Running time: 112 minutes
Starring: Robert Patrick, Josh Hartnett, Famke Janssen, Elijah Wood
Rating 8 out of 10
Pacey and rather fun spin on the classic invasion of the body snatchers sci-fi spooker, modernised for another lease of life as the latest entry in the hip, high-school horror canon. Hunky rebel Josh Hartnett, sexy would-be reporter Jordana Brewster and awkward nerd Elijah Wood feature in a misfit student cadre forced to band together when it becomes increasingly apparent that the staff or - hey! - faculty (among them games instructor Robert Patrick, English teacher Famke Janssen and nurse Salma Hayek) have been possessed by tentacled aliens.
All the snappy patter and in-jokery you'd expect from Scream scribe Kevin Williamson, likewise the usual balance of shocks, laughs and gore from Desperado/From Dusk Till Dawn director Robert Rodriguez, and together they've crafted an enjoyable movie that romps merrily along with a good deal more clarity, humour and style than recent genre rival Urban Legend.
But once again, only in movieland could an educational establishment exist in which a bunch of school kids are lucky enough to have saucy Salma and former Bond villainess Famke as their teachers - possessed by aliens or not!
