It's so funny these days how people think ripping off other things is somehow "hip" or "meta." No, it's just ripping off. Even though The Faculty was made in the 90s -- a decade that closely followed the 80s in producing a lot of garbage -- it's particularly bad.
This is one of those movies with a collection of cliches and stock characters -- the jocks, the socials, the nerds, the minorities, etc. -- and even though it is set in the abysmal state of Ohio, not even that awful place is this whitebread.
You've seen this story a bizillion times before, from TV's The Outer Limits to Heinlein's The Puppet Masters to Invasion of the Body Snatchers to episodes of Star Trek. Humans are taken over by parasitical aliens who steer them around like fleshly motorcars, all as part of some invasion that doesn't quite make sense. There's a cast of familiar 90s faces, most of them B movie actors and has-beens, along with a collection of teen types, from the goony and somnambulant Josh Harnett (who should get the Kevin Costner award for bland acting) to shrunken, bug-eyed Elijah Wood to all-jaw, no forehead Clea Duvall to lemonhead, no talent Usher.
What ensues is the usual nonsense where the teens have to battle the invasion while the adults are incapable or unconcerned -- you know, like in The Blob.
No, this is not hip. It's annoying. No, this is not smart. It's smug. No, this is not fun. It's frenetic. It's just a dumb movie, but if that's all you're looking for, you'll probably like it way more than it deserves.
This is one of those movies with a collection of cliches and stock characters -- the jocks, the socials, the nerds, the minorities, etc. -- and even though it is set in the abysmal state of Ohio, not even that awful place is this whitebread.
You've seen this story a bizillion times before, from TV's The Outer Limits to Heinlein's The Puppet Masters to Invasion of the Body Snatchers to episodes of Star Trek. Humans are taken over by parasitical aliens who steer them around like fleshly motorcars, all as part of some invasion that doesn't quite make sense. There's a cast of familiar 90s faces, most of them B movie actors and has-beens, along with a collection of teen types, from the goony and somnambulant Josh Harnett (who should get the Kevin Costner award for bland acting) to shrunken, bug-eyed Elijah Wood to all-jaw, no forehead Clea Duvall to lemonhead, no talent Usher.
What ensues is the usual nonsense where the teens have to battle the invasion while the adults are incapable or unconcerned -- you know, like in The Blob.
No, this is not hip. It's annoying. No, this is not smart. It's smug. No, this is not fun. It's frenetic. It's just a dumb movie, but if that's all you're looking for, you'll probably like it way more than it deserves.