Disturbing Behavior

Disturbing Behavior is a 1998 teen science fiction psychological horror film starring James Marsden, Katie Holmes, and Nick Stahl. The film was directed by David Nutter, who was a director and producer on The X-Files, and the screenplay was written by Scott Rosenberg. The plot follows a group of high school outcasts who discover their seemingly perfect "Blue Ribbon" classmates are part of an elaborate mind control experiment. The film, which contains nods to 1975 thriller The Stepford Wives, premiered on July 24, 1998, and received negative reviews. The film went through numerous studio-mandated cuts from MGM prior to theatrical release in response to negative test screenings. There has been considerable fan support for the release of a director's cut version that restores deleted scenes. Plot High school senior Steve Clark is new to Cradle Bay, a picturesque island community in Washington state's Puget Sound. His family has moved from Chicago after the suicide of eldest son Allen, a loss Steve still struggles with. On his first day of school, Steve befriends three outcast students: Gavin Strick, U.V., and Rachel Wagner. He also meets school psychologist Dr. Edgar Caldicott, who suggests he join the Blue Ribbons program, a "motivational workshop." The Blue Ribbons, a clique of preppy, clean-cut overachievers, attempt to recruit Steve, but Gavin steers him away, claiming they are a murderous cult that has been "lobotomized and brainwashed" by Caldicott. Steve is skeptical of the theory but keeps his distance from the Ribbons.