The Faculty (1998)

 

Genre: Horror/ Sci-fi 

Time: 1h 42mins

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Quick Summary: When Casey Connor, Herrington High School's newspaper photographer, witnesses the murder of a nurse and sees her alive again, he decides to investigate the bizarre happenings.

I wasn't expecting this to be so damn good.

This is so enjoyable and really fun. This may have classic horror and science fiction elements, but it is also clearly a 90s movie. This is not just about a bunch of killings; it has a lot more to offer. It is a perfect blend of horror, science fiction, and drama. The special effects and the cinematography are top-notch, and they add to how much I really enjoyed this. The beginning is great for the setup paranoia and distrust of everyone, it doesn't throw you in the deep end or shove loads of information down your throat. I don't think the aliens are actually fully explained, but I liked the ambiguity that created. They didn't need to be explained. 

This throws as many twists your way as you can handle. When this originally came out I can imagine they were pretty wild and shocking, now not so much, but I still really liked them as honestly they weren't complicated at all. I liked how simple they were even if they were kind of predictable. 

The cast of characters are archetypes with little twists to them which I found to be fun too. The jock who wants to be smarter, the stoner who is actually really good at science and the cheerleader who is actually a nerd at heart. They all worked really well together, even if they all completely clashed at times, how they settled their conflicts was pretty entertaining as well as watching them work together in different ways. Who knew battling aliens would bring teenagers together.

A quick note about the soundtrack that really reminded me of my teenage years which was great to hear. I did like how this pays tribute to a few horror films that came before it, such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Alien and the Thing, as a film fan it was nice to see.

This never loses its sense of humour and pulls off its own absurdity with a tight, driving pace and angsty teenagers. It almost pokes fun at the same genre it is, saying how funny it would be if people were aliens or trying to figure out what would happen next because of films they've seen.

Honestly, I can't speak much about this without almost spoiling it, but it is a really fun and enjoyable watch if you're feeling in a science fiction mood.

8/10

"Casey, when did you become Sigourney Weaver?"

"Zeke: This is where I get my equipment.

Marybeth: You borrow it from science labs?

Zeke: I like to think of it as stealing actually."

" I always thought the only alien in this high school was me."