Disturbing Behaviour (1998)
"Disturbing Behavior" (original title)

The new kid in town stumbles across something sinister about the town's method of transforming its unruly teens into upstanding citizens.

Director:

David Nutter

Writer:

Scott Rosenberg

Stars:

James Marsden, Katie Holmes, Tobias Mehler

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Marsden	...	Steve Clark
Katie Holmes	...	Rachel Wagner
Tobias Mehler	...	Andy Effkin
Nick Stahl	...	Gavin Strick
Steve Railsback	...	Officer Cox
Bruce Greenwood	...	Dr. Edgar Caldicott
Katharine Isabelle	...	Lindsay Clark
William Sadler	...	Dorian Newberry
Ethan Embry	...	Allen Clark
Terry David Mulligan	...	Nathan Clark
Susan Hogan	...	Cynthia Clark
A.J. Buckley	...	Charles 'Chug' Roman
Robert Moloney	...	Ferry Guy
Derek Hamilton	...	Trent Whalen
Dan Zukovic	...	Mr. Rooney

Storyline

After the suicide of the teenager Allen Clark, his family decides to move from Chicago to the quiet Cradle Bay Island seeking a peaceful life for the siblings Steve and Lindsay Clark. When Steve joins the local high-school, the outcast Gavin Strick befriends Steve and introduces his also rejected friend Rachel Wagner 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 killing their schoolmate Mary Jo that is missing and the local Officer Cox covering the murder. Steve does not believe on Gavin words, but when his friend is submitted to the treatment of Dr. Edgar Caldicott and immediately changes his behavior, joining the Blue Ribbons, Steve and Rachel ...

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Plot Keywords:

high school | jock | blue ribbon | jacket | teen | 

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Taglines:

You'll never be the same.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, sexuality, language, and drug content

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

Australia USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 July 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Perturbados

Filming Locations:

Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$7,070,714 (USA) (24 July 1998)

Gross:

$17,411,331 (USA) (25 September 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Village Roadshow Pictures, Hoyts Film Partnership

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger, the song that plays as James Marsden and Katie Holmes escape the asylum, is also the theme tune to the British comedy series Peep Show.

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Goofs

Right after the altercation in the English classroom, we see a shot of the chalkboard, and the teacher has misspelled the word "tomorrow," using two "m"s instead of one.

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Quotes

Chug Roman: Will you go out with me?
Rachel Wagner: No.
Chug Roman: WHY NOT?

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Crazy Credits

Voices at the end of the credits say Main Commands of Dr. Caldicott's Program: "Let the light get into you... yes, slowly". BETTY CALDICOTT: "Meet the musical creatures that hide in the flowers". LORNA LONGLEY: "Treat yourself".

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Connections

Referenced in The Frightening (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Hello"
Written by Elia Bel and Jim Reece
Performed by Once Upon A Time
Courtesy of Trauma Records

User Reviews

* * * out of 4.

Contemporary horror flick with a standard premise. This flick is about a teen stumbling across an evil conspiracy that is turning the teenagers of a small town into well dressed, well groomed, intelligent students that resort to homicide when angry.

Katie Holmes is totally wasted in a supporting role. Excessive pre-release cutting damaged what could have been one of the best teen horror films of the 90's. This could have been a very emotional, haunting and even touching film with a disturbing ending. What is left now is a teen driven, cold, and chainsaw edited flick with a poor gimmicky ending. Still some signs of intelligent intentions shine through, the performances for the most part are unusually good, and the director does a fine job of building up a paranoid, crazed sense of atmosphere.

Rated R; Violence, Sexual Situations, Nudity, Drug Use, Drinking, and Profanity all involving teenagers.

The original cut would merit a * * *1/2 rating.