The Faculty

Starring: Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Genre: Horror
Year: 1998
Rating: 2 / 5

Kevin Williamson, the writer of Scream and Scream 2, and Robert Rodriguez, the director of From Dusk Til Dawn and Desperado, certainly sound like a good team. Williamson has shown he has a knack for constructing intelligent, teenage thrillers. Rodriguez has proven that he can have campy fun in an action-packed environment. That being said, I expected a lot more from their 1998 collaboration, The Faculty, and I regret to say that I was terribly disappointed. Instead of a sharp teen horror flick, we get a formulaic Invasion of the Body Snatchers knock-off that is a few minor twists short of horrendous.

The Faculty spins a yarn that any high school student can relate to - teachers are from another planet. It appears, however, that for one high school in Ohio, that might just be the case. After a few teachers, beginning with Coach Willis (Robert Patrick) and Mrs. Olsen (Piper Laurie), start acting strangely, a small group of students comes to suspect that something is up. Loner Casey (Elijah Wood) finds what he believes to be a new species on the football field, and, when this organism comes in contact with water, strange manifestations take place. And after witnessing an attack on Nurse Harper (Salma Hayek) by Coach Willis and Mrs. Olsen, Casey and head cheerleader Delilah (Jordana Brewster) know that something is amiss.

As more and more of the faculty begin acting differently, Casey decides that something must be done. With Delilah's help, he rounds up a motley crew of individuals to help save the school: football star Stan (Shawn Hatosey), closet genius Zeke (Josh Hartnett), alternative outcast Stokely (Clea DuVall), and new girl Mary Beth (Laura Harris). These six, though, come to realize that the problem has spread beyond the faculty into the town at large. They can no longer trust their classmates, their parents, or even themselves. Yet this group is forced to put bickering and distrust aside for the good of the town, for as this mysterious force grows stronger, no one knows how powerful it can become.

As a big fan of the unique approach Kevin Williamson employed with Scream, I was sorely let down by the lack of wit and savvy in The Faculty. Williamson succeeded before by knocking down all conventional "rules" for horror flicks, and here, he seems to return to a an old-fashioned tried-and-true method. Little in this film is boiling with creativity, save a few nuances here and there. Rodriguez directs an adventure which features relatively little action, with a tad too much teen angst. Maybe that is the intent, for the target audience of this film is certainly teenage males. However, I would think that even they would be turned off by this take on high school life, delivered a thousand times before by writers and directors much less talented than this pair.

The film is not entirely without merit, as I found myself marveling at the interesting C-List cast that was gathered to portray this high school's teaching staff. Robert Patrick (T2: Judgment Day), Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie (Twin Peaks), Bebe Neuwirth (Cheers), and Jon Stewart (Comedy Central) all serve their faculty tours admirably, with Patrick having the best time as the over-the-top psychotic, Coach Willis. The soundtrack is likewise worth listening to, especially the Offspring's "The Kids Aren't Alright." Despite these little moments of salvation, though, the story cannot be salvaged. In fact, I am almost waiting for Donald Sutherland (star of the first remake) to stick his head onto the screen, reminding me of how much this film owes to the memory of Body Snatchers.

Cast:

Elijah Wood..........	Casey
Josh Hartnett..........	Zeke
Jordana Brewster..........	Delilah
Clea DuVall..........	Stokely
Laura Harris..........	Mary Beth
Shawn Hatosy..........	Stan

Certification: Rated R for violence, language, and partial nudity.
Running Time: 104 minutes.

Additional Info: Internet Movie Database
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