series of unintentional guffaws that render "Disturbing Behavior" an amusing almost-guilty pleasure.

In this greatest-hits mesh of "The Stepford Wives," "Village of the Damned," "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and (oh, why not?) "A Clockwork Orange," a sinister force is at work in the nice little community of Cradle Bay, turning a large percentage of the young adult populace into ideal, zombie-like preppies whose primary concerns include the honor roll and bake sale strategies. New-kid-in-town Steve (James Marsden) makes friends with Cradle Bay outcasts Gavin (Nick Stahl) and Rachel (Katie Holmes); together they become increasingly suspect of their classmates' unnaturally perfect existence, and begin to uncover a conspiracy involving their peers' own parents.

Even though the story plays its silly scares with a straight face, "Disturbing Behavior" isn't a complete bust -- it's just nowhere near the clever, frightening post-Scream thriller it so aspires to be. The wannabe-trendy dialogue is chuckle-worthy for all the wrong reasons, and with lines like "Self-mutilate this, fluid boy" and "Who put the acid in my Spam?", it's no wonder. Late in the film, when Steve and Rachel find unsettling surprises in a dark, dreary asylum, the scene plays like "Awakenings" on crank. Since what's really missing here is running audio commentary from the "Mystery Science Theater 3000" gang, you might be enticed to create your own.

Holmes, of "Dawson's Creek" fame, survives her howler-heavy part with her fresh reputation in tact, although this is one film her precocious television buddies would definitely pass judgement on. Stahl and Marsden make the most out of their roles as well, but the latter is saddled with a head-scratcher subplot involving a sibling who committed suicide. In the movie's most frenzied performance, William Sadler (the Grim Reaper from "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey"), as a wild-and-crazy janitor, chows on the scenery, coughs it back up and devours it again. It's called "unsubtle foreshadowing" when he uses a high-pitched radio frequency to cure his boiler room of a rat problem.

Those seeking gobs of blood and guts are better off checking out "Saving Private Ryan" this weekend -- the most violent scene here includes just a forced nosering removal. The film itself is also a pretty painless sit, thanks to a running time that barely constitutes 80 minutes -- and that includes the several seconds devoted to a completely unnecessary breast shot. At least you can't accuse "Disturbing Behavior" of wearing out its wack-job welcome, even if it does squander its potentially intriguing subject material in favor of something hip, fast, flashy and filled with enough good-looking teens to make a whole new Aaron Spelling series. Mark my words: This flick is a midnight movie in the making.

© 1998 Jamie Peck E-mail: jpeck1@gl.umbc.edu Visit the New and Improved Reel Deal Online: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~jpeck1/ "The best possible argument for including [a shot of Bruce] Willis' genitals would have been that the movie, after all, contains everything else." -- Roger Ebert on "Color of Night"

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