Disturbing Behavior (1998)

***The Stepford Teens, sort of***

When a Chicago family moves to an island in the Puget Sound, Washington, Steve (James Marsden) encounters the usual cliques at his new high school, but there’s something odd about the Blue Ribbon Club, a circle of high-achieving students who get a pass from the police when they screw-up. Nick Stahl plays Steve’s new friend, Katie Holmes a potential girlfriend and Katharine Isabelle his sister. Bruce Greenwood is on hand as a dubious school psychologist.

The set-up of “Disturbing Behavior” (1998) is similar to the same in “Twilight” (2008), but there are no vampires and werewolves. I won’t say more about the plot, except that it includes elements of Dr. Frankenstein and “The Stepford Wives” (1975). This isn’t really giving much away as the movie telegraphs everything from the get-go and so is kind of predictable.

Yet the Great Northwest locations are spectacular, the cast is good, particularly Marsden and Stahl, and the story is compelling enough. It’s just laden by a been-there, done-that vibe. Still, it’s way superior to the similar “The Faculty” (1998), not to mention more serious. It’s also arguably better than comparable flicks from the time period, like “Scream” (1996), “I Know What You Did Last Summer” (1997), “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer” (1998), “Urban Legend” (1998), “Jawbreaker” (1999) and “Final Destination” (2000). “Bad Girls from Valley High” is on par (which was shot in 1999, but not released until 2005).

The original length was 115 minutes, about 32 minutes longer than the released version, but producers found it too long and so cut out scenes that supposedly helped the movie to make more sense. Personally, I didn’t feel the movie was hard to grasp and never felt lost. But the last act needed more finesse because it does seem awkward and rushed; for instance, the mental hospital sequence flashes by so quickly you might miss it if you blink.

The film runs 1 hour, 23 minutes, and was shot in the Vancouver area, British Columbia, including Bowen Island.

GRADE: B