The Faculty (1998)

(In theaters, December 1998) As a fan of Desperado, and as a wisecracking MST3Ker, I had high hopes -but low expectations- for The Faculty. Written by “look how postmodernist I am!” Kevin (Scream) Williamson (who, I’ll maintain, is a hugely overrated screenwriter) and directed by Robert (From Dusk Till Dawn) Rodriguez, The Faculty should have been something quite special. Unfortunately, its eagerness to spoof “alien invasion” movies clashes with its intent to scare and its rather poor script. There are logical plotholes everywhere and even though we’re not supposed to notice them, they really do grate after a while: some of the “twists” are really conjured out of nowhere, without an inkling of how they should be possible. Still, don’t get the impression that I didn’t enjoy myself: The movie plays well once underway (much like the other teen-supernatural drama The Craft, the first 30 minutes are insufferably tedious but the movie picks up once the basics are established) and there are a few nice scenes here and there. (Shoot me; I liked the football sequence!) The result is an unexplainably ordinary film, perfect on video for a slow Friday night.