Python Hyena
The Faculty (1998): Dir: Robert Rodriguez / Cast: Elijah Wood, Jordana Brewster, Josh Hartnett, Laura Harris, Clea DuVall: Suppose to represent false identities where aliens poise as teachers for no real reason other than these films love picking on teenagers. It feels like an attack on teachers and authority with the students retaliating at these aliens poised as teachers. Why don't the aliens just stick to the old fashion stealing of the lunch money? These aliens constantly drink water as their source of life. Somebody needs to get them drunk. That ought to screw with their world domination plan. Elijah Wood plays a wiz kid who senses that something is wrong. Laura Harris plays a sunny girl who tries desperately to fit in. Josh Hartnett sells illegal items. Jordana Brewster rounds out the cast discovering a body in an office closet. Lame plot followed by routine hack fest where teenagers become cafeteria food to aliens. It is as juvenile as a horror film can get and contains as much stupidity as the screenwriter can pack in. Directed by Robert Rodriguez who applies the same graphic action that ran rampant throughout his From Dusk Till Dawn, with fine visual effects but acting is bad. For a superior recommendation I recommend the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which was much more fun and inventive. Pointless blood and guts should be avoided by everyone, including aliens. Score: 3 / 10
Emerald Reprobates
This is a decent high school horror with a mix of up and coming actors and established stars. From the writer of Scream and the director of From Dusk Til Dawn, while not quite the classic this film had a lot to recommend it and is worth a watch.Aliens or parasites or alien parasites, it doesn't really matter are trying to take over the world one school at a time. In Herrington High School Josh Harnett (sporting a left over Jim Carey haircut from Dumb and Dumber) leads a plucky band of misfits (featuring hobbits, girl-racers and that guy from that thing) on a quest to rid their school of water obsessed body snatchers.Featured on Episode 64 of The Emerald Reprobates Podcast.
jcbutthead86
The Faculty is an excellent,entertaining and underrated SCI-FI-Horror-Thriller that combines great direction,a wonderful cast,a sharp script,fine special effects and a memorable score and soundtrack. All of those elements make The Faculty solid entertainment that's Robert Rodriguez at his best.Set in Ohio,The Faculty tells the story of High School teenagers Casey(Eiljah Wood),Zeke(Josh Hartnett),Delilah(Jordana Brewster),Stokely(Clea DuVall),Stan(Shawn Hatosy)and Marybeth(Laura Harris)who find out that their teachers and fellow students have been taken over and possessed by Aliens. With nowhere to run or hide,the teens decide to fight back against the Aliens and survive.After the critical and Box Office success of Wes Craven's Horror classic Scream in 1996 there was a trend and wave of hip and clever Teen Horror films that were released in theaters during the late 1990s and early 2000s(which also included I Know What You Did Last Summer in 1997 and Urban Legend in 1998)and one of the best Teen Horror films and one of my favorites during this time was director Robert Rodriguez and screenwriter Kevin Williamson collaboration The Faculty,a movie that that was a modest success at the Box Office and is a film that combines Rodriguez's special effects driven style with Williamson's dialog and is Horror movie that's truly underrated and very overlooked. The Faculty is a terrific and memorable SCI-FI-Horror-Thriller that would be described as The Breakfast Club meets Invasion Of The Body Snatchers with a dash of John Carpenter's The Thing and is a movie that gives viewers a fun and interesting take on the Alien invasion genre with High School and with teenagers dealing with adults even though the movie isn't serious. The storyline in The Faculty may not be original or creative but the movie is a non-stop thrill ride from beginning to end giving viewers everything but the kitchen sink with tons of thrills,excitement and suspense that is done in a over the top style that just works. While The Faculty is a SCI-FI-Horror movie it's not a scary one to make you keep your lights on at night,but there are moments in the film that are suspenseful and intense and will gives some viewers jolts and surprises. As for Blood and Gore there isn't much of it in this film but there is bits and pieces that show up in the movie. The screenplay by Kevin Williamson is terrific and memorable,with Williamson's dialog being clever and witty basically bringing the same type of dialog and style he brought to his Scream screenplay which makes The Faculty funny and humorous at times thanks to some of the back and forth dialog with the characters. While the characters and the dialog make reference to other SCI-FI-Horror movies The Faculty isn't as self aware or ironic as Scream was. The main teen characters are a direct homage to the John Hughes Teen/High School classic The Breakfast Club with all of the main characters pretty much representing some of the main stereotypes you would see in other Teen movies(geek,jock,criminal etc)but all of them are well-developed and interesting becoming more and more likable and heroic as the film goes on and we root for them as things become dangerous and chaotic. The ending of The Faculty is amazing,thrilling and filled with excitement,surprises that will leave viewers satisfied. A great ending.The cast is great. Elijah Wood is wonderful as Casey,a nerd. Jordana Brewster is terrific as Delilah,a popular girl Casey has a crush on. Clea DuVall is fantastic as Stoakley,a loner. Shawn Hatosy is great as Stan,a Football jock that's Delilah's boyfriend. Josh Hartnett is amazing as Zeke,a genius who makes drugs. Laura Harris is great as Marybeth,a new girl at school. Famke Janssen(Ms. Burke),Robert Patrick(Coach Willis),Salma Hayak(Nurse Harper),Piper Laurie(Mrs. Olson),Bebe Neuwirth(Principal Drake),Jon Stewart(Professor Furlong),Daniel Van Bargen(Mr. Tate),Christopher McDonald(Mr. Connor),Libby Villari(Mrs. Connor),Usher Raymond(Gabe),Jon Abrahams(Boy),Summer Phoenix(Girl)Danny Masterson(Messed Up Kid),Wiley Wiggins(Messed Up Kid),Duane Martin(Police Officer),Katherine Willis(Police Officer)and Susan Willis(Mrs. Brummel)give good performances as well.The direction by Robert Rodriguez is amazing and stylish,with Rodriquez keeping the camera moving also using freeze frames,slow motion and giving the film a nice style and atmosphere. Fantastic direction,Rodriguez.The score by Marco Beltrami is impressive,suspenseful and intense and matches the tone of the movie. Nice score,Beltrami. There is also a wonderful Pop/Rock soundtrack that includes a great cover of the Pink Floyd song Another Brick In The Wall by the group Class Of 99.The Special and Practical Effects by K.N.B. Efx Group are terrific and effective mixing together practical effects with CGI very well. Great job once again,K.N.B.In final word,if you love Horror films,SCI-FI or Robert Rodriguez,I highly suggest you see The Faculty,an excellent,entertaining and underrated SCI-FI-Horror film that well worth your time. Highly Recommended. 10/10.
jessegehrig
Do you remember the jazz age? We had such high ideals then. We were going to push through things with music, push through social ills push through corrupt prohibition laws, with music we were going to push through the very surface of reality to new truth. How far have we fallen? The days of swing and hop-head trumpet solos are long long gone. It's not The Faculty's fault, not at all, this chump change sh*t ball movie is merely a symptom of our great decline. If you are a fan of this movie, my review is not your fault, don't take it personally, you don't need to defend this movie nor your favoring of this movie. A body just get's tired is all, see, after a while, just can't go on anymore.
