MCBASTARD'S MAUSOLEUM: DISTURBING BEHAVIOR (1998) (MVD Rewind Collection Blu-ray Review)

DISTURBING BEHAVIOR (1998)

Label: MVD Rewind Collection

Region Code: A

Rating: R

Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround, English PCM 2.0 Stereo, French 2.0 Stereo with Optional English and French Subtitles

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)

Director: David Nutter

Cast: Bruce Greenwood, Ethan Embry, Katharine Isabelle, Katie Holmes, Nick Stahl, Steve Railsback, James Marsden, William Sadler

Synopsis: In the halls of Cradle Bay High School, something sinister is happening… something dark… something disturbing. Sure, the "Blue Ribbons" – the clique that's at the top of the food chain at Cradle Bay – appear perfect in every way. But underneath their clean-cut, well-mannered facades lurks a shocking secret – one that a group of Cradle Bay High's outsiders and rebels must uncover in order to save their school, their town... and their own lives.

Disturbing Behavior (1998) is a teen sci-fi thriller not too dissimilar from something along the lines of The Faculty, wherein teens at a local high school begin to change in dramatic ways, with normally rebellious teen burnouts and rockers oddly assimilated into overnight preppies, much to the confusion of their friends. The nature of the change is not alien in nature, but is instead a '90s teen riff on something along the lines of The Stepford Wives, as angsty burnouts are transformed into straight-A students through brainwashing and science. Our main character is teenager Steve Clark (James Marsden, X-Men), who after the death of his brother moves with his family to the island community of Cradle Bay. It's a nice place with a good school, the sort of place where the usual teen clicks apply. Case in point we have the "Blue Ribbons", a group of A-students who are preppies, the top of the highschool food chain, among them we have the usual array of jocks and pom-pom shakers who look down and frown upon the alternative culture kids. If you're a stoner, a weirdo, or rocker you're cannon-fodder for the true blue bullies, who love to give the freaks grief, These burnouts and waste-oids are the ones that new-kid Steve finds himself hanging with, finding his niche with Strick (Nick Stahl, Sin City), U.V. (Chad E. Donella, The Final Destination), and Rachel Wagner (Katie Holmes, The Ice Storm). Stahl is pretty great as the would-be leader of the misfits teens, his character gives a memorable who's-who monologue to Steve as he points out the hierarchy in the school lunchroom. His sidekick U.V. is slightly less memorable, but young Katie Holmes gives off some serious sexual heat as the bad girl of the group. I've never given much thought to Holmes but damn if she didn't scratch my 90's alt-chick itch. The flick is also notable for featuring a pre-Ginger Snaps (2000) Katharine Isabelle as Steve's younger sister, but she's not given much to do, but it was cool to see her here before her breakout role in Ginger Snaps.

I have always heard this movie described as an extended version of an X-Files episode, and that's descriptor is not inaccurate, it was shot up North in the Land of Maple Syrup (Canada) and shares an production aesthetic that was popular in TV and in teen movies at the time, plus the fact that David Nutter directed several episodes of the X-Files. The science fiction element comes by way of school psychologist, Dr. Caldicott (Bruce Greenwood, Steve from Cincinnati) who runs the Blue Ribbon program at the school, a club that somehow turns teen burnouts into ice-cold A+ over achievers overnight. Needless to say something is rotten in the village of Cradle Bay. It turns out that Dr. Caldicott is surgically molding/brainwashing the Cradle Bay teens into model students, but at what cost? The modified student start to succumb to homicidal tendencies. - well, here's the kicker - when the teens become aroused thier impure urges turns them murderous. Now tell me, what teen is not a horn-dog, seems like that might be a problem, and it is. Sadly, the violence is pretty sanitized, despite the R-rating, and on that level it's a disappointment, while there's blood and some violence but it's pretty neutered.

Disturbing Behavior holds up pretty swell for a late-nineties teen thriller, helped along by a strong cast of young Hollywood hopefuls who went onto varying degrees of success. James Marsden is someone I like but who I don't think ever landed the right role, at least not the one that would propel him into super-stardom. I don't exactly love his turn as Scott/Cyclops in Bryan Singer's X-Men movies, but I did like him in The Box and HBO's Westworld. Holmes as the dark teen grunge-cutey makes for a solid love interest, she doesn't get a lot to chew on but her talent shines through just the same. The movie also benefits from an appearance from William Sadler (Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight) as a school janitor, the village idiot, who is aware of the dark side of Cradle Bay and seems to be the only one doing something about it. Also keep an eye out for Steve Railsback (Lifeforce) as the local sheriff who turns a blind eye to the carnage the Blue Bloods inflict on the burnout teens, his role doesn't add up to much, but it is always a blast to see Railsback onscreen, even in a nothing role.

Audio/Video: Previously issued on Blu-ray in 2016 by Scream Factory 90's teen thriller Disturbing Behavior (1998) arrives on Blu-ray from MVD Rewind Collection in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a 1080p HD transfer, looking to my eyes to be the same HD master used by Scream Factory. Scanning through I was hard pressed to see an appreciable difference between the two, framing and color-grading look identical, but I think the MVD release has slightly tighter grain and visuals. It's not the most eye-popping high definition but grain looks solid, there's some good depth and clarity, and colors and the skin tones look accurate. It comes with choice of English language PCM Stereo 2.0 or DTS-HD MA Surround 5.1 with optional English and French subtitles. The 2.o is a solid 2-trackk presentation and the 5.1 offers some good atmospheric use of the surrounds, and the nostalgic '90s alternative-rock soundtrack sounds pretty great, too.

On-disc extras mirror the 2016 Scream Factory Blu-ray, we get the Audio Commentary from director David Nutter, 25-min of Deleted Scenes and Alternative Ending with optional commentary by Director David Nutter, plus the 3-min Original Theatrical Trailer. The single-disc release arrives in a clear keepcase with a Sleeve of Reversible Artwork, Collectible Mini-Poster, and a Limited Edition Slipcover that's available with the first pressing only).