Disturbing Behavior (1998)

This movie is stupid... and barely even like ridiculous enough to be funny. It's trying really hard, and it's a fairly interesting concept. I love all the actors in it and think they're doing a decent job. I just feel like the movie is mediocrely written. It's pretty much standard fare for late 90's teen horror/sci-fi. If you're looking for an excellent late 90's sci-fi-fi horror flick with your favorite teen celebrities, might I recommend The Faculty?

This film is set in Cradle Bay, a small island town off the coast of Washington State. The Clark family is relocating to cope with the trauma of one of their sons committing suicide. When arriving at his new school, Steve falls in with a group of outcasts, Gavin, UV, and Rae. The group tells him about a Stepford like academic group, The Blue Ribbons. The group takes in rebellious students and magically transforms them into "perfect" students and teenagers. Gavin is suspicious that something sinister is going on. Steve is skeptical at first, but when Gavin joins the group, he becomes convinced that Gavin was right and enlists Rae's help to figure out the cause and save the teens of Cradle Bay.

As I said before, most of this film is just mediocre. I like Katie Holmes and think she does a fine job playing the angsty Rae, and James Marsden is excellent as Steve. I don't think there is any fault on them; I think the writing just isn't that good. It's trying to go for something Faculty-esque but just misses the target. I think it could have been an interesting concept, something about it just isn't gripping. It's hard to put my finger on precisely what I dislike about this movie; it just doesn't come together.

I don't think there's any need to seek this film out unless you're just curious about it. You can live your life without having seen this and be just fine. In fact, I saw this film recently, and I honestly had a hard time even remembering it all that clearly. It's just that average. So I would say this is a film you could skip, or at least push to the very end of your watchlist.

Netflix available: No

Hulu available: No

Xfinity available: Yes

Amazon available: Yes

Rating: 2/5