The Faculty

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Rating 3¾


Directed by Robert Rodriguez

Written by Kevin Williamson

Starring Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Jordana Brewster, Famke Janssen, Salma Hayek, Bebe Neuwirth and Robert Patrick


I adore this film.

The screenplay was by Kevin Williamson and it was released on the back of the box office successes of the first two ‘Scream’ films and ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’. It was directed by Robert Rodriguez, his follow-up to ‘From Dusk Til Dawn’. It was inspired by ‘Invasion Of The Body Snatchers’, which it specifically references, with one central scene famously taken directly from John Carpenter’s remake of ‘The Thing’.

The ‘students’ include Elijah Wood, who I find a little bit creepy as an adult actor, but is great here, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett and Jordana Brewster. The ‘teachers’ are played by Salma Hayek, Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie, Bebe Neuwirth, Robert Patrick and Jon Stewart (later to become successful as the host of the satirical American fake news programme ‘The Daily Show’). There is also a small role for Summer Phoenix, memorably funny as the ‘Fuck You’ Girl.

It’s a clever film with a script that is typical of Kevin Williamson’s other film work. It’s the only Robert Rodriguez film I’ve seen that I like without at least some qualms. The teenage characters are likeable and the various actors work well together. The only minor complaint I would have is that the coda doesn’t really work for me.

All other considerations to one side, and the presence of Clea DuVall and Laura Harris is enough to make me feel biased in the film’s favour, it is clearly a much better film than some of the reviews suggested (see the example below).

“The latest in a long line of lamentable Gen X horror films is brought to you by the pen of Kevin Williamson, who offers up more hard evidence that the cleverness of the first Scream film was either a fluke or just someone else’s script.”
Widgett Walls, needcoffee.com



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