In
the early 90's, director Robert Rodriguez made a name for himself by creating
an entire movie (El Mariachi) for a mere seven thousand dollars. The film was
a huge hit on the festival circuits and went on to gross over twenty times it's
budget cost. Since then, Rodriguez has done (Desperado) and the crime-vampire
flick (From Dusk Till Dawn) with fellow independent film maker and a big fan Quentin
Tarantino. Now he's collaborated with screenwriter Kevin Williamson who made a
big splash with the Scream series. The result is The Faculty, an uninspired sci-fi,
teen-angst picture that offers very few bright moments.
The
Faculty is a group of teachers who have been taken over by some unknown power.
It's up to a group of students, all from different social cliques, to pull together
and put a stop to the evil school staff.
The
film is full of fun cameo appearances by Robert Patrick (Terminator 2), Bebe Neuwirth
(Cheers), Jon Stewart (The Daily Show) and Usher. What it's really lacking is
thrills. In fact, the film is directed in a surprisingly clumsy style--with none
of the exciting camera work or editing style of Rodriguez' other films. This a
blatant rip-off of much better films such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Invaders
From Mars, The Thing and The Breakfast Club. Rodriguez and Williamson are both
filmmakers who have proven their great potential. Let's hope they pick better
projects next time.
