''Disturbing Behavior'' is a 1998
teen
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
psychological horror
Psychological horror is a genre, subgenre of horror fiction, horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and Mental state, psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequent ...
film starring
James Marsden
James Paul Marsden (born September 18, 1973) is an American actor, singer, and former model. Marsden began his acting career guest starring in the television shows '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' (1993), '' Touched by an Angel'' (1995), ' ...
,
Katie Holmes, and
Nick Stahl
Nicolas Kent Stahl (born December 5, 1979) is an American actor. Starting out as a child actor, he gained recognition for his performance in the 1993 film '' The Man Without a Face'', co-starring Mel Gibson.
He later transitioned into his adul ...
. The film was directed by
David Nutter
David Nutter (born 1960) is an American television and film director and television producer. He is best known for directing pilot episodes for television. In 2015, he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series ...
, who was a director and producer on ''
The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
'', and the screenplay was written by
Scott Rosenberg. The plot follows a group of high school outcasts who discover their seemingly perfect "Blue Ribbon" classmates are part of an elaborate mind control experiment.
The film, which contains nods to 1975 thriller ''
The Stepford Wives
''The Stepford Wives'' is a 1972 satirical "feminist horror" novel by Ira Levin. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a talented photographer, wife and young mother who suspects that something in Stepford's environment is changing the wives fr ...
,''
premiered on July 24, 1998 and received negative reviews. The film went through numerous studio-mandated cuts from
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
prior to theatrical release in response to negative test screenings. There has been considerable fan support for the release of a
director's cut
A director's cut is an edited version of a film (or video game, television episode, music video, or commercial) that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit in contrast to the theatrical release. "Cut" explicitly refers to the ...
version that restores deleted scenes.
Plot
High school senior Steve Clark is new to Cradle Bay, a picturesque island community in Washington state's
Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...
. His family has moved from Chicago after the suicide of eldest son Allen, a loss that continues to haunt Steve. On his first day at the local high school, Steve befriends three outcast students: Gavin Strick, U.V., and Rachel Wagner. Steve is also introduced to school psychologist Dr. Edgar Caldicott, who is aware of Steve’s loss and suggests he make new friends by joining a program called the Blue Ribbons, which is described as a “motivational workshop.”
The Blue Ribbons are a clique of preppy, clean-cut overachievers who organize bake sales and car washes. Members attempt to recruit Steve into their fold, but Gavin, who is viewed with contempt by the clique, steers him away. Gavin claims they are a murderous cult that has been “hypnotized, lobotomized and brainwashed” by Caldicott and that the whole town is in on it, but Steve thinks Gavin is exaggerating.
Outside a store where Gavin tries to score alcohol, Rachel is approached by Chug, a jock Blue Ribbon member with a thing for her. After catching sight of Rachel in her midriff-baring outfit, Chug suddenly snaps into a rage and starts savagely beating up a guy inside the store. Chug nearly kills him while the town’s police chief, Officer Cox, simply looks on. When Steve asks his new friends what just happened, Rachel says it must be
'roid rage. Gavin insists again on his mind control theory, producing photos of his former burnout friends who were “reprogrammed” into Blue Ribbons.
Gavin takes Steve to a school hideout where they eavesdrop on a PTA meeting presided over by Caldicott. During the meeting, Gavin learns his parents volunteered him for Caldicott’s program. A fearful Gavin brandishes a gun that he plans to use on potential abductors, but Steve calls him paranoid and wrestles the gun away from him. The following day, Gavin shows up to school as a clean-cut Blue Ribbon, with his long hair now cut short, his grungy clothing replaced by a preppy style, and his friendship with Rachel and U.V. coldly tossed aside.
Steve's attempts to reach Gavin are met with hostility from other Blue Ribbons. He is beaten up by the clique, with Gavin landing the final blow. When Steve returns home, he finds Blue Ribbon member Lorna in his living room, having just tutored his younger sister Lindsay. Lorna attempts to seduce him, but in her arousal she flies into a violent rage as her right eye glows red. Repeating the words “wrong, bad”, she smashes a wall mirror with her head and attacks Steve with a shard, but he subdues her and she snaps out of her episode, acting as if nothing happened.
Meanwhile, Steve befriends Mr. Newberry, the school janitor who also harbors suspicions about the Blue Ribbons. He demonstrates a device to Steve that emits a soft, high-pitched whine intended to repel rats. Later, Rachel is cornered in the boiler room by Chug in an attempted rape, but Newberry’s rat-catching device goes off and sends Chug into a frenzy. Rachel escapes and Chug finds the device, destroying it. Newberry, having witnessed the incident, realizes the device acts as an irritant on Blue Ribbons.
In search of answers, Steve and Rachel venture to Bishop Flats, a nearby mental hospital. Their investigation confirms Gavin’s theory about the Blue Ribbons and mind control: Caldicott is implanting
brain microchips on Cradle Bay teenagers with the approval of their parents, who want to reprogram their kids from juvenile delinquents into well-behaved model citizens. However, Caldicott could not turn off the teenagers’ hormones, resulting in momentary violent fits whenever the subjects’ sexual urges act up. Steve and Rachel attempt to get Lindsay so they can flee town, but they are ambushed by Caldicott and Steve’s parents, who reveal the reason the family moved to Cradle Bay was to sign Steve up for the program. Multiple Blue Ribbons capture Steve and Rachel, and Steve wakes up at the programming place. Steve is strapped into a chair and a technician prepares to reprogram him, but Steve gets hold of a scalpel and frees himself and Rachel.
On their way out, they encounter Chug, but Rachel is able to strike him with a pipe, killing him. Rescued by Lindsay and U.V. in Rachel’s truck, they rush to catch an outgoing ferry but run into a roadblock where a horde of Blue Ribbons—Caldicott amongst them—is assembled. Newberry suddenly drives up in his car and activates the multiple rat-catching devices strapped to his vehicle, scrambling the mind control tech inside the Blue Ribbons’ heads and sending them maniacally chasing after him.
While U.V., Lindsay, and Rachel head for the ferry, Steve follows Newberry on a motorcycle. Newberry, fatally wounded by a gunshot from Caldicott and with multiple Blue Ribbons swarming him, drives his car off of a cliff, taking most of the Ribbons down with him. Steve encounters Caldicott and the two fight, ending with the doctor being pushed off the cliff. Steve rides the motorcycle to the ferry and reunites with Rachel in a kiss. The four teens leave Cradle Bay to begin a new life without their parents.
A final scene cuts to a classroom in an inner-city high school where kids are playing loud music and acting rowdily. A principal walks in the room to introduce a new student teacher. The teacher turns around to face the students and reveals his identity—a survived Gavin, still programmed with the Blue Ribbon technology.
Cast
Production
An international co-production between Australia, The United States and Canada.
Scott Rosenberg's script for ''Disturbing Behavior'' was acquired by
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
in August 1997, with
Beacon Pictures signing on to produce.
James Marsden
James Paul Marsden (born September 18, 1973) is an American actor, singer, and former model. Marsden began his acting career guest starring in the television shows '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' (1993), '' Touched by an Angel'' (1995), ' ...
was cast in December of that year.
Principal photography occurred from January 1998 to late March in the
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
area.
Studio cuts
The film underwent numerous studio-mandated recuts and a reshoot of the original ending due to negative test screenings. Many of the cuts were to scenes providing plot and character development.
After the first test audience screening, Nutter cut the backstory for Steve’s brother Allen as well as a love scene between Steve and Rachel, but when the film again tested below studios’ expectations, MGM proceeded to take full control of the film and hired another editor,
George Folsey, Jr
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
., to make further cuts.
Nutter was instructed to shoot a new ending in which the character of Gavin survives, as test audiences had disliked the plot line where Gavin dies.
Cuts made to the film were so severe that Nutter considered having his name removed from the credits, but decided not to out of respect for his cast and crew.
Director David Nutter said he envisioned the film as an atmospheric ''X-Files''-style thriller, but the studio wanted a ''
Scream
Scream may refer to:
*Screaming, a loud vocalization
Amusement rides
* Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany
* Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England
* Scream! (roller coaster), at ...
''-style teen horror. He commented, “Their attitude was ‘Let’s just get to the fright beats.' They felt teenagers wouldn’t sit through a picture that was more than 90 minutes.”
The studio ultimately cut 31 minutes' worth of film from Nutter's 115-minute version, resulting in an 84-minute theatrical cut.
Reception
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the film has a 33% rating based on reviews from 39 critics.
Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave it a grade C-.
Negative reviews cited the film's derivative feel, with many claiming it appeared to take well-worn tropes from other horror and science-fiction films like ''
The Stepford Wives
''The Stepford Wives'' is a 1972 satirical "feminist horror" novel by Ira Levin. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a talented photographer, wife and young mother who suspects that something in Stepford's environment is changing the wives fr ...
'', ''
A Clockwork Orange
''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to:
* ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess
** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel
*** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...
'', and ''
Village of the Damned''.
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic.
Biography
Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' said the film "could have worked as an eerie fable about teen-age identity and social stratification in the age of
Prozac
Fluoxetine, sold under the brand names Prozac and Sarafem, among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used for the treatment of major depressive disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorde ...
" but descends into "a paint-by-numbers creep show that can't muster enough energy to be the tiniest bit scary."
Multiple reviews said the film lacked in scares.
Positive reviews praised parts of the dialogue, particularly the cafeteria scene where the different school cliques are introduced.
The performance of
Nick Stahl
Nicolas Kent Stahl (born December 5, 1979) is an American actor. Starting out as a child actor, he gained recognition for his performance in the 1993 film '' The Man Without a Face'', co-starring Mel Gibson.
He later transitioned into his adul ...
as rebel outsider Gavin was also cited as being one of the film's highlights.
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum (born July 5, 1952) is an American film critic. She joined ''Entertainment Weekly'' as a film critic in the 1990s and remained there until February 2013.
Career
She has been featured on CNN, co-hosted '' Siskel & Ebert at the Mov ...
of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' wrote, "But for all its influences, ''Disturbing Behavior'' establishes a semi-real, semi-supernatural, part-mocking, part-commiserating genre of its own—a state so precarious that those expecting chillier frights or warmer laughs may be disappointed."
Other reviews noted a lack of coherence in the story and unevenness in tone. ''
Sight & Sound
''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' wrote “Ultimately, the same schizophrenic impulse pervades the entire film: it's too pompous to be camp, but too silly to be genuinely engaging.”
Box office
The film opened at No. 7 at the North American box office making $7 million
USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
in its opening weekend.
It had a 57% decline in earnings the following week, falling to No. 12.
Home media
According to an interview with ''
Fangoria
''Fangoria'' is an internationally distributed American horror film fan magazine, in publication since 1979. It is published four times a year by Fangoria Publishing, LLC and is edited by Phil Nobile Jr.
The magazine was originally released i ...
'', David Nutter was close to getting a director's cut release on DVD, but MGM prevented him from finishing the restoration.
In 2000, MGM released ''Disturbing Behavior'' on DVD. Included are a director's audio commentary in addition to eleven deleted scenes not seen in the theatrical version, which includes the original ending where Gavin meets a different fate than the one used in the theatrical release. The deleted scenes exist as an extra feature and are not reinserted into the film.
A Blu-ray version which carries over existing extras was released by
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
on March 22, 2016. This version of the film has subsequently gone
out of print
__NOTOC__
An out-of-print (OOP) or out-of-commerce item or work is something that is no longer being published. The term applies to all types of printed matter, visual media, sound recordings, and video recordings. An out-of-print book is a book ...
. The film was eventually re-released on Blu-Ray through the
MVD Rewind Collection
MVD Entertainment Group, (previously Music Video Distributors, Inc.) is an American production company and film distributor based in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, consisting of three main departments MVD Visual, MVD Audio, and MVD Distribution.
...
on October 11, 2022. This version again carries over existing extras from the original DVD release.
Alternate versions
The United States cable networks
Syfy Universal
Syfy (in some countries named Sci Fi) is a family of pay television channels that broadcast programming owned or licensed by entertainment NBCUniversal around the world using the Syfy brand which is focused on science fiction, fantasy, horror ...
and
Comet (TV network)
Comet is an American digital broadcast television network owned by the Sinclair Television Group subsidiary of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. The network focuses on science fiction with some supernatural, horror, adventure and fantasy series and ...
have been known to air a somewhat unofficial
director's cut
A director's cut is an edited version of a film (or video game, television episode, music video, or commercial) that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit in contrast to the theatrical release. "Cut" explicitly refers to the ...
of the film, with the deleted scenes reinstated, although the film is still shown with the theatrical ending.
Although a director's cut was never released, there has been online circulation of
fan edit
A fan edit is a version of a film modified by a viewer, that removes, reorders, or adds material in order to create a new interpretation of the source material. This includes the removal of scenes or dialogue, replacement of audio and/or visual e ...
versions which use the DVD's deleted scenes including the film's original ending.
Retrospective
A 2019 review for ''
Gizmodo
''Gizmodo'' ( ) is a design, technology, science and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton, and runs on the Kinja platform. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the subsite ''io9'', whic ...
'' noted the film "really ''wants'' to offer a youthful new twist on some classic sci-fi themes
ndhad the potential to be something more." ''
Cinapse'' also stated, "In spite of all the hacking the studio inflicted upon ''Disturbing Behavior'', many of the filmmakers’ core themes of high school life in the late ’90s manage to shine through. The film does indeed speak to teen conformity, the pressures to fit in amongst peers and to live up to parental expectations."
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for the film was released July 28, 1998 and features 12 songs from the genres of
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
and
post-grunge
Post-grunge is a derivative of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s rock bands such as Bush (British band), Bush, Candlebox and Collective So ...
.
The music video for the song "
Got You (Where I Want You)
"Got You (Where I Want You)" is a song by American alternative rock band The Flys from their second studio album, '' Holiday Man'' (1998). It was released as the lead single from the album on July 4, 1998, by Trauma Records. The song was written ...
” by
The Flys contains scenes from the film and features
Katie Holmes and
James Marsden
James Paul Marsden (born September 18, 1973) is an American actor, singer, and former model. Marsden began his acting career guest starring in the television shows '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' (1993), '' Touched by an Angel'' (1995), ' ...
. Not included in the soundtrack is the song “
Flagpole Sitta
"Flagpole Sitta" is a song by American rock band Harvey Danger from their 1997 debut album, '' Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?''. It was released as the band's debut single in April 1998 and was met with critical and commercial success, peak ...
” by
Harvey Danger
Harvey Danger was an American alternative rock band that was formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1992 by journalism students at the University of Washington. The band rose to prominence in 1997 with the single "Flagpole Sitta", which was later us ...
, which can be heard in the film’s mental hospital scene and was used in trailers and TV spots for the film. A soundtrack of the film's score composed by
Mark Snow
Mark Snow (born Martin Fulterman; August 26, 1946) is an American composer for film and television. Among his most famous compositions is the theme music for science fiction television series ''The X-Files''. The theme reached no. 2 on the UK Si ...
was also released.
# “Every Little Thing Counts" –
Janus Stark
''Janus Stark'', or ''The Incredible Adventures of Janus Stark'', is a British comic strip series, originally written by Tom Tully and drawn by Francisco Solano López. It is about an escapologist in Victorian London who appears to be simply an ...
# "
Got You (Where I Want You)
"Got You (Where I Want You)" is a song by American alternative rock band The Flys from their second studio album, '' Holiday Man'' (1998). It was released as the lead single from the album on July 4, 1998, by Trauma Records. The song was written ...
" –
The Flys
# “Hole In My Soul" – Hutt
# “Monster Side" – Addict
# “Hello" – Once Upon A Time
# “Blown" – F.O.S.
# “Million Rappers" –
Phunk Junkeez
The Phunk Junkeez are an American rap rock band from Phoenix, Arizona that formed in 1991. The group's original lineup consisted of vocalists Joe Valiente (Soulman) and Kirk Reznik (K-Tel Disco) and rotated through various other members over th ...
# “Sometimes" – Driver
# “Drivertime Radio" –
Eva Trout
# “Ever She Flows" –
Treble Charger
Treble Charger is a Canadian rock band formed in 1992 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, consisting of vocalist and guitarist Greig Nori, vocalist and guitarist Bill Priddle, bassist Rosie Martin and drummer Richard Mulligan. They began with a melodic ...
# “Psycho Clogs" –
Jack Drag
# “Hail Mary” –
Skold
''Skold'' is the debut solo album released in 1996 by Tim Skold.
The song "Chaos" was used in the video game ''Twisted Metal 4'' and the film ''Universal Soldier: The Return''. The song "Hail Mary" can be found on the ''Disturbing Behavior'' sou ...
See also
* ''
The Stepford Wives
''The Stepford Wives'' is a 1972 satirical "feminist horror" novel by Ira Levin. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a talented photographer, wife and young mother who suspects that something in Stepford's environment is changing the wives fr ...
''
* ''
The Stepford Children
''The Stepford Children'' is a 1987 American made-for-television horror science fiction thriller film inspired by the Ira Levin novel '' The Stepford Wives''. It was directed by Alan J. Levi with a screenplay by Bill Bleich and starring Barbar ...
''
* ''
Strange Behavior''
References
External links
*
*
Disturbing Behavior' at
AllMovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...
*
{{David Nutter
1998 films
1998 horror films
1998 science fiction films
1990s English-language films
1990s psychological thriller films
1990s science fiction horror films
1990s teen horror films
American high school films
American psychological thriller films
American psychological horror films
American science fiction horror films
American teen horror films
Australian science fiction horror films
Australian science fiction thriller films
Beacon Pictures films
Canadian science fiction horror films
Canadian science fiction thriller films
Films directed by David Nutter
Films produced by Armyan Bernstein
Films scored by Mark Snow
Films set in Washington (state)
Films shot in British Columbia
Films with screenplays by Scott Rosenberg
Mad scientist films
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
Films about mind control
1990s American films
1990s Canadian films