Python Hyena Disturbing Behavior (1998): Dir: David Nutter / Cast: James Marsden, Katie Holmes, Nick Stahl, William Sadler, Bruce Greenwood: Follows the trend of hacked up teenagers and loud music and this one ranks amongst the worst of them. One young lady bashes her head into a mirror then says, "I have to go home. I have a physics exam tomorrow." Perhaps it was her reaction to reading the script sober and she was looking for an excuse to leave the set. Ripoff of the far superior Invasion of the Body Snatchers only this one involves a scientific experiment to render teenagers perfect. They're kidding, right? I'm afraid society has long given up that quest and just hope that they avoid more meaningless projects such as this. A family moves into town and discover that the local kids are a tad strange. It could be a drug problem since that is generally to blame. This town looks constructed straight from other horror films, only this time they should burn it so not to repeat this mistake again. Director David Nutter shamelessly attempts to make this garbage look original but who is he kidding? Laughable performances by James Marsden, Katie Holmes, Nick Stahl, and William Sadler as a crazed janitor. Their mission is to die in creative methods because the screenwriter cares about as much as we do. Pointless crap showcases someone getting their head bashed in with a pipe. That is exactly what should happen to the film. Score: 0 / 10

FlashCallahan When Steve moves with his family to Cradle Bay and enrols in the local high school, he's not sure where he fits in with the local crowds. He doesn't really fit in with the diverse groups you would expect to find in a typical American high school. Steve looks like one of the jocks, but they don't seem quite right. The jocks seem perfect with their matching jackets, hair cuts, charity work, and perfect behaviour that would make any parent proud. When Steve befriends two social misfits of the school, Gavin and Rachel, he soon discovers why the jocks are so perfect.....It's virtually a remake of The Stepford Wives, with troublesome teens being replaced, or 'upgraded' to be the perfect child. Unfortunately, Rodriguez beat the makers to it with the wonderful The Faculty, which had the good will to be very tongue in cheek, and exploit its B-movie heritage.This film takes itself way too seriously, and spends too much time explaining the maguffin if the film, rather than just going all bonkers like its premise and having fun with it.The cast are okay, but come the end of it, it's just like all the other high school movies that were released in 1999, and when you think about it, there were a stupid amount, and this was one of the poorest.At least Katie Holmes is easy on the eye.Boring stuff, otherwise....

complications123 Disturbing Behavior is one of those movies I come back to time and time again. It might be a week between viewings or a couple of years may pass, but I always enjoy it. This film isn't great in the sense of a masterpiece, or a seminal moment in the genre, or in originality, or in how the story is told. What it does have is a certain restraint that keeps a fairly dull sounding plot surprisingly interesting. The X-Files influence on the mood and atmosphere is clearly evident, and it's easy to imagine Cradle Bay as some secluded town that Mulder and Scully stumble upon only to discover this mind control plot.One of the highlights of the film is the acting. There's nothing there to blow anyone away, but this is easily one of the best portrayals of teenagers in almost any movie I've seen. There's enough subtlety as to not simply show them as stupid teenagers and insult their intelligence, but there's enough naiveté and impulsiveness to make the characters believable as teenagers as opposed to the overly introspective or self sufficient characters with hardly a mention of or need for any parents so prevalent in many movies.There is a certain coldness and sterility to the ambiance of Disturbing Behavior, punctuated perfectly by the warmth of the humor and irreverence of our 4 friends as well as the spontaneity of the crazy old janitor. While maybe a little smart for his age, Stahl as Gavin is a pleasure to watch on screen, especially with U.V. as his quiet and quirky sidekick. Marsden as Steve plays the new kid in school down to a tee, keeping a low profile and genuinely trying to find his place in this new world. Holmes is beautiful as Rachel and while her character doesn't serve much purpose other than Steve's love interest and later the damsel in distress, she does a fine job of being just another misfit.The plot can wear thin at times, and Caldecott goes a little too far with his mad scientist persona late in the film, but the film rarely loses it's eerie foothold. The robotic and sometimes psychotic teenagers are fun to watch as well. It's a mundane and tired concept, but it's brought forth in a believable way without becoming hokey. In many respects they are the typical jock; looks great to adults but totally evil to those outside their clique. In Disturbing Behavior we actually have a reason why this kids act in this manner.I don't know that I have much more to say. There isn't a lot about this film to dissect or read into, but it's a pleasure to watch.

tieman64 Like "The Faculty", released the same year, "Disturbing Behaviour" is a shameless amalgamation of "The Thing", "The Stepford Wives" and "Invasion of The Body Snatchers".The plot: a small town high school is slowly taken over by scientists who brainwash the local students. It's up to our band of heroes, led by James Marsden and Katie Holmes, to stop them.The film may be derivative, but it embraces its trashy nature, revelling in gore and nudity, the camera leering over Holmes' body and the director keeping the pace frenetic. The film contains an interesting score by Mark Snow, a cross between John Carpenter's 70s horror scores and "The Terminator" soundtrack, whilst the film itself plays like a middle tier John Carpenter movie, with several interesting compositions (a well lit gas station scene) and moody florescent bulb lit night sequences occurring every now and then.7.9/10 – With Holmes pursued by and sucked into a crazy cult in real life, this film, which involves her being chased by cultists determined to brainwash her, now seems prophetic.