The Queen Attacks in THE FACULTY (1998)

As a high school student in the late 90s and early 2000s who was only peripherally aware of horror, even I knew the name Kevin Williamson. Not only had he helped to usher in a whole new wave of fun teen slashers by way of Scream (1996), he breathed life into the genre as a whole, providing studios with the confidence to infuse teenagers into all kinds of scary scenarios.

While actors or IPs or the occasional director more often than not drew me to the theater, this was the first time in my young moviegoing life where I can remember being aware of a screenwriter. Interested in what they might do next. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a Dawson’s Creek (1998-2003) fan.

My horror experience only spanned months at that point, my education limited to the slew of high school based scary movies that were coming out every few months. While their references were mostly lost on me, I at least understood that they were references. It was an interesting sensation and one that certainly planted the seeds of interest that would go on to grow into a deeper love for horror.

And just when I thought I had it figured out, knew the ins and outs of the slasher-style horror flicks that were being thrown at me, The Faculty (1998) landed.

On the surface, it looked to be more of the same. It featured a pretty teen cast and a snarky Williamson script, but instead of a masked killer it revolved around… aliens? For someone wholly unfamiliar with Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) or, at that point, even The Thing (1982), I viewed an alien plot line as something grandiose and more associated with action than horror (i.e. my primary point of reference, Independence Day (1996)).

Even without a working knowledge of what the film was referencing or the genre history it was attempting to channel, I had a blast with The Faculty. More than that, I began to realize horror could be a great deal more than someone in a costume stalking teenagers— not that there’s anything wrong with that. It was a movie that offered the same sort of suspense and intrigue inherent in the teen-slasher cycle’s whodunnit nature, but added in goopy, gory monsters from outer space Hellbent on making teachers more of an enemy than they already were to begin with.

It became a staple for me, a VHS I’d put on from time to time at sleepovers or just because. As the years wore on and my genre comfort level started to grow, the movie began to open up to me even more. The self-aware Body-Snatchers-esque plot played with the wink and the nod with which it was intended and all of The Thing references made me grin even wider, even if they were mostly brought to life with of-its-time CGI.

Still, despite the overabundance of computer-generated effects, director Robert Rodriguez clearly attempted to infuse practical effects anywhere that he could. The film was effects heavy in a time where effects were rarely practical anymore, employing a key physicality that more often than not brings terrifying life to what might have otherwise been an unfeeling digital artifact.

While the film stands as an amalgam of its influences, charms, and late 90s teen horror constructs, it’s the massive practical accomplishments in the film’s final moments that represent why this film still works so well for me all of these years later. It’s when Casey is facing off against the alien queen, being chased through the slowly closing rafters in the large gymnasium that the full scale of the threat becomes clear. A hybrid of CGI and practical effects, the alien queen is a remarkable creation that helps the film stick the landing and rise above being just another teen horror flick.

From Kevin Williamson’s wonderfully witty and brilliantly cognizant script to Robert Rodriguez’s electric screen direction, the scene shows the importance of practicality, regardless of whether its intended audience has an intimate well of genre knowledge or is just popping by for a fun time.

THE SCENE

Casey hurries over to the bleachers and turns, watching as the large creature slithers into the gymnasium. He flips the switch to close the bleachers and heads underneath them, navigating the complex network of metal as he makes his way to the other side. The Alien Queen follows, pursuing him as the bleachers slam shut. Casey dives out from beneath the bleachers just as the creature catches up. But, before the thing has a chance to strike, the bleachers slam shut, pinning the alien to the wall. Casey seizes the opportunity to jam his last poison pen into the Queen’s open eye. The alien screeches, spewing parasites on Casey and thick white liquid from its eye. Casey screams as the small slug-like creatures burrow furiously into his skin before halting and falling limp to the ground in tandem with the alien queen.

THE SCRIPT

Excerpt taken from the script ‘The Faculty’ written by Kevin Williamson based on an original draft written by David Wechter and Bruce Kimmel.

THE SCREEN

Pacey eyes the bleachers. He goes for them, diving under them… hitting the electric lever on the wall as he goes.

KABOOM!

The script is written with an economy that keeps the action moving, allowing for intensity that is not muddied by distraction. The screen honors these words, however builds in an elongated chase in an effort to deliver more opportunities to showcase the film’s ultimate antagonist.

Most of the additions are small, but they add up. Casey, referred to as Pacey in the script, watching the giant alien creature slither into the gymnasium before diving under the bleachers, for instance. The creature is ever-present, visible in all of its terrible glory. The monster here is realized digitally, as it is in most every wide shot it appears in, its many-tentacled limbs slithering in all directions as if constantly probing for its next victim.

When Casey dives under the bleachers, the camera follows him in a medium shot. Small slivers of light cast through the open bleachers line his body as he moves clumsily through the maze of crisscrossing metal beams: Pacey runs through the maze of metal that comprises the underlining of the bleachers.

While the script spends only a handful of sentences under the bleachers, the film revels in this particular chase. Taking the opportunity to leverage the tight space to allow for even tighter close-ups of the monster and the boy she is chasing. And, in turn, from fully rendered CGI to practical effects.

He looks behind him to see…

THE CREATURE

right behind him, trafficking the folding bleachers as well.

When the image cuts back to the Alien Queen, her slick, leathery skin reflects the thin beams of light back to the camera. Her gaping mouth houses small but razor-sharp teeth and she moves at a glide, despite having to maneuver the tight, generally awkward space. The thing releases a terrible cry which segues back into a shot of Casey running, amplifying the visceral horror represented onscreen.

The scene continues like this for a minute or so more, intercutting Casey with the practical creature as it bites down on metal and screeches at its target. Shots of the closing bleachers and turning gears pepper the sequence until finally, Casey escapes.

He turns to see the Thing just as the last bleacher snaps closed, SMASHING THE CREATURE FLAT.

In the film, Casey stands in the foreground as the creature’s immense practical head protrudes from the closing bleachers in the background. It bites at him repeatedly just as the image cuts back to the sight of closing bleachers and turning gears one final time. Again, the image holds on a medium close up of the creature as it cries out in terrible pain.

While the script wastes no time, the film holds on Casey and the creature for a beat. The shot tracks in on Casey as he holds the wall behind him, face to face with the massive alien. Then, as scripted, Casey shoves his Bic pen into the creature’s emerald eye with warrior force. What is not scripted, however, is Casey’s one-liner, “Guaranteed to jack you up.”

The Creature goes mad, its head convulsing and shaking. An unfathomed SCREAM erupting from IT’S mouth.

With the creature’s fate sealed, the script brings the scene to a close with little fanfare. The film transforms the death scene into a major practical production. First, the creature spews white liquid all over Casey, drenching him in alien bile. The body fluid is swarming with parasites as well, which instantaneously attach themselves to Casey’s face and begin to borough into his skin. In the script, Casey had already been attacked by the slug-like creatures which are noted as dying off once the queen meets her demise, but this addendum adds a bit of ferocity to the conclusion that makes the climax land a bit harder than it otherwise might have.

The image continues to cut between Casey’s pained screams and the creature’s awful screeching as copious amounts of thick white liquid pour from the thing’s wounded eye. Finally it calms slightly and begins to go limp at which point the leeches attached to Casey’s face fall away too.

A long moment as the Creature finally comes to a still…dead.

In the script, Casey stares a long hard moment until he’s completely satisfied the Creature is dead before racing off to the locker room. In the film, Casey slides down the wall and sits slumped across from the giant monster he has slain. Its enormous head hangs beside its many tentacles, unmoving and looking like something of a wilted alien flower made of wet leather.

The ending here feels quieter and more introspective than in the script. Rather than running off, he sits and finally mutters the unscripted line, “you wouldn’t have liked it here anyway.” Be you football captain, photography nerd, or even an Alien Queen, no amount of conformity can compensate for high school’s unyielding unpleasantries.

THE BLOODY CONCLUSION

Kevin Williamson’s voice was a prolific, driving force in horror during the latter part of the 90s, so much so that he even managed to reach horror novices like myself at a time where I wasn’t even glancing in the genre’s direction. He offered an invaluable education in slasher cinema, not only providing the perfect gateway film but infusing it with countless recommendations for viewers to seek out and discover. How fitting it is then that he went on to do something similar with alien invasion films with The Faculty.

But putting the script aside, it was the manner in which Robert Rodriguez and the KNB EFX team brought the words to life that carried the film into classic status. By marrying the digitally created alien queen with practical, animatronic, and hand-operated components, the climax took on a more visceral, memorable life and sits firmly in my memory as an impressive feat of horror filmmaking.

More impressive still, the elaborate visualization didn’t rob the script of its succinctness. After all, the words may not have called for the spewing of some otherwise undefined white liquid to pour from the queen’s open wound, but its presence unquestionably amplifies the sequence’s intensity rather than diminishing it.

My horror education came in spurts, as my mind was willing to allow it in. It would be many years beyond seeing The Faculty that I would actually start to acknowledge and foster my love for the genre. Still, it was movies like this one that embedded themselves in my psyche, seeding in my mind’s eye so that, when the time was right, I would be prepared to give myself to the genre.

But, if anyone was going to induct me into the hive mind, I’m glad it was Kevin Williamson.