In the late nineties, we had the juggernaut Scream (1996) and the less popular but still pretty solid I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997). I round out this trifecta of nostalgia with a movie I think was overshadowed by its teen horror peers: 1998’s The Faculty (dir. Robert Rodriguez).
Set at the fictional Herrington High School in Ohio, this sci-fi cult classic starts with a bang, living up to its tagline, “These six students are about to discover their teachers really are from another planet.” Cut to a seemingly regular school day, and the obvious divides between student tropes are on display: the jocks bullying the nerd, the head cheerleader lording over virtually everyone around her, the moody outcast keeping her co-eds at bay with a snarl, the rebel repeating his senior year, the perky new girl, the list goes on. Little do these six stereotypes know that they’ll soon band together to save the planet, or at least Herrington High. (The scope of this threat isn’t totally clear.)
School nerd Casey (Elijah Wood) finds a bizarre creature on the football field and brings it to one of the science teachers, Mr. Furlong (Jon Stewart). Mr. Furlong believes it is a parasite and a discovery. He’s not totally wrong on either count.
Never a dull moment, cut to Casey and head cheerleader/editor-in-chief of the school’s paper, Delilah (Jordana Brewster), sneaking into the teacher’s lounge in search of a front page story. From their hiding spot in the closet, Casey and Delilah see some pretty strange and violent behaviors from the staff…not to mention more of those parasitic-looking dudes. Casey believes he has the case cracked wide open: the teachers are controlled by aliens. Now there’s a headline. Sharing this news with the ragtag variety of students in the science lab, the six unlikely friends realize they need to take on the monsters themselves. Madness ensues.
This movie is a fun watch. A little goofy and a little campy with the special and practical effects, not to mention an all-star cast of 90s legends like Clea DuVall and Josh Hartnett. The dynamics between the characters feel both believable and over-the-top in the same breath, but it works. The Faculty holds up and deserves its place in the 90s teen horror hall of fame. I look forward to its inevitable reboot.
The Faculty
1998
dir. Robert Rodriguez
104 min.
Screens Saturday, 7/18, 11:59pm @ Coolidge Corner Theatre
Part of the repertory series: Intergalactic Invasion!
