The Faculty - Plot

Plot

Casey Connor (Elijah Wood) is a photographer for the Herrington High School newspaper who is constantly picked on and has a crush on Delilah Profitt (Jordana Brewster), the paper's editor. Delilah's boyfriend, Stan Rosado (Shawn Hatosy), quits the school's football team to pursue more academic ambitions, which angers Delilah and causes her to break up with him. Zeke Tyler (Josh Hartnett), a student repeating his senior year who sells, among other illegal items, a cocaine-like drug of his own make, is confronted by Miss Elizabeth Burke (Famke Janssen), who expresses concern for him over his illegal activities. Marybeth Louise Hutchinson (Laura Harris), a new girl in school, attempts to befriend Stokely "Stokes" Mitchell (Clea DuVall) and develops a crush on Zeke.

While eating lunch on the football field, Casey notices a strange creature on the field. He takes it to Professor Furlong (Jon Stewart), where the specimen is examined and believed to be a new species of cephalopod. Delilah takes Casey into the teacher's lounge to find a story for the front page, where they hide in a closet and witness the coach (Robert Patrick) and the drama teacher (Piper Laurie) assault the school nurse (Salma Hayek) by forcing one of the creatures into her ear, as well as find the body of a teacher. Casey and Delilah flee and Casey calls the cops. Principal Drake (Bebe Neuwirth) claims nothing is wrong and that Casey is seeking attention.

The next day, Casey tells the others that he believes the teachers are being controlled by aliens, and goes to show them the creature he found, which is gone. When confronting Furlong about the creature, he gets defensive and attempts to infect them. Zeke cuts off Furlong's fingers before taking a pen full of his homemade drugs and injecting it into Furlong's eye, seemingly killing him.

Realizing Casey is right and with the whole school potentially infected, even the football team and Stan's friend Gabe (Usher Raymond), Zeke takes everyone to his house where he performs experiments with a captured alien creature and realizes that it needs water tor survive and can be killed by his drugs because it is a diuretic. Zeke makes everyone take some of his drug to prove they're human, but Delilah reveals herself to be infected and destroys Zeke's lab and most of his drug supply before escaping.

Acting on Stokes' speculation that killing the queen would revert everyone to normal, the group returns to the school, where their football team is playing a game and infecting opposing players. Believing Principal Drake to be the queen, they isolate her in the gym and kill her. Stan goes outside to see if it worked, but is infected by the coach. With none of the drug left, Zeke realizes he still has some in his car and goes with Casey to get it. Casey leads the infected students away from Zeke, who encounters Ms. Burke in the parking lot and seemingly kills her when he makes his escape.

Casey returns to the gym, where Marybeth reveals herself to be the queen, having faked taking the test earlier. Casey and Stokes flee into the pool where Stokes is injured and infected. Zeke and Casey flee into the locker room, where Zeke is knocked out. Casey takes the drug and tricks the queen into following him into the retracting bleachers, where he traps it and stabs the drug into its eye, killing it.

One month later, everyone has returned to normal. Stan and Stokes begin dating, and Zeke takes Stan's place on the football team (while Ms. Burke watches him practice). Casey begins dating Delilah, and has become a local hero. Meanwhile, Professor Furlong is adjusting to life with one eye and missing fingers.