The "slasher movie" niche of the horror genre, popularized by such titles as Halloween (1978) and Friday the 13th (1980), reached something of a peak in 1981. That year saw a multitude of titles from both independent producers and from major studios attempting to cash in on the trend, and included such fare as The Burning, Hell Night, Happy Birthday to Me, The Funhouse, Eyes of a Stranger, My Bloody Valentine, and The Prowler. Strange Behavior (1981), another entry that year, featured many of the tried and true elements of the genre: teenage protagonists, grisly deaths, mysteries from the past, perplexed small-town law enforcement, and the like. However, this film, directed by Michael Laughlin from a script Bill Condon (the future writer/director of Gods and Monsters [1998], Kinsey [2004], and Dreamgirls [2006]) and Laughlin himself, goes far beyond the expected and takes the viewer into surprising and delightful territories of comedy and satire, featuring arch performances from a clever, eclectic cast and unexpected scenes that pay homage to science fiction and horror movies of the 1950s.

In the small Illinois town of Galesburg, we hear the parents of teenager Bryan Morgan (played by Bill Condon himself, then in his mid-20s) leave the house. Bryan immediately stops studying, turns on the radio and lights up a cigarette. Just then the electricity goes out in the house, so Bryan lights a candle and investigates downstairs. Distracted by his own shadow cast on a blank wall by the candlelight, Bryan engages in some shadow puppetry before being suddenly stabbed in the head. His assailant turns out to be another high school-age youngster. Meanwhile, single father (and town sheriff) John Brady (Michael Murphy) is raising son Pete (Dan Shor), who is considering college applications. Pete wants to apply to Galesburg College, but his father is resisting the notion. Pete's classmate Oliver Myerhoff (Marc McClure) introduces him to a moneymaking program at the Psychology Department at Galesburg - 200 dollars for students volunteering for two sessions of "chemical conditioning." The two witness a filmed lecture by the deceased Dr. Le Sangel (Arthur Dignam in a role originally intended for Klaus Kinski), and live demonstrations by his assistant, Gwen Parkinson (Fiona Lewis). The bizarre murders in town accelerate, of course, with the continued experiments on local students. Pete develops a romantic relationship with Caroline (Dey Young), the secretary at the Department, as they investigate the sordid doings.

Strange Behavior was shot in New Zealand with a budget of $1 Million and on a 30-day schedule. The location choice was largely due to tax incentives, but fortuitous because New Zealand provided a green and pristine suburban landscape that evoked 1950s middle-America in a way that shooting in Illinois in 1980 could not. The cinematography by Louis Horvath seeks to reproduce the 3-Strip Technicolor of earlier decades; there is a sweet softness in the imagery, and the production design by Susanna Moore aids in the subtle impression that a serene 1950s-style small midwestern town has been plopped down in a 1980s world. Condon later said (in the commentary for the DVD) that the stylistic approach was partially inspired by the filming conditions in New Zealand: "It's something about being below the equator, but the blues of the sky seemed like Technicolor blues. Something happens with film there that makes colors much more vivid." Condon's script for Strange Behavior was originally called Dead Kids, and in fact the finished film played in most of the world under that title. The distributor in North America, World Northal, was nervous that the title would be insensitive in light of the Atlanta Child Murders case then dominating the news.

Director Laughlin's treatment of the gore scenes (always a carefully examined aspect of any horror film) also diverges from the expected. The first murder in the film is seen in rather awkward shadow-puppet form, and subsequent violence is often light on bloodletting, but is heavily unsettling. Knives stab at disturbing parts of the body, such as the cheek or the calf of a leg; there is a scene of dismemberment in a bathtub that is shocking and grim; and for anyone with an aversion to needles, the favored injection method of the doctors in Department 104 is particularly cringe-inducing. Even the timing of the violent scenes departs from the typical editing patterns in common use at the time. Instead of the quick close-up cuts and standard shock edits usually found in such films, the scenes of murder and mutilation here are often coldly framed at a slight distance, and play out several seconds past the point of shock. The lingering discomfort plays on the voyeuristic nature of watching such movies, and also lends the proceedings a dreamlike quality.

In the clearest indication that great care was taken in the look and feel of Strange Behavior, even the non-horror sequences of the film have an unsettling, enigmatic power. In one of the strangest party scenes in movies (in a decade known for its party scenes), a house full of teenagers choose to dance to Lou Christie's 1966 chart-topper "Lightning Strikes." There is never a theme mentioned in relation to the party, yet all of the attendees are dressed as 1960s TV characters; Lily Munster, The Flying Nun, My Favorite Martian, Wilma Flintstone, Hoss Cartwright, Batman and Robin are all represented by homemade costumes crafted with loving attention to a lack of detail. The viewer knows that previously uncharted territory is being covered when these costumed kids gather around a swimming pool filling with blood because one of their own has been stabbed repeatedly by someone wearing an out-of-place Tor Johnson mask! In the DVD commentary Condon praises Laughlin for allowing him to indulge in the party scene and feels that Strange Behavior is "...really one of the early New Wave movies, actually. ...I feel like we were kind of onto something that became very popular as that decade wore on."

Oddly, the review of this refreshing film in the genre magazine Cinefantastique (Vol. 12, Number 1) was mostly dismissive. Judith P. Harris wrote, "the film has some nice camp performances, notably from [Fiona] Lewis in a lowcut skintight cashmere dress and Dragon Lady hairstyle; and [Arthur] Dignam, who looks like he escaped from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Made in New Zealand under the more marketable title Dead Kids, the film has plodding direction by Michael Laughlin. It is saved, however, by extremely realistic and occasionally gory special effects from Craig Reardon, who is rapidly becoming a makeup effects artist to reckon with." Conversely, mainstream critic Rex Reed gave the film a glowing notice, which the distributor promptly used in ads; Reed ranked Strange Behavior "in a class by itself. [It is a] horror movie that shows how to succeed in grisly gore without really trying. It is genuinely chilling, constantly imaginative. It almost defies description."

The spirit and sensibilities of Strange Behavior were spun off into a follow-up by Laughlin and Condon, Strange Invaders (1983). The plot of this film, which was also shot in New Zealand, further explored 1950s-flavored science fiction, and served as an effective homage to the genre. Dan Shor and Dey Young returned as a teenaged couple in the prologue, and the cast included several other veterans of Strange Behavior, including Louise Fletcher, Fiona Lewis, and Charles Lane.

Producers: John Barnett, Antony I. Ginnane
Director: Michael Laughlin
Screenplay: Bill Condon, Michael Laughlin
Cinematography: Louis Horvath
Production Design: Susanna Moore
Art Direction: Russell Collins
Music: Tangerine Dream
Film Editing: Petra
Cast: Michael Murphy (John Brady), Louise Fletcher (Barbara Moorehead), Dan Shor (Pete Brady), Fiona Lewis (Gwen Parkinson), Arthur Dignam (Dr. Le Sangel/Nagel), Dey Young (Caroline), Marc McClure (Oliver Myerhoff), Scott Brady (Shea), Charles Lane (Donovan), Elizabeth Cheshire (Lucy Brown)
C-105m.

By John M. Miller