18 October 2008. There is an undercurrent of "The Breakfast Club" meets "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" in this edgy horror/sci fi monster thriller that incorporates teenage angst, particularly in the beginning half of the movie. The build is nice. There is even a decent attempt at emotional connectivity during the climax that is rarely accomplished. The movie seems to waiver on the dark humor aspects and isn't sure what direction to take the movie and probably missed an opportunity to incorporate the novelty of teenager comedy to balance off this movie or playing it real straight. Overall, this is horror movie with a good dose of relational insight along with a number of twists and turns that for the most part work. The movie, however, loses a bit of its hard edged freshness and descends somewhat into the traditional horror clichés towards the end without really crashing and instead ends with an acceptable ending. 7/10.
Review of The Faculty
