The Month of Horror Day 9: The Faculty

Basement contributor Matt Bellamy has taken it upon himself to watch and review at least one horror movie a day for the month of October . . . because he's awesome that way! Tonight, Bellamy reminds us that in high school no one can hear you scream.

Like something out of those Bruce Coville novels from back in the day, 'My Teacher Is An Alien' or 'My Principal Glows in the Dark', 'The Faculty' is in that vein albeit a lot more violent! The basic premise, and it is very basic, is that aliens from another planet begin to inhabit the bodies of the staff at a Texas high school and it's up to an unlikely group of students to stop them and save the world! It really is a teenage version of 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' and it's a whole lot of fun.

Directed by Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, Sin City, Machete) with next to no over-the-top attitude that he exhibits in all of his other films, it's actually nice to see something with so much restraint by him, I'd like to see him give another movie like this a shot instead of falling victim to his own style so frequently. The cast is very solid with the likes of Josh Hartnett, Jordana Brewster, and Elijah Wood filling out the ranks of the students while Robert Patrick, Salma Hayek, and Jon Stewart chew the scenery as the alien teachers! Oh, if you're a reader of the movie website "Aint It Cool News" then you may also notice that illiterate mongoloid ginger Harry Knowles as one of the staff members, too. I guess it pays to be a friend of the director!

The pacing is fast as this flick really hits the ground running and doesn't let up, the first "infection" takes place within the first minute! If you like your horror movies to move quickly, laughing while also cringing at the sticky and slimy gore then I can't imagine you not enjoying this on at least some level. Time for a re-visit if you haven't seen 'The Faculty' in some time! Plus, Jon Stewart as a nutso science teacher, can you go wrong there?

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