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Any film that makes the opening credits something of a viewing experience themselves is saying something. I believe directors do this because they want to set the tone for the movie you are about to watch right from the very beginning. And the opening credits of this film are very effective. With blurred light, swirling colours, flashes of obscure images and a score that is both haunting and provocative, the tone is firmly established, hinting at a movie that could be something special.
From the opening creative influx, we then jump to a scene that is right out of the book of teen movie clichés. A guy and girl making out in a car. It looks like all is going well for the guy, as the girl pleases him, and another delinquent looking teen watches from the trees. The plot thickens, as a police car arrives, and oblivious to all this the teenage boy in the car changes. Looking happy and pleased one moment, he then turns angry and breaks the girl’s neck in one strong twist with his hand. The police then ask him to step out of the car, knowing him by name. the delinquent teen in the trees watches on and laughs at the boy about to be busted by the cops. One of the two police officers spots the dead girl in the car, but before he can make an arrest, the boy grabs the cops gun and shoots him. The plot thickens even more when the other cop lets him go. Shocked and scared, the delinquent teen who was watching from the trees, runs away undetected.
Obviously this scene leaves you with a lot of questions, all of which will be answered gradually over the course of the film.
From this unusual scene to a more pleasant one, we meet the films main character, Steve (James Marsden). Arriving in the small, coastal town of Cradle Bay with his family, he’s new in town, and arrives for his first day of school. But this is no ordinary school, and it certainly is no ordinary town, as we quickly learn through the eyes of Steve, and under the guidance of Gavin (Nick Stahl), the delinquent teen from the woods. His tutorial of the schools very specific social groups seated accordingly in the cafeteria is both humorous and brutally honest. It goes down like this;
- The Motorheads. Drug of choice: Beer
- The Tech Geeks: Drug of choice: Stephen Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time”
- The Skaters. Drug of choice: Ecstasy
- The Blue Ribbons: Drug of choice: Life and the Pursuit of Clean Living. These are the students who appear perfect, but in fact show behaviours of the most disturbed kind.
Welcome to Cradle Bay High. Where does Steve fit into all of this? Nowhere, and although being yourself is a brave pursuit, in the case of this school it’s your biggest problem. The Blue Ribbons group represent a student movement that is all about being happy, setting a good example and doing what you’re told… or else. And at the helm of this student movement is the school psychologist, Dr. Caldicott (Bruce Greenwood) who proactively seeks out Steve, inviting him to join the Blue Ribbons. It’s all too much for Steven to comprehend, and he feels the brunt of starting a new life in a strange school with no friends to call his own. The situation seems hopeless, until he meets the mysterious but totally hot Rachel (Katie Holmes), Gavin’s friend, and a loner in her own right.
As Gavin tries to convince Steve of the truth behind The Blue Ribbons, it all sounds so paranoid and too fantastical to begin with. But as Steve hears more and sees more for himself, maybe the theory he rants about is not so far fetched after all. Once the Blue Ribbons get their hands on him, Gavin returns to school the next day, appearing as one of them. Steve now sees first hand the changes in Gavin and the length the Blue Ribbons will go to in order to recruit everyone. But even they’re not perfect. When something triggers off their urges, they change… either attacking anyone near to them, or in the case of one of the girls, taking off her clothes and trying to make out with Steve. She then becomes erratic, smashing her own face into a mirror and trying to stab Steve with a shard of broken glass. Then like nothing happened, she buttons up her blouse, and walks away. Disturbing behaviour indeed.
Disturbing Behavior was a change of pace in the overcrowded slasher genre of the mid to late nineties. Sure it had some of the sub-standard set pieces; opening with a murder scene, teens disappearing or getting killed, a supporting character who has a theory on what and who is behind it all and the main character who is just trying to survive. But you won’t find any masked killers here. Rather, the innocent looking students of The Blue Ribbons are the villains of the piece; although no one seems to know that or understand why they do what they do. One minute they’re friendly and fine, the next minute they're angry and aggressive, snapping at anyone who triggers them off, turning into violent and uncontrollable monsters.
What also distinguishes it from other teen horror or thriller fare is its smart casting choices and good performances. Katie Holmes was hot off the heels of "Dawson’s Creek" and charming the pants off teenage boys everywhere. James Marsden was reliable enough in the lead, but the real standout here was Nick Stahl as Gavin. Going through the largest transition of any character in the film, he personifies the core theme of the story. That being, take any young person, no matter how troubled they are, condition their thinking to be all positive, all nice, all the time, and you can make them…perfect. In the end, that’s what the purpose of The Blue Ribbons group is all about, and its founder Caldicott is hell bent on transforming every student in the school, especially Steve.
What also distinguishes it from other teen horror or thriller fare is its smart casting choices and good performances. Katie Holmes was hot off the heels of "Dawson’s Creek" and charming the pants off teenage boys everywhere. James Marsden was reliable enough in the lead, but the real standout here was Nick Stahl as Gavin. Going through the largest transition of any character in the film, he personifies the core theme of the story. That being, take any young person, no matter how troubled they are, condition their thinking to be all positive, all nice, all the time, and you can make them…perfect. In the end, that’s what the purpose of The Blue Ribbons group is all about, and its founder Caldicott is hell bent on transforming every student in the school, especially Steve.
The film takes a turn into the investigative type as Steve and Rachel dig deep to unearth the secrets behind the Blue Ribbons and the school, which seems to be covering it up. Their search takes them to a psychiatric ward, which is like something out of a messed up, underground horror film. Just as it looks the film is starting to wander, it all ties back in to reveal it’s big, er reveal.
The concept of mind control is explored in movies from time to time. It takes on many forms, but essentially it’s all brainwashing. Whether it be a cult, conformity or just something crazy, the force behind the mind control always has a hidden agenda. And they know how to appeal to the person who is lost or wounded, looking for peace and happiness, then luring them down a path of prosperity which actually turns out to be a road of ruin. There is a side to humanity that desires to be perfect. But what is the cost of perfection? Those who promise to make you perfect won’t tell you what the cost is, and in Disturbing Behavior, the school’s students pay the ultimate price. They may still be alive, but they are never the same.
Look, Disturbing Behavior is no classic. Its premise was interesting, and it starts strong, but in its third and final act takes a wrong turn, relying on some old fashioned clichés to tie up all the loose ends. Not a classic, but not a total stinker either. It’s a short, entertaining ride but you won’t remember it forever. So why is it a movie of my teens? Don’t know. Because Screw You, that’s why! ;-)
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