(Don't) Stay Out of the Faculty Lounge...

THE FACULTY

Directed by Robert RodriguezWritten by Kevin Williamson

Starring Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett, Famke Janssen, Clea DuVall, Usher, Jon Stewart

Did you ever think that your teachers in high school were aliens? Yeah, me neither. Apparently some did, though and that’s the conceit of this 1998 extraterrestrial extravaganza. What if they really were aliens, body snatchers style, taking over the town one drone at a time? Of course because you’re just a teen, no one believes you. It’s up to this misfit Breakfast Club to save the school and the world.

Since the inception of his career, Robert Rodriguez has proven himself to not only be the epitome of DIY filmmaking, but also being a very open collaborator. He’s the kind of writer/director that would be comfortable scrapping his idea for a better one and making a movie as a team effort. Following his successful partnership with Quentin Tarantino a year earlier on From Dusk Till Dawn, Rodriguez collaborated with Kevin Williamson during the height of his popularity.

For those unaware, Kevin Williamson was responsible for the mid-nineties wave of post modern horror having penned Scream, Scream 2, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and eventually creating the massively popular television show, Dawson’s Creek (I’m so glad Joey and Pacey ended up together, they were so cute).  Rodriguez, being the team player he is thought, “hell yeah, let’s make this alien invasion high school movie.” I’m paraphrasing, of course.

Collecting an insanely nerd and 90s friendly cast (Elijah Wood, Jon Stewart, Josh Hartnett, Robert Patrick, etc.), The Faculty is a very classically paced homage to Invasion of the Body Snatchers filtered through the self-aware lens of the era’s horror movies. At the time it was still cool to have characters comment on their predicaments with similar pop culture references. There’s even a loving rip off of The Thing’s wire in the blood scene.

By the beginning of the second act, the geeky school photographer, the new girl, the emo punk girl, the jock, and the cool, older drug dealer are on a mission to stop the school’s faculty from infesting the entire town at the homecoming game. How do they plan to do this? Well, with drugs of course.

What The Faulty lacks in originality, it makes up with pure charisma, character, and fun. The hero shifts characters multiple times throughout the story and even though these actors are portraying caricatures in an extraordinary situation, you never question their commitment or validity. The care that they give transcends the final product beyond being a rehash of horror tropes.

Rodriguez deftly handles all the characters and doesn’t make it too obvious whom will eventually save the day. There are enough hero moments to go around and there’s a point where we aren’t sure who will make it to the end. As always, his camera work benefits from him also being an editor. There is no wasted time or space on the screen, making The Faculty as easily digestible as a bucket of popcorn.

The creature effects are a touch lazy in scenes, especially the use of CGI (pretty great for only a $15 million budget, though). But, when the movie commits to a full prosthetic monster baddie, it’s completely beautiful. The fully revealed monster at the end of this is one of my favorites, especially the balletic transformation from monster to human underwater. You’ll know the scene when you see it.

The Faculty is a fun movie that elevates itself from schlock brethren with wit, skill, and a stellar cast. Is it Laurence of Arabia good? No. But, when it comes to Rated R, high school alien invasion movies, it’s by far a favorite.

Currently available on Netflix streaming, The Faculty is a fun treat on a weekend afternoon.

Side note: One of the better (or worst) aspects of most 90s movies were their soundtracks, bloated with “hits” and covers from popular artists of the moment. For optimal marketability, they would cram tracks in every quiet moment in the movie. A-mazing. Enjoy this embarrassing little vid. 

Do You Like Scary Movies? A SCREAM Retrospective

What constitutes a rip off? Same themes or genres? Maybe a similar plot device? We all know there’s no such thing as an original story. Now, don’t get sad. There hasn’t been anything original for some time. All media, literature and the like fall under just a few categories of story; Man vs. man, man vs. himself or man vs. nature. There’s no new permutation of plot and character that cannot be boiled down to one of these three categories. It’s sad when you first realize its true… but then it becomes freeing. Knowing that the story you are about to see has already been told enables the viewer to enjoy the ride and judge a piece on its merit, be it acting, writing or direction.

"Never say "who's there?" Don't you watch scary movies? It's a death wish. You might as well come out to investigate a strange noise or something." - Ghostface

Noting one of the better examples of using this reality to its advantage takes us back to 1996 and the now unjustly maligned Scream, written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Wes Craven. By taking the very clichés and tropes of the slasher genre and cleverly using them against the audience, the film is at once an homage, inside joke and genuine celebration of everything stab-y.

The first scene is still chilling in its raw effectiveness. What starts as a flirtatious conversation becomes harrowing for an above the title actress. The tightly scripted dialogue makes this scene so revelatory. Like a horror-geek infused Aaron Sorkin, Williamson displays his knowledge (or research of) the genre's history. His words inform the audience of where they’re about to be taken, while simultaneously relating the current events of the scene to our heroine's increasingly tense plight. Craven ratchets up that tension with his collected knowledge of what an audience expects. In less capable hands the constant popping of popcorn and startling ringing of a phone could be gimmicky.

Before a drop of blood (or in this case, entrails) is spilled, we're already on the edge of our seats, taken in by the moment. What makes this special? They told us what they were doing, while it was happening, and it still worked!

"It's the millennium, motives are incidental." - Randy

The movie doesn't stop it's frenetic pace, layering in its structure with familiar caricatures and settings. A virginal heroine, a bad boy boyfriend, the slutty best friend and so on. They're even noted as such by our inside man, the at times annoying character of Randy. Randy explains to the uninitiated what you should be looking for while also making sure the rest of us know he's in on the joke. It's novel now, but at the time, a structure that all but breaks the fourth wall was a breath of fresh air. What's even more impressive is in establishing these characters' knowledge of events, there's a false sense of security throughout much of the proceedings. That is, until the proverbial shit hits the fan. Scream is a self aware satire that succeeds at being as tense and scary as its predecessors.

"Life is like a movie. Only you can't pick your genre." - Billy

Over the last decade, the Scream franchise has become something of ridicule in many circles. Partly due to the sub-par sequels and largely due to the fact that it ushered in a sub-genre of teen slasher movies, boasting young casts and hit pop songs. Ironically, an endeavor that highlighted the genre's clichés with humor and tact ushered in so many offensive copy cats. Like a snake eating its own tale, a popular effort to elevate the genre became a feeding frenzy of shoddy, cheaply produced and poorly scripted clones. As soon as the marketing machine got a hold of it all, we were seeing entities like MTV co-finance genre films for young audiences. At that point, all hope seemed to be lost. Disturbing Behavior, anyone?

"...don't you blame the movies, movies don't create psychos, movies make psychos more creative!" - Billy

With the arrival of a third sequel, we're forced to question if this franchise has any juice left. What was once a welcome breeze has become a point of contention for what was wrong with horror in the millennium's first decade. From the influx of Japanese remakes to the plethora of Saw wannabes, for better or worse, it started in 1996. A modicum of respect is due and was hopefully restored this past weekend.

Did you see it? What did you think?