The Faculty (1998)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Robert Rodriguez

Writers (WGA):

David Wechter (story) &
Bruce Kimmel (story) ...

Release Date:

25 December 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Six students are about to find out their teachers really are from another planet.

Plot:

Students suspect that their teachers are aliens after bizarre occurances.

Plot Keywords:

Teacher | Alien | Small Town | High School | Faculty

Awards:

8 nominations

Cast

Jordana Brewster	...	Delilah Profitt
Clea DuVall	...	Stokely 'Stokes' Mitchell
Laura Harris	...	Marybeth Louise Hutchinson
Josh Hartnett	...	Zeke Tyler
Shawn Hatosy	...	Stan Rosado
Salma Hayek	...	Nurse Rosa Harper
Famke Janssen	...	Miss Elizabeth Burke
Piper Laurie	...	Mrs. Karen Olson
Christopher McDonald	...	Mr. Frank Connor
Bebe Neuwirth	...	Principal Valerie Drake
Robert Patrick	...	Coach Joe Willis
Usher Raymond	...	Gabe Santora
Jon Stewart	...	Prof. Edward Furlong
Daniel von Bargen	...	Mr. John Tate
Elijah Wood	...	Casey Connor

Also Known As:

Feelers (USA) (working title)
Untitled Kevin Williamson/Robert Rodriguez Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/gore, strong language, drug use and some nudity.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Philippines:R-18 | Italy:VM14 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 DVD version | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #36445) | Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

Near the end, Marybeth refuses to take the alien drug test by saying she's allergic. Jordana Brewster's character Delilah says, "Yeah, and I'm Portuguese." In real life, Brewster can speak fluent Portuguese.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Zeke hands out the Scat pens to determine who amongst them may be an alien the blue cap is still on as they inhale from the other end. Now unless they have a huge inhaling capacity there's no way to inhale a whole pen's worth with one end of a tube sealed.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Coach Willis: You got to pick up the line. God damn it! Get off the fucking field you limp ass blow jobs!

Movie Connections:

References "Party of Five" (1994)

Soundtrack:

OUR TOWN

And *you* thought you hated *your* teachers...

Several disparate students, including The Nerd (Elijah Wood), The Stoner (Josh Hartnett), The Loner (Clea DuVall), The B***h (Jordana Brewster), The Jock (Shawn Hatosy), and The New Girl (Laura Harris), notice that their teachers are starting to behave very strangely as of late - turns out there's an alien invasion underway: the faculty and students are being controlled from the inside by parasites.

An above average and hip sci-fi / horror / thriller for the young crowd with a talented and attractive cast of young actors ably supported by a reliable troupe of veterans (Robert Patrick, Piper Laurie, Bebe Neuwirth, Daniel Von Bargen, Christopher McDonald, et al.). Given that the director is the talented and prolific Robert Rodriguez, and that the screenplay is by Kevin Williamson, the man who rejuvenated the horror genre by writing "Scream", I would expect a lot going in, and this slick, bloody, and freaky creature feature delivers the goods. It's actually pretty entertaining, and whatever flaws it has are minor. It may never be truly scary, but it's still kind of fun.

Highly reminiscent of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (which this movie makes some good references to) and the John Carpenter version of "The Thing".

Good soundtrack, too, including covers of Alice Cooper's "I'm 18" (by Creed!) and Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2".

8/10