The Faculty
1998 · Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Original language: English
- horror
- science fiction
The story
When creepy things start happening at Herrington High, the students begin to suspect that their faculty is being controlled by body-snatching aliens.
What it’s like
Saturated late-90s teen-horror look: bright fluorescent school corridors, sickly green and yellow tints, glossy hard-edged digital-era colour, and quick, kinetic handheld coverage that turns hallways and classrooms into places where anything could be wrong. The score leans on driving rock and synth stingers, with bursts of loud needle-drop energy that punctuate lulls and make quiet moments feel like they're holding their breath. Its vibe is mischievous, sardonic paranoia: a body-snatcher B-movie dressed in high-school cliques, cool-kid banter and self-aware wisecracks. The pacing is brisk and playful, with tension rising in short sharp bursts rather than slow dread. Emotionally it stays light and knowing, following a loose gang of outsiders who each carry some stake in trusting one another, and their arcs are about shedding suspicion and finding allies. Violence is frequent and cartoonishly gory, with bloody body horror, creature effects, and sudden hard-hitting kills, plus teen drug use, sexual innuendo and some homophobic jibes that land as period-typical edge. It suits a late-night horror rewatch with friends, or a fun, loud Friday when you want genre thrills with a grin. It is for people who enjoy campy, gleefully nasty creature horror and nostalgic teen movies, not for anyone wanting something gentle.
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