Yes, I know this isn’t the typical Valentine’s Day pick, but everyone pretty much falls in love in the end, so I’ll count it! My site, my rules.
Anyway, The Faculty has been living rent-free in my mind since seeing it as an elementary-schooler. I’ve only seen it one other time (the first time back then, and the rewatch now), but when I think of late 90s/early 00s horror, this is always one of the first things that comes to mind. This star-studded sci-fi flick is about a parasitic alien that wants to take over the planet — body-snatchers style — starting with the faculty of a high school. A small group of misfit students figures out the plan and uses their wits and an illicit substance to battle the alien before they are trapped in their own bodies.
If you asked me a few words that The Faculty instantly brought to mind, it’s drugs, water, and a shitty school. A pretty simple story where an alien tries to hide in the warm bodies of the students and teachers, slowly infecting others until everyone is one big hive-mind. What sets this apart from other sci-fi flicks is the very prominent drug use and all-around illegal (or frowned-upon in some circles) activity. Herrington High School is a cesspool of druggies, toxically masculine football players, faculty who either don’t care or care too much, student council assholes and kids who would rather be anywhere else than in this small Ohio town. Then people begin to act weird, and the only answer is a homemade white powder cooked up by the school’s resident 12th-grader-that-should’ve-graduated-already. Usually you fight an alien using wits or the military, but here it’s an ecstasy-like substance that dries a water-loving alien out of its host body, killing it. My favorite part is the 3rd act where we actually start battling the alien, which is where we get crazy action scenes involving a row of school busses and a pool.
Besides the story, The Faculty is praised for having a pretty amped-up cast. Josh Hartnett, Clea Duvall, Usher, John Stewart, Elijah Wood, Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie, Salma Hayek, Christopher McDonald, Robert Patrick, Bebe Neuwirth, and so many familiar faces. And it’s so funny that it’s a movie I tend to forget most of scenes besides the big whammies mentioned above — parasitic monsters and Frodo snorting drugs. But after watching it again, I had major flashbacks to the late 90s and how awesome this movie is. The special effects are definitely of their time (really, everything from music to dialog is), but it works. A sci-fi horror flick that wreaks of science fiction and incredibly quotable lines.
I’m including this as a Valentine’s Day pick because of what I said at the beginning: everyone finds their significant other with a lovely twist on who is paired together at the end; the nerd and bitchy head cheerleader get together, as do the goth (who people think is a lesbian) and football captain, and the drug-slinging senior — first with the disguised alien, then (sort of, there’s definitely something going on there) with Mrs. Burke, and finally with school athletics (he joins the football team!). Today, we do see a lot more variety in couple types, but it’s refreshing to see this original pairing (i.e., football and cheerleader, goth and geek, etc.) turned upside down.
The Faculty used to be a movie that I’d remember but forget at the same time, save for the big monster scenes. Now, it’s one I’ll be referencing more often. Referenced with appreciation of good story, likeable cast, and all-around good time. Plus, we stan unlikely couples here!
