One of my favorite things about my fiancée, Liz, is that she hasn’t seen a lot of movies. Whether it’s comedies, dramas, or action movies, I can bank on her having not seen it or sometimes even heard of it. And definitely next to none in the horror genre. So getting to watch her follow the plots and find out who the “who” is in a “whodunnit” (in this case, who is it) is the absolute best.

This is my first requested review from a really great friend. So let’s get into it. Without spoilers of course. For the older media I review, I’ll pick and choose which ones I’ll spoil for my readers.  Anyways, let’s get back to The Faculty. 

If you like 90’s vibes (I fucking do), then I got a great pick for you. Not only is this movie equipped with an all-star cast, but the plot line is amazing. Our cast includes some very recognizable faces. Even Usher makes an appearance. Some of the other cast include Clea Duvall, Shawn Hatosy, Josh Harnett, Salma Hayek, Fankee Janssen, and Robert Patrick. There’s tons more of 90’s stars (or just stars?), but I’ll leave that for the viewers to find out.

The plot?

We get to see our protagonist, Elijah fucking Wood, battle the faculty of his high school that has been taken over by alien parasites. We are accompanied on that journey with a crew made up of each member of the typical high school cliques. We have a goth, a nerd, a jock, the it girl, a new student, and a bad boy. And no, this isn’t the Breakfast Club. This is way fucking better. 

When we get our character introduction, it’s safe to say that all of them are very complex. They have backstories that could be elaborated way into the first hour of the movie, but they aren’t. You can compile your own thoughts about each character and the struggles they all seem to face. They’re all different by nature, but are all rooted with a sense of wanting to belong and be happy in their own skin. Except for Josh Harnett’s character. He’s got a lot of shit going on, but just know that he isn’t some dumb bad boy. Like I said, these characters are COMPLEX. 

The crew has to outsmart the faculty that have already been taken over within the opening of the movie. I will say that the opening is one of my favorite sequences in horror. It’s got suspense, a chase scene, and gore. I’ve seen it countless times when The Faculty used to play in the mornings when I was getting ready for school. Just enough time for me to enjoy the beginning and then leave when it starts to get good. Bummer. 

The entire time poor Elijah is trying to convince anyone that listens that something has ahold of the faculty. We get to see the alien parasites and understand how it infects and transfers to other people. Since the faculty are infected first, they choose to spread to the rest of the faculty and eventually the students, the town, and world. Piece of cake. 

Throughout the movie, the crew is not only fighting against the spread of the aliens, but us and the crew are trying to figure out where they come from. And in this case, who brought them? Are you an alien? Who’s the alien? Who’s the host? Maybe you should give it a watch. Liz didn’t guess correctly for her first watch. Will you?