Strange Behavior (1981)
Review by Doc Ezra
Film:
DVD:

Written by Bill Condon and Michael Laughlin
Directed by Michael Laughlin
Starring Michael Murphy, Louise Fletcher, Dan Shor, Fiona Lewis, Arthur Dignam, and Dey Young.

Features:

• Running audio commentary with writer Condon and actors Shor and Young
  
• Theatrical trailer
  
• Deleted scenes
  
• Isolated score
  
• Photo gallery
  

Released by: Elite Entertainment
Region: 1
Rating: R
Anamorphic: Yes.

My Advice: Horror fans should rent it.

Galesburg is a sleepy little town in the American Midwest. Nothing much ever seems to happen there, and the populace (particularly the younger people) seem to find it almost terminally boring. Until a girl is brutally hacked up, throwing the entire community into an uproar and the police, used to dealing with precious more than moving violations, into a frenzy of activity like they've never encountered. As police chief John Brady (Murphy) turns his attention to the local college's medical research facilities, the murders continue, with a masked assailant going after people with a very large knife.

Something's definitely not right with the local teenagers, and there's something about the psychology department faculty that doesn't quite jive with Brady either. As he pursues the case amidst accumulating corpses and disappearing kids, the awful truth becomes evident. The whole affair turns personal when Brady's son Pete (Shor) becomes a subject for the experiments that seem to be turning the local youth into psychopaths.

Strange Behavior is not your typical slasher flick in a lot of ways. Despite the presence of mask-wearing, knife-wielding maniacs killing local youth, the film doesn't really sling as much stage blood around as Jason Vorhees or Freddy Krueger are capable of slinging (though beware the bigass syringe scene--you have been warned). The movie also moves along at a pace that will seem absolutely lethargic to fans of the more popular slasher franchises. This pace, coupled with Tangerine Dream's score, makes for a hypnotic experience. Add in some well-written dialogue that sounds more realistic than most movie fare, and you've got all the explanation you'll ever need for the movie's cult following. Murphy and Louise Fletcher head up a cast of second-stringers that perform admirably. Most of these performers either had or would have extensive careers in supporting and extra roles, but seeing some of them in principal spots was a treat.

The DVD provides an excellent set of extras for those that love the film. Full-length commentary from the writer and two of the film's (then-)young stars is solid, with lots of good info about the shoot itself, which is pretty impressive given the age of the movie. Kudos to Elite for actually calling these folks in to talk about a movie twenty years old. Since half the releases out there can't be bothered to go get a commentary on a movie released five or six years ago, seeing someone going to these lengths for an obscure cult classic is nice. There are also a couple of deleted scenes, a still gallery, and an option to isolate the weird score. Add those to a new digital anamorphic transfer, and this movie looks as good as it's ever going to on DVD.

If you're a connoisseur of horror films, this one might be right up your alley, especially if you prefer the "knife-wielding psycho" school of horror to the "fanged and furry beasts of the night" school. I tend towards the latter, myself, but found this one a refreshing change of pace from another Hollywood rendition of teenagers hacked apart in the woods. It's weird, it's creepy, and it delivers enough chills and thrills to keep you interested without going into full-on sensory overload. Definitely worth a rental.