Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

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Screenwise Verdict

The Faculty is a competent late-90s horror mashup that hasn't aged well. The premise—alien parasites taking over a high school—had potential, but the execution is too violent for younger teens and too dated for modern audiences to take seriously.

The biggest issue is the graphic violence (eye trauma, decapitation, body horror) combined with the bizarre choice to make drug use the central plot mechanism. Characters literally snort powder to prove they're human, which sends some truly weird messages wrapped in a supposedly teen-friendly package.

Even if you can get past the content concerns, the 1998-ness of it all is overwhelming. The fashion, the dialogue, the Usher soundtrack—it's a time capsule that modern teens will find more laughable than scary. The 58% Rotten Tomatoes score tells you everything: it's fine, but not essential.

If you want alien invasion paranoia, watch the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers. If you want smart teen horror, Scream holds up better. This one's a skip unless you're feeling specifically nostalgic for frosted tips and cargo pants.

Age Fit

This is strictly for older teens (16+) and adults who enjoy horror. The graphic violence, drug use as plot device, and mature themes make it inappropriate for middle schoolers despite the high school setting. Honestly, even most 16-year-olds today will find it too dated and cheesy to finish.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

35

Late-90s teen horror with parasitic alien possession, drug use as a plot device (characters snort what they think is drugs to prove they're human), teachers and authority figures as threats, violence against adults including murder scenes. The tone is cynical and dark, with minimal positive role modeling—survival is the only goal.

Imaginative

62

Solid sci-fi premise mixing Invasion of the Body Snatchers with high school dynamics. The alien parasite concept and the mystery element (figuring out who's infected) create genuine intrigue. However, it's derivative rather than groundbreaking—Kevin Williamson's script follows familiar teen horror beats from his Scream playbook, just with aliens instead of slashers.

Safe

28

Multiple graphic scenes: nurse murdered with scissors to the eye, decapitation, body horror with alien creatures, gore throughout. Drug use is central to the plot (snorting powder to test humanity). Sexual content and language. Jump scares and sustained tension. Common Sense Media rates it 16+ for good reason—this has content that would genuinely disturb younger viewers and isn't suitable for family viewing with kids present.

Enriching

42

Touches on themes of conformity, paranoia, and teenage alienation (literal and metaphorical). The outcast protagonists—the nerd, the goth, the jock, the new girl—team up across social boundaries. But the execution is more interested in thrills than depth. It's competent genre entertainment that doesn't offer much beyond scares and some 90s nostalgia. The drug-test plot device sends weird messages.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Decent sci-fi premise: figuring out who's been taken over by parasitic aliens creates genuine paranoia and mystery
Ensemble cast of teen archetypes (nerd, goth, jock, new girl) forced to work together across social boundaries
Some effective creature effects and body horror for fans of practical FX
Peak late-90s time capsule if you're into that aesthetic—Usher on the soundtrack, frosted tips, cargo pants

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What to Watch For

Graphic violence including scissors to the eye, decapitation, and alien creature gore throughout
Characters snort powder (a drug designed to kill the aliens) to prove they're human—weird messaging around substance use
Sexual content and strong language peppered throughout
Extremely dated—the fashion, dialogue, and references are so 1998 that modern teens will struggle to take it seriously
Jump scares and sustained tension that could genuinely frighten younger viewers

Conversation Starters

"Why do you think alien invasion movies always use high schools or small towns as their setting?"
"The movie uses 'fitting in' as both a literal plot point and a metaphor—how did that land for you?"
"Let's talk about that drug-test scene. What message do you think the filmmakers were trying to send there?"

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