Product Description

This hip and edgy thriller from the director of FROM DUSK TILL DAWN and the writer of SCREAM and SCREAM 2 sizzles with a hot young cast including Elijah Wood (THE LORD OF THE RINGS Trilogy), Josh Hartnett (PEARL HARBOR), and R&B superstar Usher Raymond! When some very creepy things start happening around school, the kids at Herrington High make a chilling discovery that confirms their worst suspicions: their teachers really are from another planet! As mind-controlling parasites rapidly begin spreading from the faculty to the students' bodies, it's ultimately up to the few who are left -- an unlikely collection of loners, leaders, nerds, and jocks -- to save the world from alien domination! Also starring Robert Patrick (TERMINATOR 2), Famke Janssen (X-MEN), and Jon Stewart (TV's THE DAILY SHOW) in a great cast -- don't miss the unstoppable excitement of this unpredictably smart and scary hit!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8481 in DVD
• Brand: BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 1999-06-22
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 104 minutes

Amazon.com
Okay, you knew everyone in high school was just a little different: everyone looked at you strangely, the teachers were freaky, and you never could find the right groove to fit into. What if it turned out that it was all because your school was inhabited by creepy aliens from outer space? That's the enjoyably cheesy B-premise for this fun and scary flick from the pen of Scream's Kevin Williamson, the master of the post-modern teen horror film. Directed by Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi), it's The Breakfast Club meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers, as six disparate students from Herrington High School band together when they discover that an alien life form is invading both the student and faculty bodies, with plans to take over the world.

Each of the heroes represents a different high school type: popular babe (Jordana Brewster), picked-on geek (Elijah Wood), goth girl (Clea DuVall), sensitive jock (Shawn Hatosy), new kid in town (Laura Harris), and bad-boy rebel (Josh Hartnett). The plot isn't much--a basic kill-or-be-killed premise spiked with a healthy shot of paranoia--but Willliamson and Rodriguez do a great job of building the tension slowly but surely. The suspense set pieces are genuinely frightening, and the film pokes fun at itself without deflating its scares; Williamson is a master at shifting gears from comedy to horror quickly and adroitly. The young cast doesn't have a weak link among them (with special kudos to Wood, DuVall and heartthrob-in-the-making Hartnett), and Rodriguez gets maximum mileage from the titular faculty, which includes Jon Stewart, Piper Laurie, Salma Hayek, Bebe Neuwirth, and Robert Patrick of Terminator 2. Go to the head of the class, Mr. Williamson. --Mark Englehart

Customer Reviews

50's sci-fi meets 90's pop generation.
Most people would think that the above combination would fail, but not at the hand of Kevin Williamson, writer of this wonderful science-fiction film brought to life by talented actors and from the director of "From Dusk Till Dawn." Opening with an intense scene in which the school principal is attacked and overtaken by two alien staff, the film only gets better, introducing us to the seperate lives of each of the students who will come together to stop the faculty, as well as the student body, from taking over the entire town. As more people become converted, the small band of "refugees" begin to discover their own clues, ultimately deducing that the queen alien must be eliminated if they are to save the town. Some might think the plot and material to be juvenile, yet it has a certain intelligence and thinking factor behind its young and fresh cast. Also, the film blends with its story many of the elements used in movies of the same genre from the fifties and sixties, which makes it even better for some reason. Let's just be blunt: everything in this movie works.

The Moral of the Story: Never Add Water to Anything
During a time when the cinematic bowels of horror ruptured and teen movies seemed to flood the market and become a dime a dozen, I opted to skip this film because of some very bad experiences that still didn't set very well with me. Like many of the people I knew, there were lingering doubts plaguing me as to whether a mainstreamed cast of this nature could actually approach the terrible in a convincing way and if a theme that echoed "aliens kidnapped my baby while at high school" could actually find a way to be new and diverse. After a time, however, I opted to buy it on an impulse, liking something I had seen about the making of the beast that all the trouble stems from in this tale. After countless rewatches, I have to say that this isn't what I first stereotyped it to be and, although it isn't original, is very appealing.

We begin in the confines of our little Ohio-based school system, introduced to the living representations of all our modern stereotypes of what students can be. From there we see the basic interactions and the bullying - the drug-use and subsequent salesmanship, and the athletics - as our gaze is focused through one "geek" (Elijah Woods). Thinking his life is difficult enough already, he finds himself shocked when, looking around on the football field, he discovers the dehydrated remains of what appears to be a new species. Odder still, is its ability to come to life when introduced to water. This leads down even more bizarre pathways for him, and he finds himself and this band of miscreants we spent time watching early becoming stars when thrust into the gears of what seems to be an alien invasion.

While the script was nothing new, the actors more made up for this by providing seamless performances that were sometimes dry and sometimes surprisingly funny. On top of this, the effects on this were, in a word, delightful, giving the watcher something to keep an eye out for. From the beast with rows of teeth that would make any dentist smile and sing songs of happiness to the aquarium-based lifeforms, the DVD version of this had a quality that was simply superb. Add all of this together and you get one thing; a movie that is enjoyably delectable.

The best horror movie ever, fantastic cast and storyline
I first saw "The Faculty" on a plane ride to London and was immediately hooked. I ended up watching it three times just on the plane ride. I thought each of the cast members gave an outstanding performance, and had a great chemistry. I saw some actors that I was already a fan of (Jon Stewart, Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood, Usher Raymond), and found plenty of new favorites (Shawn Hatosy, Clea DuVall, especially, as well as Jordana Brewster, Laura Harris, and the entire cast). I loved the unraveling of the plot, and how it wasn't based on science fiction only, it also dealt with the average confused teenager. The friendships and relationships that develop between the characters add so much to the plot, making it more than just a horror movie. The concept of the aliens and how the kids were able to use thier talents and areas of knowledge figure out exactly who and what the aliens were was clever, and the script couldn't have been better. The movie made me laugh, scream, and even cry. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I strongly recommend this movie, and if I could give it six stars I would. The best movie I've ever seen.