Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Steve Clark is a newcomer in the town of Cradle Bay, and he quickly realizes that there's something odd about his high school classmates. The clique known as the "Blue Ribbons" are the eerie embodiment of academic excellence and clean living. But, like the rest of the town, they're a little too perfect. When Steve's rebellious friend Gavin mysteriously joins their ranks, Steve searches for the truth with fellow misfit Rachel.
Disturbing Behavior is a late-90s teen horror thriller that cribs heavily from The Stepford Wives and The Faculty (released the same year), offering little that feels distinctive. The mind-control-in-suburbia premise is handled competently but formulaically, with a predictable mystery arc and underdeveloped characters. The acting from James Marsden and Katie Holmes is serviceable but constrained by thin material. Visually the film has some atmospheric Pacific Northwest moodiness but nothing cinematically ambitious. The ending feels rushed and unsatisfying, a product of well-documented studio interference that truncated the original cut. Overall a middling genre entry that squanders a reasonably intriguing setup.