Halfway through this movie, I gave up trying to figure out what was going on. At that point, I decided to turn off my brain and evaluate the film on its own terms a teen magnet characterized by lots of loud music, attractive, young stars, and a plot of no consequence. Unfortunately, even looking atDisturbing Behavior from that brain-dead point-of-view, it's still not very good there isn't enough sex or violence to plug the storyline's gaping holes.
In fact,Disturbing Behavior is so incoherent that one has to wonder if every scene offering exposition was left on the cutting room floor. I can't believe that screenwriter Scott Rosenberg's original script was this obtuse and pointless. Somewhere along the way, however, the narrative was eviscerated in order to promote a moderately-creepy style.Disturbing Behavior recallsThe Stepford Wives andVillage of the Damned, but only in a way that highlights this film's deficiencies.
In the teen society of Cradle Bay, there are the "haves" and the "have nots." Those in the latter category are the motorheads, the microgeeks, and the skaters. Those in the former are the Blue Ribbons straight-A students who listen to Olivia Newton John, are polite to their elders, and hang out in a yogurt shop. The Blue Ribbons appear to be perfect up to a point: get one of them sexually aroused, and he or she turns into a homicidal maniac. Of course, there's the question of how previously-incorrigible teenagers are transformed, literally overnight, into pillars of the high school community.
That's the situation into which Steve Clark (James Marsden) is placed when his parents transplant him and his sister from Chicago to Cradle Bay in the wake of his brother's suicide. Steve soon finds himself being courted by both camps of the high school's population. Gavin (Nick Stahl) and Rachel (Dawson's Creek's Katie Holmes) make powerful arguments for the rebellious side (especially since Steve is immediately attracted to Rachel, nose ring and all). Meanwhile, Dr. Caldicott (Atom Egoyan regular Bruce Greenwood), speaks persuasively about the advantages of becoming a Blue Ribbon. Once Steve makes the choice to side with Gavin and Rachel, he learns that the Blue Ribbons don't take rejection well.
I supposeDisturbing Behavior is designed (at least in part) as an opportunity for Katie Holmes to make the transition from the small screen to the big one, but the role of Rachel a stereotypical rebel doesn't give her much opportunity to display the charisma she supposedly exhibits on television. As the film's hero, James Marsden is bland, making it difficult to determine whether or not he has already been turned into a Blue Ribbon zombie. Finally, established actors William Sadler and Bruce Greenwood are wasted in uninteresting, supporting roles.
Disturbing Behavior is intended to be a horror movie with appeal for those who lapped up the silliness ofI Know What You Did Last Summer. Like that unexpected hit, intelligence is not a fundamental characteristic. Nor, for that matter, is character development (of which there is virtually none). Or acting (which, at best, is mediocre). Or genuine scariness (director David Nutter resorts to cheap tricks to startle the audience). Once the setup is finished,Disturbing Behavior essentially becomes one long chase through darkened woods and a gothic asylum. It's all very silly, and the only thing that keeps it from becoming boring is that the movie clocks in at a mercifully short 83 minutes.
© 1998 James Berardinelli