Disturbing Behavior

Starring: James Marsden, Katie Holmes, Nick Stahl, Tobias Mehler, Steve Railsback, Bruce Greenwood, Katharine Isabelle, William Sadler, Ethan Embry, Derek Hamilton
Directed by: David Nutter
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Science Fiction
1998

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: The new kid (James Marsden) in school befriends an outcast (Nick Stahl) who believes students are being brainwashed as part of a sinister plot.

Review:

Tim: Disturbing Behavior has a few interesting ideas, but director David Nutter horribly botches the execution of those ideas. This is a piece of teenage trash that is oddly rated R, so most high school students couldn't have seen it in theaters. It's a halfhearted attempt and while not out-and-out terrible, there's very little to like here.

The basic idea of high schoolers being brainwashed is actually an interesting idea. High school is a time of great change in young people, and many parents probably feel like their kids were brainwashed when they start rebelling and acting up. It's an interesting thought to flip the idea to them being brainwashed into good, upstanding citizens. Of course, what would a movie like this be without a few unfortunate side effects? So, while the idea is good, the script bungles how it is told. The scenes at the insane asylum were absolutely terrible and laughable. I still don't have any concept of the science behind the brainwashing, and even less understanding of how the rat thing affected those brainwashed. It all eventually becomes this muddled mess of a story.

The film features a fairly strong cast on paper, but the reality is less impressive. I like James Marsden, but this was a bland, by-the-numbers performance. I also tend to like Katie Holmes, but she seemed to sleepwalk through this performance. Besides a few legitimately strong moments, it felt like she was barely interested in what was happening. Nick Stahl was easily the strongest member of the cast- he was the only one who seemed interested in elevating his character beyond the minimum required of him. Bruce Greenwood makes a good antagonist, especially with that creeper mustache. William Sadler was given a laughably awful role. I still don't understand what he was supposed to be about, but it was cringe-worthy. I feel really bad for him.

The other issue I had with this film is that its story was plodding and uneventful. Yes, there's the requisite big climax, but the first hour of the film features very little happening. It was all kind of bland and lackluster. I thought for awhile it might have been a slow burn movie, but that doesn't work if it all fizzles out in the end. Nutter didn't do a very good job with the film, as it's not compelling or particularly memorable. This is about as generic a movie as they come.

While I'm definitely not a fan of Disturbing Behavior, there were a few strengths here and there. Stahl was great fun, and it was enjoyable to see Holmes take a role outside of her usual (even if she wasn't exactly great). There is something very creepy about brainwashing, so there's always a little jolt when that is part of the story. As a whole, though, this movie is just not good enough in any aspect. It fails to meet even the most minimum of movie expectations.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



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