The Faculty (1998)

Another great ensemble horror film from 1998 is “The Faculty”, starring established horror or sci-fi actors like Robert Patrick (“Terminator 2”), Famke Janssen (“House on Haunted Hill”), and Piper Laurie (“Carrie”) as well as younger actors like Josh Harnett and Elijah Wood. The film was directed by Robert Rodriguez, who had already shown us that he knew how to have fun with a horror flick after directing “From Dusk Till Dawn”! “The Faculty” is basically a variation of the “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” story with a few plot points adjusted so it comes across as its own movie. The special effects are fine but a bit outdated compared to today’s picky standards. I really enjoyed the film and the tension that is builds when the characters become aware that there might be an alien amongst them.

High school students from various cliques and social circles are forced to band together when their school faculty members become influenced by a water-based alien that is able to take over its host. First the school and then world conquest! The school’s drug dealer Zeke (Hartnett) becomes the unintentional leader of the group after he figures out that his special drug cocktail can kill the alien host. Armed with the drug, Zeke and Casey, the school’s paper photographer, go out hunting for the queen to save their school and their friends.

Favorite moment – there is “The Thing” like scene where Zeke forces the group of students to take his drug in order to prove that they are still human.  Like the scene from “The Thing”, one of them isn’t and destroys the lab and most of the drug supplies they need to kill the invaders.