Set in the US, but shot in New Zealand by an Australian, Strange Behaviour stars Dan Shor as teenager Pete Brady who unwisely volunteers as a test subject for an experimental drug, in order to raise some much-needed cash. What Pete doesn't know, however, is that the scientist who has developed the treatment is a few sandwiches short of a picnic, and is turning his human lab-rats into knife-wielding assassins.
'Strange' is a very fitting word for this early 80s movie, which opts to buck the trends of the daygratuitous gore and nudityto deliver a very unique horror experience. Although the basic premise of a mad scientist using human guinea pigs to carry out nefarious acts might be considered fairly routine material for the genre, this film proves to be far removed from other similarly themed fare, and totally unlike the mainstream horrors of the era: there is a small helping of nasty violence in Strange Behaviour, but it is director Michael Laughlin's distinctly offbeat style and the promise of much weirdness that has lead fans of cult/drive-in movies to seek out the film.
An impromptu formation dance routine at a 50s themed party, set to the sound of Lou Christie's "Lighting Strikes"; a psycho bitch scientist (played by Fiona Lewis) who is handy with a syringe; a gratuitous toenail clipping scene; Jimmy Olsen from Superman in crap fancy dress; Louise Fletcher NOT playing an evil cow; a creepy kid in a rubber mask and a murderous fat girl: it's all very quirky, and yet, somehow, it worksat least until the lacklustre final act, which fails to keep the levels of lunacy sufficiently high, and which is capped by a very abrupt ending that sorely needs a clever twist or suitably bizarre revelation to round off things in a satisfactory manner.
'Strange' is a very fitting word for this early 80s movie, which opts to buck the trends of the daygratuitous gore and nudityto deliver a very unique horror experience. Although the basic premise of a mad scientist using human guinea pigs to carry out nefarious acts might be considered fairly routine material for the genre, this film proves to be far removed from other similarly themed fare, and totally unlike the mainstream horrors of the era: there is a small helping of nasty violence in Strange Behaviour, but it is director Michael Laughlin's distinctly offbeat style and the promise of much weirdness that has lead fans of cult/drive-in movies to seek out the film.
An impromptu formation dance routine at a 50s themed party, set to the sound of Lou Christie's "Lighting Strikes"; a psycho bitch scientist (played by Fiona Lewis) who is handy with a syringe; a gratuitous toenail clipping scene; Jimmy Olsen from Superman in crap fancy dress; Louise Fletcher NOT playing an evil cow; a creepy kid in a rubber mask and a murderous fat girl: it's all very quirky, and yet, somehow, it worksat least until the lacklustre final act, which fails to keep the levels of lunacy sufficiently high, and which is capped by a very abrupt ending that sorely needs a clever twist or suitably bizarre revelation to round off things in a satisfactory manner.