The Faculty (1998)★★★★★

Okay, yeah, I’m so glad I moved things around to watch this tonight after watching Trap last night. Good decision all around. It’s been too long since I’ve seen this movie, and I forgot how much I enjoyed it.

I mean, what’s not to like? Elijah Wood, Clea DuVall, Jordana Brewster, Laura Harris, and of course Josh Hartnett. And did I mention Jon Stewart, Famke Janssen, and Salma Hayek? Oh, and Shawn Hatosy and Piper Laurie and Robert Patrick! …and that’s literally just the cast of this movie, before even getting into the substance of it. So admittedly this is a partially (primarily?) nostalgia-driven rating, but it’s been a while since I’ve given one of those!

And the substance of this is so much fun. It turns out I like Robert Rodriguez’s brand of horror? Or at least his direction and Kevin Williamson’s writing? This is one of those movies that definitely does the tongue-in cheek tone well. There’s some great camerawork and closeups in this one, and both the score and soundtrack are epic and fitting.

Is the story all that original? Not really. Is it all that scary? Also not really. But is it relatable and entertaining and enjoyable? Hell yeah it is. And that scene with the fingers? Truly epic. If you haven’t seen this movie and you were even a little bit of a 1990s kid, I’d recommend this quite a bit.