The Faculty (1998)

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Starring: Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood, Famke Janssen

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.

Take a familiar story (Invasion of the Body Snatchers), make it feel original thanks to a great script, add a stellar cast, and fantastic visual effects, and you have ‘The Faculty’.

After an impressive nail-biting opening scene, the film introduced the characters in a humorist way. Within the first few minutes the film reeled me in hook, line and sinker, and I couldn’t wait to see how the story would unfold. Having seen ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’, ‘Body Snatchers’ and ‘The Invasion’ I was curious to see how they were going to make it feel original.

By golly, this was fascinating!! The performances are brilliant, and the film was so fast-paced there was not a single dull moment. I literally found every second amazing. It was captivating, it was fresh, it was funny, it was scary. I liked the characters, and thought Robert Patrick was especially good as antagonist Coach Willis (and looking good in the process, I might add…).

The visual effects are awesome, and as the film progressed and things got really out of hand, the effects got better, and the suspense intensified . I also loved the soundtrack. ‘The Faculty’ was such a pleasure to watch. This is top-notch entertainment. Well done to director Robert Rodriguez; this was stunning!!

‘The Faculty’ received several award nominations including Best Horror Film, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Makeup/Creature FX, and Soundtrack of the Year. At the box office, it earned $63.2 million on a $15 million budget.

Would I watch it again? Yes, yes, yes, and again!