Faculty - King of Rip Offs!!!

[skantchweasel]

Admittedly i was relatively entertained by the film, but i was just skimming thru another post, and remembered my thoughts immediately after seeing this movie

"Hey wasnt that just an unofficial reworking of "Invasion of the BodySnatchers"?"

And Mr Seigel doesnt even get a name-check!!!

So, whats the general concensus of opinion round these parts? Is this to Invasion, what Scream is to ... errr... well scream wasnt actually a blatant rip off of anything... so im kinda at a loss here... Anyway, i for one, am quite upset that one of my fave movies of all time can be so shamelesly ripped off without the slightest of acknowledgemnts (if there is one, please let me know and i shall retract my statement!)

The Jury awaits your verdicts...

[HalloweenShape31]

When I had digital cable, the info for the movie read, " a current take on Invasion of the Body Snatchers." so i guess that counts. But still, I do love this movie! And I'm more for the old school than the new teen crap, but this film's characters r very enjoyable. Arrow, where's ur review of this puppy?

[stevereno]

it was written by KEVIN(the king of rip offs) WILLAMS. all his movies seem "fimiular"

interesting

SHIVER ME TIMBERS

[PeskySocks]

Have you ever seen Twisted Nightmare? Now that is the king of rip-offs!

Wow, I don't exactly know how to word this, but stay with me. I agree, this is a rip-off, but it's meant to be that way. If you were trying to pull a rip-off, would you site your sources? Several times throughout the movie, they mention Puppet Master, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, etc.

[Elgyn]

Don`t forget this movie also rips-off that scene from Carpenter`s "The Thing" where Kurt Russell tests everyone`s blood to see who`s possessed......AND all the characters are exact replicas of the kids in "The Breakfast Club" (athlete, hoodlum, freak, brain, princess).

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And for the record, The Time sucked.

[MotorizedInstinct]

The faculty is better than 99% of the late 90s teen horror/sci-fi movies. Rodreguez <sp?> actually spends the time to develop characters that we can relate to and create a setting that is close to real life. Also it is self referencing, but doesn't go as far as sayin "yeah we are in a movie", which is nice. Overall one of the best teen horrors around. I will admit it definitly lacks in originality,but it is way better than other remakes and rip offs of "body snatchers" which, by the way, is a rip off of "Puppet masters". <got that right from the movie, and they are right>

[This message has been edited by MotorizedInstinct (edited 05-06-2002).]

[DeadByDawn]

I didn't like it. Only thing that kept me watching it was the small amount of gore the movie had.

[spacemonkey]

And dont tell me that when you see that teachers head sprout legs and start walking it didnt remind you of the famous "spider-head" scene from the Thing..

[This message has been edited by spacemonkey (edited 05-06-2002).]

[DeadByDawn]

And yes, also for being bad, it also rips a lot from some great movies like The Thing, just like spacemonkey just said. Why didn't just some of the teens shout out:

"You gotta be fucking kidding me!"

[stevereno]

i disliked all the actors in this movie

it was very much like "it came from outer space 2"

SHIVER ME TIMBERS

[Hans, wihout Franz]

Its not the worst of the body snacher movies, that honor goes to "The Puppet Masters", but not a horror classic that the first two invasion movies were. At least it is entertaining and has its moments.

[MotorizedInstinct]

The original Body Snatchers was cool ,butthe two remakes were pretty bad. Lack of suspense and overall uninspired filmaking. Yea, Puppet Master with Donald Sutherland was terrible. I liked the actors in the Faculty. Jon Stewart as an alien? That Rocked!

[Antonio]

THE FACULTY (1998), directed by Robert Rodriguez ("From Dusk Till Dawn") and written by Kevin Williamson of "Scream" fame is a fast, fun, furious 90's-style sci-fi/horror hybrid of Jack Finney's "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers" and Robert Heinlen's "The Puppet Masters". Set in a Midwestern suburban high school, “The Faculty” boasts a roster of the usual cast of characters typical for this type of outing. Reminiscent of "The Breakfast Club", the sextet of teen misfits-turned-heroes include: heroic geek (former child actor Elijah Wood, who proves here that some things get better with age...in your face Macaulay Culkin!); intelligent punk (Josh Hartnett of "H20"); sensitive jock (Shawn Hatosy); bitchy cheerleader (Jordanna Brewster, whose character is a younger version of Courteney Cox's “Scream” persona Gale Weathers); moody faux lesbian (Clea Duvall); and Southern belle (Laura Harris). These six outcasts come to the horrifying realization that the faculty (and most of the student body) at their high school are being taken over by alien beings. The "Faculty" members are made up of veteran actors who have previously starred as villains in other horror and/or sci-fi vehicles. Among these naughty role models are: Robert Patrick (of "Terminator 2" and "The X Files" fame) as a sinister football coach; Piper Laurie (the mother-from-hell in "Carrie") as a seemingly demure instructor from the "old school"; Bebe Neuwirth (Lilith from "Cheers") as the school's witchy principal; Salma Hayek ("From Dusk Till Dawn") as a sickly nurse; Famke Janssen ("Goldeneye") as a shy English teacher-turned vamp; and former talk-show host Jon Stewart as a geeky Biology professor. Singer Usher Raymond appears in a beefy cameo, as do Christopher McDonald (TV's "Family Law"), Danny Masterson ("That 70's Show"), Wiley Wiggins ("Dazed and Confused") and Duane Martin ("Scream 2"). In my book, Kevin Williamson made a mini-comeback as a screenwriter with this effort, proving that the first two “Scream” films were no flukes. I almost forgive him for "I Know What You Did Last Summer". The rapid-fire pacing (as filmed by the brilliant Rodriguez) and scathing dialogue are well-matched by the excellent, all-star cast (especially the heroes...Hartnett and Wood light up the screen). The film also boasts an excellent pre-credits stalking sequence (reminiscent of “Scream”) involving Patrick, Laurie and Neuwirth in the school's creepy deserted corridors. The soundtrack rules as well! The film's only flaws are the "Alien Queen" cliche ("if you kill her, then everyone turns back to normal!"), and the "happily ever after" ending (take a cue from "Body Snatchers" if you want realism). But overall, this movie contains enough suspense, action, comedy and drama to satisfy fans of all genres. "The Faculty" was released on Christmas Day 1998, and sort of fell through the cracks in theaters (since most studios are pushing their Oscar contenders at this time). If you missed it the first time out, this little flick is definitely worth the price of a video rental, especially for sci-fi and horror fans. My grade: B+