The Faculty: Teachers Are Aliens

I was waiting for a ride on the way to work one morning when I overheard two young girls in their school uniform talking about American R&B star Usher who will stage a concert in Manila this month.

They even sang a few lines from the popular artist’s hit songs like Yeah! and Burn. Then, I remembered my days as a college student when my definition of major problems then was how to pass Trigonometry class and coping with my alien teachers. 

Incidentally, it was only recently when London newspaper Daily Star published a survey that says one in three British students, from the ages of five to 16, believes at least one of their teachers is an alien, as in a specie from outer space.

Hmmm…Usher, school and aliens. Sounds like the 1998 horror sci-fi film The Faculty starring Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood and of course, Usher. The movie is about a group of six senior high school students who discovered that their teachers and school staff are being taken over by alien parasites.

Some might think that the plot of this teen flick is predictable but writer Kevin Williamson (Scream and its sequel) and director Robert Rodriguez (Desperado and From Dusk till Dawn) have plenty of surprises to viewers especially those who are into creepy movies.

I saw this film with some of my friends and we were definitely impressed with the special effects and scary moments especially during the climax of the movie where the boys became men against a colossal alien wreaking havoc in the campus.

There are also memorable characters that are worth reminiscing like the younger Salma Hayek who played Nurse Rosa and Famke Janssen as Ms. Burke. They’re definitely hotter than those female students in the film. And I definitely don’t mind having them in school even if they have an alien controlling their bodies.

But more than the chase scenes and frightening scenes, the movie also highlights some lessons to learn. One is teamwork because it’s like six versus the entire population of the school. When the boys were about to give up, they found a way to win when they started to patch up their differences.

Another good message from the film is “Everybody deserves a second chance.” At the start of the film, the gang was introduced as a group of kids who have attitude problems when they met at the school’s detention program. In the end, the once teacher’s enemy would eventually save the whole school from complete destruction. It was a happy ending for the film when each and everyone who have been controlled by the aliens return to normal after they discovered the antidote.

In life, there is no sure formula to success. But giving your best shot while in school is a great start.   Always remember that a good education is something that no one can steal from you. I learned that from an alien teacher from college.