4 out of 5

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Accepting that this sprang from the “Scream” crowd of movies, and features the same scriptwriter as that series, Faculty could easily be brushed off as a copycat. However, helmed by then up and coming director Robert Rodriguez, the Faculty may suffer from some outdated CGI, but was a strong offering for 1998, pushing the barriers of what was commonly seen in R-rated teen horror and successfully blending genres in a way that the original Scream sort of struggled with. Basically: aliens are taking over the school, leading to constant “Thing” Are-you-an-alien? style showdowns between faculty and students. Casting was also a plus, with the reappearance of Elijah Wood and the fresh face of Josh Hartnett and Clea Duvall taking up predictable character types for a high-school movie, but all fleshed out with enough meat to make everyone seem like more than just alien chow. The surprise at the time, again, was in some of the chances the film took with drugs, and teens, and violence, and nudity. Commonplace nowadays, perhaps, but even twelve years ago in ’98 (writing this now in 2010), it was a mite bit different. While the coda of the film reeks a bit of easy endings, up to that point “The Faculty” is a great blend of comedy, acting, chase scenes, explosions, aliens, and blood. While not as stylized as Rodriguez films before or after, it still carried an extra bit of flair that similar films did not have, edging this over into a smarter, more enjoyable repeat viewing.