The Faculty (1998)

Students suspect that their teachers are aliens after bizarre occurances.

Director:

Robert Rodriguez

Writers:

David Wechter (story), Bruce Kimmel (story),

Stars:

Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris

8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jordana Brewster	...	Delilah Profitt
Clea DuVall	...	Stokely 'Stokes' Mitchell
Laura Harris	...	Marybeth Louise Hutchinson
Josh Hartnett	...	Zeke Tyler
Shawn Hatosy	...	Stan Rosado
Salma Hayek	...	Nurse Rosa Harper
Famke Janssen	...	Miss Elizabeth Burke
Piper Laurie	...	Mrs. Karen Olson
Christopher McDonald	...	Mr. Frank Connor
Bebe Neuwirth	...	Principal Valerie Drake
Robert Patrick	...	Coach Joe Willis
Usher Raymond	...	Gabe Santora
Jon Stewart	...	Prof. Edward Furlong
Daniel von Bargen	...	Mr. John Tate
Elijah Wood	...	Casey Connor

Storyline

A horror tale set in a High School where the students suspect the teaching staff of being aliens, who are intent on making the students their victims.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | ohio | high school | small town | school bus | 

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Taglines:

You will not be disrespectful this school year!

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence/gore, strong language, drug use and some nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Feelers

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£894,161 (UK) (9 April 1999)

Gross:

£4,346,266 (UK) (14 May 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dimension Films, Los Hooligans Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A lot of the filming was done at the high school in Lockhart, Texas. The football team was used and the city was told to show up for the football game and were given fake t-shirts to wear in the stands.

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Goofs

Nurse Harper puts the lid on her medicine twice before she is attacked.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Coach Willis: You got to pick up the line. God damn it! Get off the fucking field you limp ass blow jobs!

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Crazy Credits

During the cast pictures at the end, the science teacher who was 'killed' in the film is shown very much alive with a patch over his eyes and bandages over his fingers.

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Connections

Spoofed in Not Another Teen Movie (2001)

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Soundtracks

"IT'S OVER NOW"
Written by John Stephens (as J. Stephens)
Performed by Neve
Courtesy of Columbia Records

User Reviews

Campy, ridiculous, but entertaining high school version of Body Snatchers

This film fuses elements of the Breakfast Club with Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Robert Rodrigues makes entertaining films, and does so consistently. The Faculty is no exception, though the formula is radically different from his standard approach. In place of large guns, spectacular stunt choreography and a silly soundtrack, Rodrigues made "The Faculty" with a classy ensemble cast and some awesome special effects. The script is also very good, featuring strong characterization and interesting dialog. All of these elements make The Faculty a very watchable film, and make up for the completely unoriginal and not very coherent plot.

The film begins as a paranoiac comedy about a typical high school where the students and faculty see each other as alien species. Ho hum. However, after about 20 minutes of set-up, the faculty really starts to become an alien species, as they are assimilated by water-loving parasites with very bad attitudes and a kind of group consciousness straight out of Invasion of The Body Snatchers and Star Trek's Borg. Six kids, very unlikely team-mates representing the archetypal teenage personalities of the postmodern world, team up to try to save the world, once they realize that the aliens can be driven off by, of all things, caffeine. Especially impressive are Elijah Wood, Piper Laurie, Robert Patrick, Josh Hartnett and Clea DuVall.

Like most of Rodrigues' films, The Faculty never loses its sense of humor, and pulls off its own absurdity with artful visualization and a tight, driving pace. Unlike many of Rodrigues' films, however, The Faculty is disposable - it's not really meant to be viewed more than once. See it if you're a Rodrigues fan, or somebody who enjoys the obscure but growing genre of horror-comedy.