Didaskaleinophobia, or the fear of going to school, is a concern on the mind every of parent and student right now. For our next experiment we had a second grade school teacher hooked to a heart monitor while she viewed The Faculty, an alien invasion horror from 1998. Find out if this school themed film written by Kevin Williamson (Scream) and directed by Robert Rodriguez (From Dusk Till Dawn) gave our subject shivers like nails on a chalkboard.
Where to Watch:
SYNOPSIS:
Students suspect that their teachers are aliens after bizarre occurrences.
Test Subject: Leah
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Fears: Atychiphobia (Fear of Failure)
Resting HR: 60-65bpm
Walking HR: 80-85bpm
ANALYSIS:
The Faculty (1998) established extreme gore and tension within the first six minutes. But after the intense opening, our subject was more impressed by the familiar faces starring in the film. She was then presented with a lengthy introduction of high school archetypes. The filmmakers purposely used these stereotypical characters to lighten the mood. Twenty minutes later, a few scenes generated tension as an unknown threat began to present itself. This escalated our subject’s pulse from her resting average to slightly above 70bpm. It wasn’t until an hour into the film, however, that we saw a foaming celebrity produce her first significant heart rate increase. After that 84bpm peak, the full creature reveal was unable to frighten our subject as she sustained moderate numbers through the finale.
CONCLUSION:
The Faculty (1998) is a mildly suspenseful creature feature with entertaining gore and effects. There were uncomfortable moments along with a couple of jump scares but nothing extremely terrifying. Call it a light-hearted ‘Breakfast Club’ with aliens, this teen thriller will make you nostalgic for nineties horror. A film that will have you amused but still unable to burn off a slice of pizza from the lunch cafeteria.
The Faculty: Burns an average of 178 Calories
Public School Pizza : 330 Calories
How many Fear Calories did you burn watching The Faculty? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
