Home Video
[Blu-ray Review] ‘Disturbing Behavior’ is Better than You Remember
Horror films of the 90’s are often times lambasted, unfairly so. Maybe it’s because I grew up in the 90’s, but I’ve always had a special place in my heart for the genre entries from that decade. In recent years I’ve slowly began to re-visit some of these films that I haven’t seen in years. More often than not the films have been as I remembered them, but every now and then my opinion is changed as a result of the recent viewings. That’s the case with David Nutter’s Disturbing Behavior. My memory was that this film was good and I liked it ok, but now I love it!
That’s not to say Disturbing Behavior is perfect. It has a wide variety of issues, I’m fully aware of that. But it hits just right on all the notes I want from 90’s horror films.
James Marsden stars as Steve Clark, a high school student who is uprooted just before the start of his senior year as his family moves to Cradle Bay, a small coastal town in Washington. The move came about as a result of a tragic event that resulted in the death of Steve’s brother, Allen (Ethan Embry). We can tell pretty quickly that Steve isn’t happy about the move and is still struggling with his brother’s passing. Having to get acclimated to a new school and a new town is not something he’s looking forward to at all.
Despite being apprehensive, Steve does manage to make friends in his first day of school. These friends are Gavin (Nick Stahl), U.V. (Chad E. Donella) and Rae (Katie Holmes). These are the outcasts of the school and they scream 90’s. I love it. There’s a fantastic scene in the school cafeteria where Gavin points out all the different cliques within the school – the jocks, stoners, nerds, and so on. The clique he ends with is known as the “Blue Ribbons.”
The Blue Ribbons are basically like Stepford Wives, but high school kids. Gavin has a theory about the kids but no one believes him and that’s too bad because Gavin is on to something. The Blue Ribbons are all part of a “special program” run by the school’s psychologist, Dr. Caldicott (Bruce Greenwood). The kids are being operated on so that they can be turned into perfect, flawless people. The idea is to eliminate free-thinking. Unfortunately for Gavin he falls victim to the program and is turned into a Blue Ribbon.
Steve manages to befriend the school janitor Dorian, played by the wonderful William Sadler. People think Dorian is a little slow, but that’s all by design. Dorian plays it up like he’s not too smart so no one will pay attention to him because he knows the truth about the Blue Ribbons. Dorian spends most of his time trying to rid the school of rats by using a device that gives off a high-pitched whine that is supposed to fend the rats off, but it fails to work. While it doesn’t work with rats, Steve and Dorian discover that it is the way to defeat the Blue Ribbons and Steve uses it in the big final showdown.
Disturbing Behavior is almost identical to Zombie High, a 80’s movie previously released by Scream Factory that I also reviewed and didn’t actually enjoy all that much. So why do I dislike Zombie High but thoroughly enjoy Disturbing Behvior so much? A couple reasons but if I’m being honest it could simply be the 90’s vibe. I grew up in the 90’s. I love the 90’s. A lot of music from the 90’s has a certain blandness, and I swear I say that with love, and Disturbing Behavior is full of that bland music.
If I dig a little further though, I do find a ton of characters and performances that I truly love within Disturbing Behavior. Gavin especially is a phenomenal character. He’s a very relatable outcast and easy to root for. When he gets turned into a Blue Ribbon it’s legitimately devastating. Gavin hates everything the Blue Ribbons are and represent. Gavin is the polar opposite. He’s our symbol of individuality and our expression of freedom. Seeing that all taken away is heartbreaking.
Am I taking too much away from Disturbing Behavoir? Maybe, but that’s the impact the film has on me now. I love it.
On the flip side Marsden has the blandness of the music but not the charm. He’s not bad at all, but he’s just there and most definitely has the rest of the cast to thanks for carrying the film.
The recent Blu-ray release form Scream Factory is enjoyable but doesn’t deliver in exactly the way that I’d like. There’s only one cut of the film, the shorter 84-minute cut, available on the Blu-ray. That’s a bit of a bummer. The deleted scenes and alternate ending are included as extras but I would have killed to have the extended cut. In addition to those extra scenes there is an audio commentary with Nutter and he does discuss the longer cut at times. Definitely an interesting listen for fans of the movie.
Disturbing Behavior is very likely a movie most people hate. That’s fine. It happens to be a movie I love.
Disturbing Behavior is now available on Blu-ray from Scream Factory.
Home Video
Watch the Opening ‘Mortal Kombat II’ Battle Scene Now Ahead of Physical Media Release in July
Sequel Mortal Kombat II is now available to watch at home on Digital before heading to physical media in July, but you can test your might now and watch the opening scene.
Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid returns to the helm for the new sequel from a script by Jeremy Slater (“Moon Knight,” Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire).
In Mortal Kombat II, the fan-favorite champions — now joined by Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) — are pitted against one another in the ultimate, no-holds barred, gory battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.
Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano, Joe Taslim, and Hiroyuki Sanada are also part of the ensemble cast of Mortal Kombat II fighters.
Watch the opening below, which introduces a young Kitana (Sophia Xu) as Emperor Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) prepares to conquer her father, King Jerrod (Desmond Chiam), and her kingdom of Edenia. It sets the sequel’s entire plot in motion.
From New Line Cinema, James Wan’s Atomic Monster, Broken Road Productions, and Fireside Films, Mortal Kombat II is rated R for “strong bloody violence and gore, and language.”
Look for Mortal Kombat II to arrive on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD on July 28, 2026.
The physical media release contains the following special features, as unveiled by IGN:
- Mortal Kombat II: Evolving the Saga (Featurette)
- Returning characters, new alliances and even bigger fatalities! Go behind the scenes to learn all that went into creating the latest chapter in the Mortal Kombat film saga and how the sequel expands the universe to bolder, bloodier heights.
- Building the Realms of Mortal Kombat (Featurette)
- From the decaying streets of Edenia to the terrifying Pit featured in the iconic video game series, discover how the Mortal Kombat II design teams blended practical sets with groundbreaking VFX to create the legendary realms in the film.
- Mortal Kombat II: Choose Your Fighter (Featurette)
- Awaken your Arcana as you meet the cast and explore the brutal weapons, epic costumes and fierce training that went into bringing their characters to life.
- Klose Quarters Kombat (Featurette)
- Cast members and key creatives share insights into how the stunt preparation, intense fight scenes and weapons training shaped both classic moves and new, merciless combat styles.
- A “Boon” to Gamers Everywhere (Featurette)
- Sit down with chief Mortal Kombat mythmaker and creator Ed Boon for a deep dive into the franchise’s storied history and ongoing evolution that spans three decades of near-infinite games, films and comics, culminating with the live-action sequel.