When it comes to horror movies, being a movie fan is rather complex. I always reckoned it’s pretty simple to entertain me. I tend to dig sleaze an awful lot. I’ll often times settle for a good script that is large in character development and suspense over sleaze for sleazes sake though.
Truth is, I merely love a good movie and especially a good horror movie and sometimes I don't know what I want. I just start watching and lose myself and roughly an hour and a half later, I have been found to have a damn good time no matter how I got there.
Strange behavior is an aptly named film. A 1981 thriller that is somewhat of an homage to those 1950's b-movies by way of an 80's slasher flick that somehow manages to ultimately be neither a slasher film or a b-movie or a straight up horror film for that matter. Still, since my first viewing in the 80's on home video I have seen this movie several times here and there and I enjoy the hell out of it every single time.
The larger motif that we are treated to here is that things are never what they seem. This first is notably present in my discovery that this nifty slice of suburban Americana claiming to take place in Galesburg, Illinois is actually filmed in New Zealand. Gotta love the magic of the movies.
Wherever it takes place though is beside the point because the film bases its structure on its two central characters and takes its time getting us to where it needs to go. All the while being wrapped around a dazzlingly haunting soundtrack by Tangerine dream.
The two leads that drive the story are father and son. Sheriff John Brady and Pete Brady respectively.
The happenings do actually get going fairly quickly with a handful of murders committed by assailants that are oddly visible to the viewer. Once we are treated to a little slicing and dicing the character analysis begins to take over.
Pete Brady is a college student who wishes to make a few extra dollars. A mysterious doctor who instructs volunteers in lessons from beyond the grave in videotaped seminars just might be what young Pete is looking for. Of course, he is instructed by the doctors peculiar assistant to not tell his father what he is up to, and so begins the mysteries of the film.
Along the way he begins to date a girl who just so happens to be the receptionist at the doctor’s office where he is to report for some experiments that will indeed soon find Pete to be exhibiting some . . . . . To quote the title . . . . Strange behavior. Many of the local teenagers are participating in these experiments, and therefore . . . . . Much strangeness is in evidence. As far as plot goes this is really all that I am at liberty to say.
Strange behavior is a rather ordinary film. There is not a whole lot of action going on in lieu of getting to know the who rather than the what. Despite not being anything overtly terrifying or suspenseful and quite low key when compared to many other horror films, I still have managed to find the whole thing oddly charming and appealing.
As I have stated, I have seen the movie multiple times and even though I am already aware of its secrets, I still manage to be able to lose myself in it with every single viewing. I’m not sure why I find this film so delightful other than to say that it’s a sum of all of its parts. The story. The soundtrack. The characters. The actors. It all just adds up for me.
In suggesting the film to horror fans, it should be greatly stressed that while there is some slashing and gashing and some intense goings on, the main focus here is with the growth of its story and characters. When it comes to exposing its truth and nature the thrills and secrets of the film function more on an interior level than an exterior one. More psychological than savage.
I can find something to relish in each time that I view this bizarre and little seen thriller. It's well made, creepy, and beautifully crafted. If you are looking for something to lose yourself in for an evening of entertainment and go into the whole thing not expecting a thrill ride but rather a deep and dark tunnel of a film that is both lyrical and mesmerizing in its simplicity than this could certainly be a movie experience that will capture your attention.
***Original blog post date 9/10/2010***
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