You won't be disappointed!

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

This came out during the slasher boom around the early '80s, except "Strange Behavior" dodged the norm from the infamous films of the heyday such as "Halloween," "Friday the 13th" and "Prom Night," as there isn't one killer at large and the murderers aren't cold-blooded psychopaths with twisted pasts, even if their bizarre motivations make them act like maniacal blood fiends.The continually annoyed and stressed looking local Chief of Police--who never dons a traditional uniform as everything is usually hunky dory--must investigate these mysterious deaths. The strange part is the audience hardly ever witnesses the small town in the grip of fear. Some innocent gets sadistically killed and others go about their lives as if the grass is always greener on the other side with frivolous humor and their regular routines intact. This is the type of plot where there's an "elephant in the room" and only one man detects it, as this focuses on a connection between the Chief, experimenters at the local college and the Chief's late wife fitting right smack in the middle. The story thickens when the Chief's son opposes his stubborn father to make decisions as his own man but gets ensnared by the affiliation."Strange Behavior" throws in some distractions to lighten the load from watching violence and blood, such as a subplot between the Chief's son and the newly met, easy-going, blond secretary, as well as the chipper step mother who wants to fill the role of late wife. This takes cues from "Halloween" type killings meets "Altered States"-esque mad science meets "Bond"-like villains meets small town TV mystery/sitcom/love connection. This had the makings to be an esteemed film, though the filmmaker's ambitions were aiming sky high in an attempt to appease a viewer with scenes of the surreal and macabre, as well as the person who wants established, down-to-earth characters, though both sides bump heads to compete and this hardly feels steadily creepy or like it could actually happen as it doesn't fully come together and keep one on the edge of their seat. Even a potential for one last scare wasn't capitalized on. This could have learned from the weirdness that "Dead & Buried" had: to keep the atmosphere alive by feeding throughout. (Also submitted on http://fromblacktoredfilmreviews.blogspot.com/)

In a small New Zealand (as Illinois) town, future acclaimed filmmaker Bill Condon (as Bryan Morgan) is stabbed in silhouette after his parents leave him home alone. Elsewhere, aging teenager Dan Shor (as Pete Brady) is having trouble persuading "top cop" father Michael Murphy (as John) to sponsor an application to Galesburg College. To raise money, Mr. Shor accompanies pal Marc McClure (as Oliver Myerhoff) to the college's psychology department, where the lads are paid $200 to volunteer for some supposedly harmless experiment. Administered by creepily sexy Fiona Lewis (as Gwen Parkinson), you can bet the experiment has something to do with the film's rising body count... "Strange Behavior" features some of the usual genre missteps, but they're interjected with freshness. The characters are introduced uniquely. Shor shows his cheeks, and Mr. Murphy clips his toenails at the breakfast table. Louise Fletcher (as Barbara Moorehead) is okay, but in a much smaller role than heralded. Best of all is a sixties TV costume party kicked off by Lou Christie's hit single "Lightnin' Strikes" (1966) and ending in what can be described as "Uncle Fester" stabbing "Hoss Cartwright" to death. The Tangerine Dream soundtrack is sweet. Director Michael Laughlin, working with Mr. Condon, nicely mixes fright with fun, and they neatly construct an unexpected plot twist.****** Strange Behavior (10/16/81) Michael Laughlin ~ Dan Shor, Michael Murphy, Fiona Lewis, Louise Fletcher

"Strange Behavior" is a bizarre slasher/mad scientist horror film with moody score by Tangerine Dream.John Brady,sheriff of the small town of Galseburg,investigates a series of incidents where teenagers have gone berserk and started killing people.At the same time Brady's son Pete tries seeks to earn money for university tuition by volunteering for a series of mind control experiments being run by Dr Gwen Parkinson at the university psychology department."Strange Behavior" is the first horror film that was actually shot in New Zealand.The direction by Michael Laughlin is flat and there are some dull and lifeless moments.Still there are also some nasty shocks including particularly brutal throat stabbing committed by the masked killer at party.If you liked "Strange Behavior" check out "Death Warmed Up" with its almost identical plot.7 out of 10

This video nasty, released as "Human Experiments" with 26 seconds cut in 1994, and also known as "Dead Kids" in the US was one of the 74 films banned in Britain.Now, some may be grossed out quickly by Michael Murphy clipping his toenails at the breakfast table, Yech! I assure you there are more hideous things awaiting. It has lots of exciting scenes like the knife in the head, blood and screams, more blood and more screams.What it didn't have, however, was anything that would make this something to ban. Those 26 seconds must have been horrendous.I did enjoy seeing Louise Fletcher in a good role.