The Faculty is a 1998 sci-fi horror film about six misfit students who must band together to save mankind when mind-controlling parasites from another planet infect their high school’s faculty.
The movie was directed by Robert Rodriguez (Planet of Terror; From Dusk Till Dawn) from a screenplay by Kevin Williamson (I Know What You Did Last Summer; Scream).
The movie stars Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett, Shawn Hatosy, Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Robert Patrick, Bebe Neuwirth, Piper Laurie, Famke Janssen, Usher Raymond, Salma Hayek and Jon Stewart.
In 1990, David Wechter and Bruce Kimmel wrote their first draft of the script and sent it out, but there were no buyers. It wasn’t until after the success of Scream that Miramax bought the script and rushed it into production.
The Weinsteins brought in Kevin Williamson to do rewrites, keeping the basic story, but rewriting the dialogue and adding new characters to make it more “hip”.
Originally, Williamson was set to direct the film, but he chose not to so he could direct his self-penned script Teaching Mrs Tingle. Robert Rodriguez was hired to direct the film instead.
The film’s score was composed by Marco Beltrami (Scream; Mimic). Various youth-themed rock songs were also provided by bands such as Creed, Soul Asylum, Garbage and The Offspring.
Plot:
One evening at Herrington High School in Ohio, several teachers and the principal leave after discussions about the school’s budget. Having left her keys behind, Principal Valerie Drake (Bebe Neuwirth) returns to retrieve them.
In her office, she is barred from leaving by Coach Willis (Robert Patrick), who becomes increasingly erratic. As she attempts to leave, Willis impulsively stabs a pencil through her hand. Valerie flees to the entrance, only to find the door chained up and drama teacher Mrs Olsen (Piper Laurie) outside. She retrieves her keys and grabs a pair of scissors and escapes. Outside, Mrs Olsen emotionlessly grabs the scissors and stabs Valerie…
Release:
The Faculty was released on December 25, 1998, by Miramax Films via Dimension Films. It grossed $40.3 million at the US box office on a $15 million budget.
Filming locations:
Austin, Dallas, Lockhart and San Marcos, Texas
Trailer:
Free to watch online on YouTube [regions may vary]:
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