Strange Behavior

A small town Sheriff (Michael Murphy) finds himself involved in a deadly mystery while investigating a string of brutal murders. Mixing slasher sensibilities with sci-fi, STRANGE BEHAVIOR is ultimately a novel, entertaining horror film. Turning teens into mindless killing machines, the mad science aspect is preposterous, but allows for some nice, eeevil characters to emerge, like Gwen Parkinson (Fiona Lewis), complete with her perfect, (pre-) Sean Young in BLADE RUNNER hairstyle! Murphy is, as always, solid in his role, bringing a believable, down-to-earth feel to his character. One always senses that he's just being himself. This Aussie / Kiwi co-production was the template for the pallid American remake decades later...

Chock full of haunting images, chilling murders, and good performances this slow, laconic but amazingly effective horror flick has stayed with me since I saw it when it was originally released. The film is best in its portrayal of teen life in a small college town in the midwest (though it was shot in New Zealand). Taking it's cue from there, the film moves along at a leisurely, but ultimately disquieting pace revealing that all is not so sleepy and calm in this rural environment. Co-written by Academy Award-winner Bill Condon ("GODS AND MONSTERS") the story shows remarkable intelligence and wit in the vein of some of the best Roman Polanski flicks (e.g. "THE TENANT" and "REPULSION"). Best if seen in the movie theater to appreciate it's glorious widescreen landscapes. Wish this picture was out on DVD.

Experiments at a local lab are connected to a series of brutal murders in a small midwestern town. Confusing but effective chiller, made on a low budget, has a cast of mostly unknowns, but it all comes together. It does leave some uneasiness, and does offer some shocking scenes that, while not elaborate, are still pretty gory. It is a very disturbing, surreal experience, with solid suspense and a good ending. It feels like you're having a bad dream: a nightmarish place, faceless persons, creepy enough to want to get out of, but intriguing enough to want to stay and see what happens. Strange indeed.

Not quite the underrated masterpiece other people are talking about, I'm afraid. It begins well enough, with an atmospheric, out-of-this-world Tangerine Dream score and hypnotically slow direction, but the story tips its hand too early; the basics (if not the particulars) of its plot become rather obvious to us well before they do to the characters. Still, this is above average for an early-80s horror film. (**)

Overall, Strange Behaviour is a fairly lame sci-fi/horror hybrid with seemingly ordinary kids making a few bucks at a research facility and turning out a little bit...wrong. There are a few decent shocks here and there, but mostly it seems like there's just something missing - like the filmmakers lost part of the script on the way to the shoot and just went with it. Cinematic ally, there's no real reason to watch it, but there's also no real reason not to. However, our hero goes to a party (for no reason) and it's a costume party (for no reason) and eventually everyone breaks out into a synchronized dance to Lou Christie's "Lightning Strikes." That's quite possibly the greatest scene in a movie ever.