Horrific Inquiry: THE FACULTY (1998)

Welcome back to the scariest, and at times goriest, column here at Film Inquiry: Horrific Inquiry. Twice a month, I will be tackling all things horror, bringing two films back into the spotlight to terrify and frighten once more. And occasionally looking at those that could have pushed the envelope further. Join us as we dive deep into the heart of horror, but warning, there will be spoilers.

Oh, the glorious remake. A chance for new filmmakers to bring to life the films that both inspired and moved them, yet with their own artistic flair. While many stay close to the originals they are based on, others retain a thread of resemblance, the influences clear but never limiting. From director Robert Rodriguez’s The Faculty, the inspirations of Invasion of the Body Snatchers run through its veins, its awareness of its influences within the film taking this remake one step further.

Yet, while its source material is apparent, The Faculty retains its own identity, a staple of 90s classics and an easy-breezy horror film that always promises a good time. No, it is not a classic in the sense it is a cinematic horror masterpiece, but does it ever entertain.

Can’t Beat the Nostalgic 90s Horror Opening

The Faculty opens with the familiar slice and dice of traditional 90s classics. With Kevin Williamson penning the script and the familiar Dimension Films logo kicking off the film, the reminiscent feeling is only heightened further. As a local high school football team practice comes to a close, audiences are immediately introduced to Coach Joe Willis (Robert Patrick, Terminator 2, The X-Files). He is angry, demanding, and unforgiving, elements surrounding his personality and perspective of the sport a strong launching pad for a parasitic invasion to make him patient zero. The perfect host to enact the perfect invasion.

Audiences do not stay with him long, the film brings us to the Faculty’s Lounge, teachers speak with the principal about the denials to their requests for school programs. As is made immediately apparent, the football team takes all funding, leaving the school in disarray and underfunded. As the meeting ends and the teachers begrudgingly head home, Principal Drake (Bebe Neuwirth) realizes she has left her keys in her office, heading back into the school to retrieve them. As a trained horror fan, viewers know there is nothing good waiting for her within the halls of the school, no protection offered that the building would traditionally signify.

Honestly, the opening, while following the formulaic horror composition set forth by films before, is what sucks you in. It is captivating, boasting a villainous performance from Robert Patrick. As he torments Principal Drake, there is a coy and devious nature that encompasses every muscle of his face. And as it is revealed Principal Drake is not his first victim, Mrs. Olsen (Laurie Piper, Carrie) delivering the fatal blows, the film establishes the pace of invasion it wants its audience to understand. The invasion will be swift and seemingly quiet. And you will never truly know who is infected until they want you to.

Back to High School

A reoccurring theme within Williamson‘s scripts is the setting of high school, and The Faculty is no different. Following the opening, audiences are settled into this familiar setting, students arriving for school following the previous night’s events. Each student that will eventually push back against the invasion is introduced all at once and individually, the screen freezes as their name are shown in a punk-influenced fashion. There is a deeply stereotypical nature to each of the students introduced, stereotypes the film leans into as it progresses, and at times refutes.

Viewers are introduced to Delilah Profitt (Jordan’s Brewster, The Fast and the Furious), Head Cheerleader dating High School Quarterback Stan Rosado (Shawn Hatosy). Delilah fits an image of what one would expect of the cheerleaders, especially as she expresses that Stan can not quit the football team as the Head Cheerleader is supposed to date the Quarterback. The Faculty presents our traditional outcasts alongside Stan and Delilah, loner Stokely “Stokes” (Clea Duvall, Happiest Season), and class nerd Casey Connor (Elijah Wood) subjected to both emotional and physical bullying from those who have labeled them different. On-Campus dealer Zeke Tyler (Josh Hartnett, Lucky Number Slevin) and new student Marybeth (Laura Harris) round out the rebellious gang, their stereotypical portrayals keeping the gang rounded out. The student ensemble today is a nostalgic look back at some of the biggest names of the late 1990s, when the film was released, many just making a name for themselves.

As we are introduced to each of these characters, there is an over-the-top nature to the school that surrounds them. As we see them move through the halls, the building seems to be falling apart, with various repairs and vandalism left unmanaged. It speaks to the funding spoken to earlier, that the school board and town find that money for the school is best spent on the football team. This viewpoint is not only important for the continuity of the film from its opening to the credibility of its setting, but it plays into why the invasion was so easily accessible.

Beyond the framing of the school, the student body becomes its own environmental factor. When first introduced to the high school, it is loud, rowdy, and seemingly uncontrollable. Teachers care little as they are undervalued, students are constantly fighting, especially those in a relationship. You don’t realize how loud the setting around our central gang is until it is gone. As the school quickly falls silent, the student body becomes a filming device that represents the speed at which the parasite is able to spread. The contrast of the school the day after the first infection to day two is widely dramatic, not only crafting the effect of the unseen evil, but also the panic that rises in those not infected.

Tricks and Visuals

As the film moves beyond its setting and student introductions, it weaves in and out of both school drama and the teacher assimilation. And as the infection spreads, so does the horror. From a teacher walking naked into the shower, her skin seemingly burning off her face and scalp maimed, to Jon Stewart’s Professor Furlong losing his fingers to a paper slicer and eye to a pen full of drugs, The Faculty borders on both horrific and hilarious. And while it has retained its ridiculous nature over the years, it does still succeed in a few surprises, its predictability not applying to its entirety.

One of the best moments is the film’s awareness of its source material – and we mean deep awareness. It is not afraid to not only name it but discuss it. As Casey begins to piece things together, from the discovery of the parasite in the field (yes, this is the second Elijah Wood discovery he makes in 1998 that threatens all of mankind – Deep Impact) to an understanding of how to beat it, The Faculty interweaves this awareness increasingly through to its climax. There is almost a moment where the film is not only saying it knows where it comes from but a defiant expression of artistic freedom, a release of the retrains remakes typically fall victim to.

Visually, The Faculty has suffered from age. This is not to say the film does not have some glorious moments that need to be not only called out but remembered. Most of these moments happen at the end of the film’s second act and throughout its third, and they are the ones that remain the film’s most memorable. There is a moment at the end of the big football championship, Coach Willis turns back to look directly into the camera and around the stadium, fireworks erupting behind him. While the town is celebrating the team’s victory, he is celebrating the victory of the invasion – and he wants the audience to know it. This is quickly followed up by Stan running into the field following the game, the entire team and its coach looking up to the skies soaking in the water, the tentacles of the parasites and their form seen merged with the human body for the first time. Where the first shot speaks to the victory hidden within a shared joy of success, the second speaks to the true monster behind the facade.

As the film’s climax comes to its final moments, the true Queen bee is revealed, a chase for the remaining two uninfected leads to the school’s pool. As Casey And Stokley run for the locker room, they are outpaced by the Queen’s highly skilled water capabilities, Stokley is dragged into the water. As Casey is able to save her, both running to the locker room, the Queen’s form underwater transforms from a shadowy tentacled parasite back into human form, retaining the melding of monster and man established just moments ago through the football team. It is a beautiful transformation that still remains impressive today.

Conclusion

The film ends its climactic battle in an unbelievable, yet unforgettable fashion. Yet, as the true identity of the Queen is revealed, the facade masking the true desires and true form underneath so does the film with its characters. Each goes through a transformation, allowing themselves to be who they truly want to be with the people they want to be with. The stereotypes that define a person, directing their behavior and decisions, have dissolved away, leaving the freedom of expression and youth.

The Faculty may not be the cinematic horror masterpiece you are looking for, but it is definitely one of the more entertaining horror films around. And when looking at a growing number of remakes that have continued to grace our screens, The Faculty is a film that shows there is more than one way to rejuvenate a classic.

Have you seen The Faculty? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!