The Faculty (1998)
by Del Harvey
Dude! What a hard-nosed bunch of teachers.
Robert Rodriguez is probably best known for El Mariachi and From Dusk 'Til Dawn. If you liked those films, you should enjoy The Faculty. The premise is a bit far-fetched, but seeing as how this is the great, great grandchild of classic old monster flicks like Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and other "pod people" sci-fi, The Faculty shows a great deal of improvement.
Something gets into the water system at a small-town high school. The teachers are the first to be infected, beginning with Coach Willis (Robert Patrick - The X-Files, Terminator Two - Judgment Day) and Mrs. Olson (Piper Laurie - Twin Peaks, Carrie). Soon the entire faculty is infected. The kids, hip to any change in the environment, as most kids are, try to determine what the trouble is. One of them finds a "thing" no bigger than your fist lying on the school grounds and shares the dried up, skeletal-
looking creature with the science class. Science teacher Jon Stewart (The Daily Show) accidentally spills some water on the thing and it comes to life. That's when things start getting really weird.
The Faculty asks us to suspend our disbelief momentarily, but the minor inconsistencies are easily forgotten thanks to good direction and a cast of seasoned pros and some of the best from the recent crop of newcomers. Of the students, Shawn Hatosy (Outside Providence, In & Out, Down To You) is Stan, the high school's star football player. Clea DuVal (But, I'm A Cheerleader, Can't Hardly Wait, She's All That) is punk-goth girl Staley. Josh Hartnett (Halloween H20, Blow Dry, The Virgin Suicides) is intellectual rebel Zeke. Elijah Wood (Forever Young, The Ice Storm) is Casey, geek outcast who discovers the alien monsters' weakness. Jordana Brewster (The 60's, All My Children) is Delialah, foxy cheerleading bitch on wheels. And Laura Harris (The Highwayman, Suicide Kings) is the crunchy granola new girl in town, who may or may not be an alien.
The Faculty, in addition to Robert Patrick, Piper Laurie and Jon Stewart, features Bebe Neuwirth (Liberty Heights, Cheers, Fraser) as Principal Drake, no nonsense in a prim, knee-length skirt. Daniel Von Bargen (Malcolm In The Middle, A Civil Action) is the frustrated history teacher who keeps a bottle in his locker. The beautiful Famke Janssen (X-Men, Monument Ave.) is shy, uncertain Miss Burke, English teacher who may or may not be attracted to Zeke. And in a very small role, Selma Hayek plays staff Nurse Harper.
I found The Faculty far more enjoyable that so many other contemporary teen horror flicks, such as The House On Haunted Hill or Halloween H20.
The Faculty won't make you jump out of your socks, but it will entertain you. And the cast and direction keep your interest for the entire 104 minutes. Warm up the popcorn - The Faculty's on.
Del Harvey, founder of FM, lives in Chicago. He is a veteran of The Directors Guild Of America, The Walt Disney Company, and Lucasfilm.
Got a problem? Email Del at filmmonthly@hotmail.com
