[7]

After suffering the suicide of his older brother, Steve (James Marsden) and his family relocate to Cradle Bay, where some of the kids at school aren't quite themselves these days. With the help of new-found friends Rachel (Katie Holmes) and Gavin (Nick Stahl), Steve discovers that a local doctor, Caldicott (Bruce Greenwood), is conspiring with parents to lobotomize their teens in order to create "good boys and girls", all of whom become members of the school's Blue Ribbon elitist clique. Caldicott's experiments stymie the Blue Ribbons' sexual impulses and mold them into academic achievers that spend a great deal of time trying to recruit others to "the program". Unfortunately, the experiments don't always work.  As someone comments in the film, "Whenever one of these kids gets a hard-on, they want to beat someone over the head with it."  But this doesn't stop Caldicott or the town's parents from expanding Blue Ribbon membership.  When Steve's parents enter him in Caldicott's program, he plans a desperate escape, not just from Cradle Bay, but from school, his parents, and the past -- the archetypal plight of just about every teenager that ever lived.

Disturbing Behavior is a little more sophisticated and better polished than your average teen horror flick.  I dig the thematic elements: the dangers of conformity, the oppressive nature of popular cliques, and the unhealthy suppression of human sexuality. Despite Scott Rosenberg’s (Con Air) screenplay written with a less ambitious (more commercial) agenda, X-Files veteran director David Nutter succeeds in creating a dramatic, moody, and entertaining yarn, even if it is bit absurd at times. Nutter’s style is very much the signature X-Files style — dark, creepy, and purposeful, with a subdued ambiance that washes over you and gets under your skin. His vision is supported by surprisingly moving performances from James Marsden, Katie Holmes, and Nick Stahl.

Unfortunately, Disturbing Behavior is still somewhat limited by its source material.  The third act falls into cliche-riddled convention and William Sadler’s rat-chasing janitor character is a little too much for the film to bear.  But flawed as it may be, I really enjoy this little movie.  Like many of my favorite films (RoboCop, Dances with Wolves, Rebel Without a Cause), it deals with characters in crises of identity, trying to become or remain whole, and connect with each other. Equally interesting to me are the notions of sexual repression as a sign of perfection, man playing God, parents’ readiness to medicate their children, and human unwillingness to face loss.

Be sure to watch the deleted scenes on the DVD. They give you an idea of what Nutter’s original cut of the film was like, before the studio stripped it of its best scenes.  (The excised love scene is very beautifully done, and the original ending is much more appropriate.)

With its slew of thematic subtext, the performances of the three charming young leads, and that special X-Files flare, Disturbing Behavior is a guilty pleasure I can really sink my teeth into. Look for Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, American Mary) as Steve’s younger sister and enjoy the moody score by X-Files composer Mark Snow.