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Released by: Synapse Films
Released on: 10/28/08
Director: Michael Laughlin
Cast: Michael Murphy, Louise Fletcher, Dan Shor, Fiona Lewis, Arthur Dignam
Year: 1980
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The Movie:
A small Midwestern Illinois town called Galesburg may look peaceful and serene on the outside but it isn't quite as picturesque as it seems. You see, Galesburg has been the site of a recent rash of murders where a serial killer has been offing some of the local teenage populace for kicks. The local sheriff, John Brady (Michael Murphy), is obviously none too pleased about this turn of events and he launches an investigation which soon reveals that the murderer might be connected to the psychology department at the town's high school.
The school has quietly launched a rather unorthodox research program meant to unravel the mysteries of 'behavioral control' that seems to be using some of the students as guinea pigs with rather adverse effects.
An enjoyable blend of psychological horror and, well, genuinely strange behavior, this is a film that should have found a bigger audience that it has. With a cast made up of the aforementioned Michael Murphy and luminaries like Louise Fletcher, Dey Young and Dan Shor, it's a well cast picture that builds nicely to a satisfying conclusion. Those with short attention spans might find that the movie is a bit on the slow side but really, it isn't so much slow as it is deliberate. Things happen in the film for a reason and the filmmakers wisely choose to take their time telling the story properly and with a few welcome subtle nuances that make the finale all the more enjoyable.
A few grisly murder scenes and some nice, thick tension ensures that the picture delivers what horror fans want while some layered psychological explorations put some meat on the bones of the film. On top of that is a fairly odd Tangerine Dream score that further adds to the quirky atmosphere that makes this one stand out from the pack. Throw in an almost surreal party scene in which the eighties era teenagers attend dressed as sixties television icons all dance around together, some unsettling scenes of experimentation (the syringe to the eye scene still hurts to watch!) and you're left with a movie that has stood the test of time quite well. It's a slick looking picture with some good performances and some really interesting ideas and it remains an entertaining watch and a nice example of classic suspense.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Strange Behavior is presented in a nice 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that generally looks pretty solid. There's the expected amount of film grain and the odd speck of print damage here and there but generally the picture is clean, clear and stable. Color reproduction looks lifelike and accurate and the black levels are nice and deep. Skin tones look good and there's a decent amount of detail present in the presentation.
The Dolby Digital English Mono audio track is clean and clear and free of any hiss or distortion. A couple of scenes are a tad flat but that's to not surprising for an older low budget picture. Generally, the mix sounds good. The score has some punch to it and the dialogue is always easy enough to follow.
The main supplement on this release is a commentary track from writer Bill Condon (who co-wrote the film with director Michael Laughlin) and two of the actors, Dan Shor and Dey Young. This track, along with most of the other extras, was carried over from the previous DVD release from Elite Entertainment. This is a fairly active track that does a good job of delving into the history and the making of the film with a good bit of detail. Condon seems to have the most to say about the project but it's good to hear from Shor and Young about what it was like working in front of the camera here.
Synapse also supplies a pair deleted scenes (in anamorphic widescreen) that are available to watch with or without commentary explaining why they were taken out of the picture. Rounding out the extras are filmographies for the key cast and crew members, a still gallery, a theatrical trailer for the feature, trailers for a few other Synapse releases, and the film's isolated score from Tangerine Dream. Animated menus and chapter selection are also included.
The Final Word:
An eerie and atmospheric Australian thriller, Strange Behavior gets a nice re-release from Synapse that looks and sounds quite good and that carries over all of the supplements from the out of print Elite DVD.