Day 270: The Faculty

The Faculty

School's out for summer

Public high school is a pretty scary experience. You're stuck in a place for hours, forced to take classes you have no interest in with people you hate, and on top of that, the food is terrible. Sure, public school builds character and prepares you for the real world far better than a private school, but it's still one of the circles of Hell. With cold, sterile lifeless buildings, it's no surprise that so many horror movies involve high school students.

The Faculty is a 1998 science fiction horror movie directed by Robert Rodriguez (Machete, From Dusk Till Dawn) and starring Elijah Wood (Lord Of The Rings, Sin city) as as high school student Casey Connor. At Herrington High School in Ohio, the faculty begins to act strangely, starting with football coach Joe Willis (Robert Patrick, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, The Marine). A slug-like alien dependent on water, takes over the coach, turning him into an aggressive, emotionless drone. The coach then begins to turn other members of the faculty into alien drones. Casey finds one of the aliens on the football field and brings it to his science teacher, Mr. Furlong (Jon Stewart, The Daily Show, Half Baked). When water accidentally spills on the alien, it revives and is able to self-replicate. Along with Casey, only a few students notice the weird changes that are going on: the popular Delilah (Jordana Brewster, The Fast & The Furious, Chuck), goth outsider Stokely (Clea DuVall, Carnivale, The Grudge), former quarterback Stan (Shawn Hatosy, John Q, Dexter), drug-dealing loner Zeke (Josh Hartnett, 30 Days Of Night, Pearl Harbor), and new girl Marybeth (Laura Harris, Dead Like Me, 24). Casey and Delilah sneak into the teacher's lounge to see if they can find any clues. They hide in a closet and watch as Nurse Harper (Salma Hayek, From Dusk Till Dawn, Desperado) is attacked by the coach and transformed by the alien. At the same time, Casey and Delilah discover the dead body of one of their older teachers in the closet. They flee and when Casey returns with his parents and police in tow, all the evidence is gone. With the police now under alien control and the teachers now infecting students, the group gathers in the science room to get the alien Casey found only to discover it's gone. An infected Mr. Furlong attacks the group and is only stopped when Zeke stabs him in the eye with his homemade drug, a diuretic called Scat. The group flees to Zeke's house where he studies on of the aliens and determines that they constantly need water to live. Stokely hypothesises that killing the queen alien will turn everyone back to normal. Unsure if anyone in the group is an alien, Zeke has everyone snort the drug, revealing that Delilah is, in fact, infected. The rest of the group head back towards the school to find and kill the queen alien whom they believe is their principal. To their surprise, killing their principal does not cure everyone. Who is the alien queen and how will the group be able to stop her?

Who wants spaghetti for dinner?

I admittedly have a soft spot for The Faculty in my heart because I watched it a lot growing up. It's your quintessential teen horror movie, complete with a ragtag motley crew of characters that many teens can identify with. A lot of movies, not just horror, involving high school students tend to come off as disingenuous. That's not a problem in The Faculty with it's smart script and good direction. Writer Kevin Williamson (Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer) does a good job of crafting enjoyable, though cliché, characters with believable dialogue. It also helps that the actors portraying high schoolers actually look like they are still in school. I mean, Elijah Wood still looks like he could be in high school over ten years later. What makes the movie work so well is the fast pace and good acting. The cast is downright massive with talented actors who later went on to bigger careers. The movie has a good amount of suspense that blends well with the action later in the movie. The special effects are decent for the time and the alien queen looks very good in her true form. The soundtrack is late 90's awesomeness, with songs by Stabbing Westward, Garbage, The Offspring and Class of '99, which consisted of Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine and the late Layne Staley from Alice In Chains and Mad Season.

Some may notice the movies striking resemblance to Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, even going so far as to call The Faculty a direct ripoff. In the movie, they actually acknowledge how their scenario is similar to Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, so I think it's unfair to label the movie as a ripoff. They're openly acknowledging that the movie exists, so if anything, The Faculty should be viewed as either a re-imagining or a tribute since the movies are similar, but not entirely the same. A theme of the movie is that everyone in the group wants to change who they are. It's certainly a true sentiment for a lot of high school students which helps add an air of authenticity to the characters. My only issue with this is at the end when some in the group completely change who they used to be. Stokely, for example, was a goth loner who now wears bright girly clothes and changed her hair. The drug-dealing slacker Zeke is now on the football team. It's a good message to change for the better, but I didn't like the total 180 turns they did, implying that completely changing yourself will mean your happy. 

"I'm not Tobey Maguire!"

The Faculty is a fun sci-fi horror movie that can be enjoyed by teens and adults alike. There is plenty of suspense and action to keep things interesting and entertaining. The ragtag group of students is a bit cliché, but it allows people to identify with a certain character or characters. The cast is very impressive in terms of star power and acting ability. Robert Rodriguez does a good job of capturing the thrills and horror of the movie while writer Kevin Williamson crafts likable, if flawed, characters and dialogue. While it's not entirely original, The Faculty is still highly entertaining to this day.

8.5/10

Day 252: Alien

Alien

Scrambled or sunny-side up?

If horror movies have taught us anything (and believe me, they have) it's that aliens are evil creatures bent on world domination and/or human-eating. Sure, some movies want to portray the aliens as benevolent creatures, such as “A.I.” or “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind” but the majority of alien-based movies go straight for horror. A mixture of the unknown and the potential for easy scares is just too hard to pass up. While there have been scary alien-based movies for decades, there is one movie that stands above the rest, not just in terms of scares, but in terms of actual importance.

Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror movie written by Dan O'Bannon (Heavy Metal, Total Recall) and directed by Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Gladiator). The movie stars Sigourney Weaver (Ghostbusters, Galaxy Quest) as Officer Ripley. Ripley works on commercial towing spaceship Nostromo which is towing a refinery filled with ore back to Earth. The seven member crew receives a transmission of unknown origin from a nearby planet. Ordered by their employer, the Nostromo detaches from the refinery and lands on the planet. The landing is rough, damaging the ship and forcing part of the crew to make necessary repairs. Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt, Top Gun, Contact), the navigator Lambert (Veronica Cartwright, The Birds, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers), and Officer Kane (John Hurt, Midnight Express, 1984) explore that planet in hopes of finding the signal's source. They discover the signal is coming from an ancient alien spacecraft. Inside, they find the fossilized remains of a giant alien which appears to have had something break it's ribs from the inside. The Nostromo's computer deciphers part of the signal, revealing it to be some sort of warning. Kane discovers a chamber filled with alien eggs. One egg opens, releases a creature that attaches itself to Kane's face. Ignoring quarantine procedures, science officer Ash (Ian Holm, Lord Of The Rings, The Aviator) brings Kane into his lab to try and remove the alien from his face. Their attempt is unsuccessful when they cut the creature, revealing it's blood to be a highly corrosive acid that eats through multiple levels of the ship. Eventually the creature detaches on it's on, dying in the process. Kane appears to be well, but during a dinner, he experiences sever chest pains and convulsions. A small alien bursts from his chest and escapes into the spaceship. The crew tries to track the alien down, only to discover that it has grown into a giant, vicious monster. One by one the crew is killed by the alien. Ripley discovers that Ash has been ordered to return the alien to their employer, regardless of the crew's safety. Ash attacks Ripley, but she is saved by Lambert and Parker (Yaphet Kotto, The Running Man, Live And Let Die) the ship's engineer. It is revealed that Ash is actually an android put on the ship to retrieve the alien. How will Ripley defeat the alien and reach Earth safely?

Arby's strikes again

Thanks to the numerous sequels, comic books, action figures, and video games, we all know what the full-grown alien looks like. Of course, the original movie hides the alien for a majority of the movie, giving us only a few glimpses throughout the almost 2-hour long movie. We see the head, teeth, giant arms and legs, but rarely do we ever see the entire creature. Much like Steven Spielberg's “Jaws”, Alien gives the audience just enough of a look to scare us, but allows our imagination to carry the fear even further. The spaceship is a good setting for the movie as it creates a sense of both claustrophobia and helplessness. The knowledge that no one can help you is just as terrifying as the alien itself. A lot of the movie's horror comes from that anticipation. I mean, the movie is called “Alien” so you know that you're going to get something, you're just not sure what. The cat-and-mouse game with the alien heightens the suspense and leads to some chilling thrills. In all of it's forms, the alien looks great. It is monstrous with it's giant, phallic-like head, drooling mouth, sharp teeth, and unnaturally long arms and legs. The sets look good as well with a nice juxtaposition between the white, sterile interior ship and the dark, grimy underbelly of the vents and basements. By today's standards, the shots of the spaceship clearly look like models and reminded me of Star Wars, but they served their purpose well enough.

Gimme some sugar, baby

The decision to make a female the lead character and hero was an important one as it was uncommon at the time. Though Sigourney Weaver was not a well-known movie actress at the time, she is strong and forceful throughout the entire movie. Even when she is shown in her underwear to convey vulnerability, she is still in control. Ian Holm is quite enjoyable as the cold, calculating Ash. The reveal that Ash was an android was quite unexpected, almost a little too much for my liking. It makes sense in terms of the story, I just would have liked a little more foreshadowing. The rest of the cast is just as good, playing their parts very well. It should be noted that the cast skews a bit older than your typical horror/thriller, especially at the time. This adds an air of credibility to the characters and their actions. They're not just stupid teenagers going into the abandoned house, they're highly-trained professionals in a dangerous situation they have no control over. The violence and action is pretty consistent in the movie, though some patience is required in the beginning.

Does this make my hair look big?

Alien is a fun and scary thrill ride that has influenced countless horror and sci-fi movies. The pacing and suspense really make the movie what it is, helped along by good special effects. Even a simple strobe light, when placed on the alien, creates a far more terrifying experience than one would expect. Sigourney Weaver is great as Ripley and Ian Holm is just as good as Ash. While later movies focused on the aliens themselves, the original teased the audience with the creature, giving us just enough to let our imaginations run wild. Ridley Scott combines both horror and sci-fi genres well and is able to capture both the action and fear that make the movie entertaining. If you've never seen any of the Alien franchise, start with the original and you won't be disappointed.

8.5/10

Day 100: The Thing

The Thing

You got a little something on your...oh that is your face

100 days! They said it couldn't be done. We showed them. We showed them all! MUHAHAHAHA. It certainly wasn't easy to get to this point, but I'm glad I've made it this far and even happier that you are reading. Thanks to the great people that talk to me through Twitter (@365DaysofHorror) and to all the international visitors I receive. I decided to treat myself for this anniversary by watching one of my favorite horror movies: John Carpetner's The Thing.

The Thing is a 1982 science fiction horror movie based on the John W. Campbell novel, Who Goes There? Set in the Antarctic, the movie stars Kurt Russell (Escape From New York, Death Proof) as helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady. A Norwegian helicopter chases after a dog through the tundra until it accidentally explodes outside the American research facility. MacReady and Dr. Cooper (Richard Dysart) fly out to the Norwegian facility for answers, but only find more questions as they discover a charred, mangled humanoid corpse. They bring it back to base where Dr. Blair (Wilford Brimley, Coccoon, The Natural) conducts an autopsy, concluding that it had a normal set of internal organs. The dog that was chased by the helicopter is put in a kennel with the other dogs. The dog transforms into a hideous creature, killing the other dogs. The emergency lever is hit and Childs (Keith David, Pitch Black, Gargoyles) kills it with a flamethrower. Blair conducts an autopsy on the creature and discovers that it is capable of imitating other beings and suspects that anyone could be replaced. The group investigates the Norwegian station again and discover a massive crater and a massive hole in the ice, where they believe the creature had emerged from. Meanwhile, the creature's remains become active again and attacks one of the crew members, Bennings. The creature begins to take his form, but it burned by the crew before he could completely assimilate. Blair, who has lost his mind at the thought of this creature being able to completely take over the world, has destroyed the radio and killed the sled dogs. The crew locks him in a shed to keep him from hurting himself and others. The crew begins to turn on each other. Any one of them could be the alien creature. Will MacReady be able to stop the creature or is he already a monster?

You should really moisturize

The Thing does absolutely everything correct for a horror movie. The source material is very good to being with and John Carpenter is able to capture the desolate hopelessness of the frozen tundra. The reason why the movie is so effective is because it is legitimately scary. You are scared of the unknown, alien creature and you are scared that it could look like anything. Like a good mystery novel, every person is a suspect. You even begin to wonder if MacReady is the alien. Throw in some downright terrifying effects and makeup with a good amount of violence and you're ready to jump out of your skin. Seriously, the prosthetics and animatronics used in the movie are impressively scary. The music throughout the movie sets a tense and frightening tone that never lets up. Despite being made in 1982, The Thing is still scaring people to this day, something not so easy in the over-saturated world of horror.

The acting is another large part of why the movie works. Kurt Russell, Keith David, and Wilford Brimley are all brilliant in their roles. It is become they are so convincing that we are able to fully immerse ourselves into the story. Russell and David are their usual badass selves while Brimley goes out of his comfort zone to play a doctor who's gone insane with fear. The action is solid throughout and although the movie runs a little long, about 110 minutes, you never feel bored. 

Welcome to Man Town. Population: Beard

I know a lot of people love The Thing, so if I've missed something, don't tell me. I don't want to know. I just know that this is a fantastic horror movie with great directing, acting, and action. I have yet to see the prequel (I've heard mixed things), but I may have to check it out one day. Here's to another 100 movie reviews. Cheers!

10/10

Day 93: Pitch Black

Pitch Black

A much better title than "Planet Face"

You know, I don't think I've done any movie reviews involving aliens. That's kind of weird. Aliens are the ultimate unknown when it comes to horror. Some believe that there are definitely alien races out there while others are convinced that we are the only life in the entire universe. The truth is that we don't know at that is why aliens are so effective in horror. We are already fearful of them before we've even seen what they look like or know what they want. What better way to to explore the alien unknown than with big, bad Vin Deisel?

Pitch Black is a futuristic sci-fi/thriller/horror movie starring Vin Deisel (Iron Giant, Fast and the Furious) as the dangerous criminal, Riddick. Riddick is being transported to a prison via cargo spaceship when debris from a comet damages the ship, causing it to crash land on an alien planet. Surviving the crash are pilot Carolyn Fry (Radha Mitchell, Phone Booth, Silent Hill), Imam (Simon Burke, The Thing, Barbershop), the mercenary transporting Riddick, William Johns (Cole Hauser, School Ties, Good Will Hunting), young Jack, and a few others. The planet they have landed on is a barren desert with three suns keeping the world in perpetual daylight. They find the bones of giant creatures and the remnants of research facilities, but no living beings. Riddick manages to escape and when one of the crew goes missing down a hole and is presumed dead, Johns captures Riddick and blames him. Fry investigates the hole and discovers winged alien creatures living in the darkness. The group travels to the research facilities to get water and supplies to help power their ship when they discover that an eclipse is about to occur and the aliens will come out of their caves. Darkness falls and the aliens come out, killing off the crew in brutal fashion. Riddick has a special feature that allows him to fight the aliens; in prison he received a procedure that allows him to see in the dark. Will Johns hinder the escape, what is Jack's secret, and will Riddick save the day?

Peek-a-boo!

Pitch Black uses a great mixture of science fiction and action to make a fun horror movie. That's right, I said horror movie. Yes it's also a sci-fi movie, but there is still plenty of horror. I know some purists will disagree with me (I look forward to your angry comments that I won't read). Pitch Black has a pretty original and creative story that, despite being science fiction, still feels very real. We are fearful of Riddick, we are fearful of Johns, and we are definitely afraid of the aliens. The aliens look like a mixture between a hammerhead shark and a gargoyle. I usually prefer makeup and prosthetic pieces to computer animation, but this is one instance where CGI works in a movie's favor. The darkness also works in the movie's favor, keeping the audience on guard for anything that may jump out and grab the characters.

The acting is solid all around, with good performances by Radha Mitchell and Vin Deisel. That's right, I said Vin Deisel was good. This was before he was in every movie from 2002-2005, where a lot of people grew to hate him. He plays Riddick very well with a quite danger. Mitchell does very well as the strong captain that is willing to die for her crew. Cole Hauser plays Johns with just the right amount of creepiness. My one real complaint with the movie is that it's just too long. It clocks in at about an hour and forty-eight minutes. That's just too long for a movie that doesn't have a complicated story. 

Always brush and floss after devouring human flesh

Pitch Black is a fun science fiction movie with lots of action and an original story. The aliens look good for CGI and the alien planet set looks convincing. The acting is very good all around and it helps create a true sense of fear and horror. If you leave you preconceived notions at the door, you'll like this movie.

7.5/10