The Faculty

"These six students are about to discover their teachers really are from another planet."

1998 1h 44m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

🥫

57%

ROTTEN

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.6

IMDB

★6.6TMDB · 2,379🥫57%Rotten Tomatoes●61Metacritic★6.6IMDB · 146,576

HorrorScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When creepy things start happening at Herrington High, the students begin to suspect that their faculty is being controlled by body-snatching aliens.

“These six students are about to discover their teachers really are from another planet.”

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Cast

Josh Hartnett
Zeke
Elijah Wood
Casey
Jordana Brewster
Delilah
Clea DuVall
Stokely
Shawn Hatosy
Stan
Laura Harris
Marybeth
Robert Patrick
Coach Willis
Bebe Neuwirth
Principal Drake

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Robert Rodriguez
Writers: Kevin Williamson, David Wechter, Bruce Kimmel
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Robert Rodriguez, shot by Enrique Chediak. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Marco Beltrami. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Rodriguez shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Josh Hartnett and Elijah Wood and Jordana Brewster carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "These six students are about to discover their teachers really are from another planet.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0133751 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Robert Rodriguez directs. Enrique Chediak behind the camera. Marco Beltrami scores. Robert Rodriguez cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

128 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Robert Rodriguez, shot by Enrique Chediak. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Marco Beltrami. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Robert Rodriguez shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Josh Hartnett and Elijah Wood and Jordana Brewster carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "These six students are about to discover their teachers really are from another planet.".
7IMDB entry: tt0133751 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 18 themes, including "drug dealer", "high school", "homophobia", "paranoia".
9Released under 16 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Enrique Chediak
Original score: Marco Beltrami
Editing: Robert Rodriguez
Production design: Cary White
Costume design: Michael T. Boyd
Makeup / hair: Bridget Cook
VFX supervisor: Brian Jennings
Sound: Steve Boeddeker
Stunt coordinator: Bob Brown
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $15,000,000
Box office: $40,283,321
Return: 269% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Faculty (1998)
Rotten Tomatoes: 57% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 61/100
IMDB rating: 6.6/10 · 146,576 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

11 nominations total

Also by

Robert Rodriguez

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Gimly2018-06-01
★ 7/10
Totally underrated, prime late 90s Sci-Fi/Horror/Comedy with an incredible cast that has somehow managed to stay under the radar even now, twenty years later on. The Faculty is one of those movies I make everybody watch. Final rating:★★★½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time.
John Chard2019-07-15
★ 7/10
Body Snatchers was just a made up story... Herrington High School, just your everyday place of learning. That is until the teachers start behaving strangely. It seems there is an alien plot to take over the world and only a rag-tag group of students can save us! When you pair Robert Rodriguez (director) and Kevin Williamson (writer) what sort of movie do you really think you are going to get? Well the answer is The Faculty, which in all honesty holds absolutely no surprises for anyone familiar with the guys who gave us From Dusk Till Dawn & Scream respectively. That's not to say that The Faculty isn't a fun horror/sci-fi film, because it absolutely is, it's just should be noted that The Faculty is all that it can be as regards the makers and the nature of the genre beast. The film has rightly been tagged as a cross between Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and any teen led Highschool movie (you can add Invaders From Mars in the mix too), this is intentional, something that's apparent since our intrepid students discuss "Snatchers" amongst other movie references, and one of them, Stokely (Clea Duval), is a sci-fi aficionado . As things progress it's also evident that the makers here are movie fans making a movie for movie fans, all be it one aimed solely at the teenage demographic. There's much satire around and cliché's are widely embraced, but again it works because there is no hidden agenda. There's gore and hugely effective scenes involving blood, slugs, heads and an eyeball, whilst slasher fans are catered for in a couple of - if seemingly pointless as regards the alien's intentions - memorable scenes. The youngsters in the cast, all purposely playing total stereotypes, all do what is required, with Josh Hartnett, Duval & Elijah Wood particularly shining. Yet it's with the adult actors that The Faculty really gains its tongue in cheek momentum. Robert Patrick, Famke Jansen, Salma Hayek, Piper Laurie, Bebe Neuwirth and even Jon Stewart all file in for a bit of alien parasitical fun. Come the end of the mania, with the staple alien queen reveal and showdown, there's the overriding feeling that the film could have been so much more. Certainly it's guilty of being a touch too derivative, where a little focus has been lost in the self referential and knowing in-jokery genre winks. But ultimately it's a groovy ride is this one, not in the least bit serious, but one to clip open a tin of beer with and embrace it for what it certainly is. Entertaining sci-fi alien invasion hokum. 7/10
Wuchak2020-12-06
★ 5/10
Wannabe edgy high school horror satire with a notable cast Several students at a high school in Ohio suspect that the faculty has been taken over by some… thing(s). "The Faculty" (1998) was directed by Robert Rodriguez, who knows how to make slick, ‘cool’ horror flicks, as witnessed in “From Dusk Till Dawn” (1996) and “Planet Terror” (2007). “The Faculty” is cut from the same cloth except it goes too far over-the-top in its wannabe edgy depiction of high school life in Middle America, to the point that it can only be viewed as a satire or black comedy. This turned me off the first time I watched it but, if you roll with it, you can enjoy the movie to some degree. The story doesn’t become compelling until the second half when a group of students team-up to tackle the unbelievable situation. It’s basically “The Hidden” (1987) set in a high school environment. Laura Harris is the top female, although the overrated Jordana Brewster is also on hand, as well as Clea DuVall. Bebe Neuwirth looks great as the principal while Salma Hayek plays a nurse, but not enough is done with her (don’t expect the dance sequence of “From Dusk Till Dawn”). Meanwhile Famke Janssen appears as an intimidated teacher that has an entertaining metamorphosis. On the other side of the gender spectrum, Shawn Hatosy is notable as the main protagonist; Josh Hartnett too as a chemical-obsessed older student. Robert Patrick from “Terminator 2” plays the vein-popping coach while Jon Stewart has a small role. The film runs 1 hour, 44 minutes, and was shot in East Texas as follows: Austin (Herrington High School), Lockhart (high school parking lot, football field & town exteriors) and San Marcos. GRADE: C+