Disturbing Behavior Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Disturbing Behavior Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 14, 2019

What would happen if souls were replaced by technology, if foundational human behaviors were altered by science? The results might look something like Disturbing Behavior, Director David Nutter's 1998 Teen Horror/Thriller film about several high school outcasts digging into the various nefarious goings-on behind the scenes that have made some of their classmates downright weird. The picture uses school caste systems as a springboard for its terrors and cliques as its confrontational points between the supposedly clean-cut and perfectly polished model students and the more grungy but also more real quote-unquote rejects who exist outside the mysterious clique-y bubble. The film proves surprisingly interesting on the surface but doesn't accomplish much in the way of real analysis or social commentary, playing around the periphery of such things while emphasizing chills and action.

Steve (James Marsden) is new in town and to Cradle Bay High School. There, he meets Gavin (Nick Stahl), one of the few outcasts who doesn’t fit into any of the cliques and finds himself willingly on the outside looking in at the school’s social caste system, at the top of which is the prestigious Blue Ribbons. Gavin doesn’t just dislike the Ribbons -- a collective of well-manicured, smart, peppy, and seemingly in every way perfect bunch that just feels off from the outside looking in -- he inherently fears them. Gavin is convinced that there’s something more to them than just school spirit and infectious camaraderie, something unnatural, something evil. When he and Steve, along with the mysterious Rachel (Katie Holmes), dig deeper, they uncover a dark secret that could redefine their lives and endanger everything they hold dear, including their individuality and their sanity.

Nutter and Screenwriter Scott Rosenberg capably assemble the story in piecemeal fashion, introducing the audience to the world right out of the gate with a troubling scene in which one of the "Blue Ribbon" students commits a double homicide but is shuffled away with nary a slap on the wrist by a cop who is obviously in on something well below board. But the movie doesn't much capitalize, at least not to any meaningful, never mind existential, extent, on the premise it builds throughout. Some creepy vibes creep in throughout as the story unfolds, the investigation expands, and a few turns are made, but the film seems unwilling, or unable, to really dig into the psychology behind the forced metamorphoses or even find a cadence anywhere close to resembling the chilling transformation story of The Faculty, a somewhat similar film within the same Teen Horror genre that populated theaters in the late 1990s and was even released mere months later.

Indeed, Disturbing Behavior engages with a quality idea but never quite digs deep enough to do justice to the premise. It sets in motion a very good concept that reaches well beyond the students, and while the film employs Bruce Greenwood as the figurehead of the movement, there's just not enough meat on the other side. As Steve, Gavin, and Rachel sort out what's happening in the world around them and to the people closest to them, the picture does reveal the truth of the matter which leads not so much to a psychological deconstruction thereof but rather a fairly basic string of action scenes that move the movie forward but do little to springboard any of the concepts upon which the action is built. But it's still an entertaining movie. It's breezy and compact, surprisingly well performed with Nick Stahl and Chad Donella as Gavin's friend U.V. nailing their parts, with Stahl particularly impressive considering his character's sudden shift partway through. The film also features a pre-X-Men James Marsden in one of his earliest roles as the leading man Steve who finds himself suddenly caught in the middle of a community-sanctioned nightmare.

Disturbing Behavior Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Disturbing Behavior arrives on Blu-ray with a capable, though certainly imperfect, 1080p transfer. It maintains a nice core filmic appearance. Grain is retained for the duration; it's never extremely fine or perfectly rendered and grows clumpy and noisy in low light, but the image has certainly not fallen victim to any heavy-handed noise reduction to lessen or destroy essential textures. Daytime and well lit scenes fare very well, offering the best textural finesse the image has to offer, showcasing faces, varsity jackets, cafeteria odds and ends, and other character and location details with impressive clarity and film-like accuracy. Things get a little more dicey in low light, such as down in the school's boiler room, where finer details are absent and the low light and clumpy grain and noise make it difficult to make out all of the fun textures throughout the locale. The color palette is steady and accurate, with good contrast and neutral coloring, again considering things like blue varsity jackets and natural greenery. Skin tones are acceptably neutral. Black crush is evident in low light shots, but there is also a propensity for blacks to push flat and purple. Light wobble is evident in places and spots and speckles are regular occurrences. An errant hair appears at the bottom of the screen in the 37-minute mark and remains for a good handful of seconds across several shots. The image looks decent enough in total but there is certainly room for improvement.

Disturbing Behavior Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Disturbing Behavior features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack as its primary audio presentation. The track is sufficient, but not great. The Grunge-y 90s score is adequately sharp and spreads nicely towards the edges. However it's primarily front heavy, at least at times. Surrounds do engage when music drops down well below dialogue volume, such as during a parking lot scene at the 23-minute mark and in some of the the other more intense scenes, resulting in a fairly uneven presentation in total. It can be loud in some of its most prominent musical engagements, though definition is crude by most modern standards. The surrounds pick up some discrete effects in chapter four when the cafeteria is emptied for a brawl; doors slam shut at several identifiable points around the stage. The piercing, shrieking sounds that anger the Blue Ribbons creates its sonic rage all over the stage to ear-splitting effect. Dialogue is fine, offering good clarity and a detailed presentation from a natural front-center location.

Disturbing Behavior Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Disturbing Behavior contains a commentary, deleted scenes, and a trailer. No DVD or digital copies are included. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

• Audio Commentary: Director David Nutter discusses the range of processes involved in making the movie and the ups and downs and successes and challenges of the moviemaking process in general. He covers a wide range of topics which include story and structure, actors and performances (including who he has worked with before), score, and more. It's a good, well spoken track that fans should enjoy.
• Deleted Scenes (1080i, 24:42 total runtime): Included are Makes You See God, One Heartache Is More Than Enough, I Know Where You Live, Reason to Continue, They Showed Us Everything, A Few Tiny Glitches, A Whole Town Full of Chip's and Dale's, My Amazing Brother, Steve's Mom Finds the Gun, Nonstop to Nowhere/Love in the Truck, and I'm a Blue Ribbon Now. With optional commentary by Director David Nutter
• Disturbing Behavior Theatrical Trailer (1080i, 2:31).

Disturbing Behavior Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Could be better, could be worse. Disturbing Behavior is an interesting picture that is superficially not so dissimilar next to so many of its contemporaries, the dark and brooding teen Horror films of its time, favoring pretty faces, grunge music, angst, and shadowy goings-on as the defining characteristics of its characters' time. Nutter assembles a picture in good working order but one that could stand a little more depth beyond the mimicked personality and polish beyond the story basics. Shout! Factory's Blu-ray release delivers capable, but imperfect, video and audio presentations. The supplemental package is highlighted by a director commentary track and a handful of deleted scenes, also with optional director commentary. Rent it.