Pssst, want to check out Strange Behavior in our new look?
Information
- A.k.a.
- Small Town Massacre
- Year
- 1981
- Runtime
- 99 min.
- Director
- Michael Laughlin
- Genres
- Sci-Fi, Thriller, Mystery, Horror
- Rating *
- 5.7
- Votes *
- 969
- Checks
- 171
- Favs
- 4
- Dislikes
- 5
- Favs/checks
- 2.3% (1:43)
- Favs/dislikes
- 1:1
Top comments
-
Nickhowe
I have to agree with Siskoid on the weak horror action.. it's full of nice cinematography though, and - although over the top - I appreciate that this is essentially a movie about MK Ultra 1 year 5 months ago -
Siskoid
It's nice to see Louise Fletcher in a horror movie where she's a positive, non-creepy character but... Strange Behavior (AKA Dead Kids, AKA Small Town Massacre) just didn't work for me. The local campus' psychology department is running experiments in behavior modification (read: brainwashing) and making kids kill other kids (among the crowd is Marc "Jimmy Olsen" McClure), which is an original way to trigger a slasher plot, but by the end, it's turned into a cop on the edge story (if anyone thinks Michael Murphy can fit that bill), taking matters into his own hands for crimes unsolved from long ago. It's pretty messy. But I might have let the unusual structure pass as something original if the kills hadn't been so inept. There's an unforgivable torpor in the horror acts, with hits landing slowly or ineffectually, cut-aways to hide the fact the production didn't have retractable blades, and the wrong music layered over the suspense. As a result, it's dull and lacking in scares. Add some bad dubbing over the New Zealand accents of bit parts and you have something that feels way too amateurish for its main cast and general production values. 1 year 6 months ago -
