Film

The Faculty

Name: The Faculty
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction
Released: 1998
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood, Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Shawn Hatosy

A 1998 sci-fi horror film where high school misfits discover their teachers are being replaced by parasitic aliens. It's *Invasion of the Body Snatchers* filtered through late-nineties cool, with a sharp ensemble cast and real stakes beneath the genre fun. Made for anyone who loves horror that doesn't take itself too seriously but doesn't wink itself to death either.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy a teen-movie cast turned loose in a sci-fi paranoia story, where the fun comes from who might be hiding a secret and a gleefully pulpy, knowing tone.

Skip it if you want the creature-feature scares to be the point, since the film leans on wisecracks, high-school cliques and a jokey tone more than on dread or genuine menace.

What it asks of you: Settle in for just under two hours of brisk, plot-driven escalation, with little slow-burn stillness and a lighter touch than the premise might suggest.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Craft1996

Shares the same DNA: young ensemble, high school setting, supernatural threat, and that specific mid-90s tone where teenage characters feel like actual people rather than exposition machines.

But The pacing drags in places, and some of the special effects feel dated even by 90s standards. If you're not invested in character drama, you'll notice when plot takes a backseat.

Scream1996

Another Williamson-adjacent horror film that balances genuine scares with meta-humour and a gifted young cast. It knows the rules of horror and plays with them intelligently, just like *The Faculty*.

But The self-awareness can feel smug to modern viewers, and the opening scene overshadows the rest. Some plot beats haven't aged as gracefully as others.

The Thing1982

The paranoia engine that inspired *The Faculty*: an unstoppable shapeshifter infiltrating a small group, nobody knowing who to trust, perfect creature design. Carpenter's original is essential sci-fi horror.

But It's bleak and relentless in ways the 1998 film isn't. If you want fun with your thrills, this trades fun for dread.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Faculty

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Night of the Comet1984

Both are ensemble-driven creature features that trust their young casts with actual humour and character work rather than treating them as monster-fodder. They share a tonal DNA: genre thrills for people who actually like the people in them.

A post-apocalyptic teen ensemble film that predates *The Faculty* by 14 years and shares its DNA: young, quippy characters, genre threats played with real stakes, and an affection for its cast that elevates schlock into genuine fun. It's the ancestor.

But It looks unambiguously 1984—thick with practical effects and 80s aesthetic choices. The budget is tight and it shows. If you need modern production values, you'll notice.

Tremors1990

Ensemble adventure where ordinary people face an absurd threat with charm and ingenuity. It has the same light touch with high-concept horror and actually likes its characters enough to let them be funny.

But It's played much straighter and less cool than *The Faculty*. The creature effects, while great, are practical 1990 effects, not sleek CGI.

The Puppet Masters1994

A more serious take on the parasitic-alien-infiltration premise, with genuine tension and paranoia. If you want the body-snatcher concept explored with less irony, this delivers.

But It's significantly more ponderous and lacks the ensemble charm. The campiness you might have enjoyed in *The Faculty* is entirely absent.

Starship Troopers1997

Verhoeven's satirical sci-fi action that wears its genre thrills on its sleeve. Heavy on spectacle, ensemble cast doing their best, and a willingness to be fun within the carnage.

But It's much longer and more militaristic. The tone is darker despite the satire, and it's far less character-focused than *The Faculty*.

Eight Legged Freaks2002

Giant mutant spiders terrorise a small town. It's B-movie fun elevated by competence and charm, with a cast that commits fully to the absurdity. Peak late-90s/early-2000s creature horror.

But The plot is thinner than *The Faculty*, and if you don't enjoy practical creature effects and generous CGI, you won't be moved.

Body Snatchers1993

The most recent pre-*Faculty* take on Finney's premise, set on a military base. Claustrophobic, paranoid, and genuinely unsettling in ways the original isn't.

But It's grim and relentless. There's almost no levity, and the ending is cruel. It's worth watching but not easy.

Lifeforce1985

Hooper's alien-invasion film is gloriously unhinged: a space vampire, practical effects, operatic in scope, and utterly sincere about its bonkers premise. Pure 80s sci-fi schlock.

But It's incoherent in the best and worst ways. If you need plot clarity, this will frustrate you. Some sequences haven't aged well by modern standards.

Invasion2005

Both use alien-infiltration premises, but where *The Faculty* asks 'who can we trust?', *Invasion* asks 'what does it mean to be yourself?' Same monster, opposite register—proof the concept is endlessly malleable.

Nicole Kidman in a paranoid, intimate take on pod-people infiltration. It's a serious, nearly experimental film that uses the body-snatcher concept to explore grief and loss rather than just terror. Gripping in a way that sneaks up on you.

But It's glacially slow and emotionally heavy. There's no action, very little spectacle, and the payoff is bleak. If you watched *The Faculty* for the thrills, this will feel like a different genre.

Videodrome1983

Both explore themes of bodily autonomy and the loss of self, but where *The Faculty* treats it as a thriller, *Videodrome* treats it as pure nightmare logic. Different decades, opposite approaches to the same fear.

Cronenberg's hallucinatory body-horror nightmare about reality fracturing, conspiracy, and bodily violation. It's disorienting and visceral in ways mainstream sci-fi rarely attempts. If you love genre filmmaking that swings for the fences, this is it.

But It's genuinely difficult to watch—graphic, disturbing, and deliberately confusing. The narrative is intentionally opaque. If *The Faculty* was fun, this is the opposite of fun: it's an ordeal.