The Skulls (2000) User Reviews (202)

Interesting premise, poor presentation

[FlickJunkie-2 · 6/10 · 30 October 2000]

Though it poses a good moral dilemma, `Skulls' is presented in such an implausible way as to render it crippled at birth. Luke McNamara is a small town boy of modest means attending an Ivy League institution that is never really named but is obviously Yale. He is hoping to be called for membership into the Skulls, a secret society of great status and power. Members of this society have the doors of power, wealth and influence thrown wide to them. This is a dream come true for Luke, who spends much of his time fretting over the hundreds of thousands in student loans he is incurring. When he discovers that one of the members has committed a felony, he is torn between his desire for wealth, his loyalty to a friend, and his conscience.

Writer John Pogue (`U.S. Marshals') has conjured up a good moralistic tale, but it is so full of ridiculous premises that it becomes laughable. This is supposed to be a secret society where other than the members themselves, no one knows who the members are. Yet, Pogue and director Rob Cohen present it in such a way that they may as well be advertising their identities on TV. The building where the secret meetings take place is prominently marked with a Skull, and only members have keys to the building. So, Duh, anyone seen entering the building must be a Skull. New members get brand new $50,000 automobiles and $100,000 in cash, as if no one will notice this sudden burst of good fortune. The new members are branded on their wrist and we are supposed to believe that they will never be seen by anyone without their wristwatch on. The list of inconceivability goes on ad nauseam.

The acting is generally quite good. Joshua Jackson (`Cruel Intentions', `Urban Legend') is excellent as Luke. He plays the part with just the right combination of idealistic zeal and moral grounding. He gets great support from Paul Walker (`She's All That', `Varsity Blues') as Caleb Mandrake, the spoiled rich kid trying to step out of his father's shadow. Craig T. Nelson gives a wonderfully nefarious performance as the chairman of the Skulls and Caleb's father.

Maybe secret societies exist, and maybe they don't. The fact that no one is sure indicates that if they are more than mere myths, they are a lot more secret than depicted here. I rated this film a 6/10. It is an interesting idea that loses credibility in the telling.

Could have been better

[amalank · 6/10 · 14 October 2008]

Joshua Jackson plays a very smart student who is eager to get into law school. Then he is approached by Paul Walker's character who manages to get him to join a secret society only for the smartest of the smartest students known as The Skulls. It seems that everything is going well but then things start to get much more darker.

On the face of it, it seems like a brilliant idea for a movie. A good breakaway from the typical teen movie. However, it didn't really make good use of the potential it had to be a great movie. The story was made too thin than it should have been and some other details including character development and about this secret society itself were left rather sketchy.

I believe that if these details are elaborated on then this would be a much better and more memorable movie than it actually is.

Perfectly competent teeny thriller

[michaelplewa · 6/10 · 31 May 2006]

Mix schlocky but hilarious Hollywood hack dialogue with equally schlocky but hilarious Hollywood hack plotting, and you get a potent 1-2 sucker punch to your intellect...I call it...THE SKULLS. A delightfully silly movie, it moves briskly through semi-serious conflicts and silly conspiracies, and all with the the intelligence of your average CBS movie of the week. But it has a sense of momentum that you can't escape, and soon your on a ride that combines equal parts laughs and smiles, nothing too grim, but a (for what it is) fanatical devotion to its own plot devices. The maguffin of the Skulls society is their rule book, a device that comes to charming use late in the movie. William Peterson's senator reminds Joshua Jackson repeatedly that every conflict, every ordeal, can be solved within the rule book...and indeed within the world of the Skulls, this book does hold all the answers. Dropping hints here and there as to how it'll all end, the movie has a charming level of mystery, no more sinister or thrilling than The Da Vinci Code, but thankfully much less serious in its handling.

One of my favorite scenes is one of the stupidest. The chosen boys are given a grand reception with the many distinguished alumni on a remote island that at times resembles Alcatraz and Hogwarts School for Wizards. The boys are given expensive diving watches (an obvious product placement) and then dressed in tuxedos where they shake hands and shift uncomfortably in their cumberbunds...until the director inexplicably cranks out Creed onto the soundtrack ("Can You Take Me Higher" no less!) and then this huge door opens and out walk whatever waif models were hot in 2000. And they strut out as if on a runway, no sense of acting in any of their faces, and it's pure schlock...and I love it!

Rob Cohen went on to XXX and then tanked with Stealth, but this shows what people in Hollywood saw in the guy. The film is fun, never too heavy, and perfectly suited for a fall evening with your none-too-intellectual school friends OR consumed in 12 minute intervals on TNT. It's plotted swiftly and compellingly enough to justify its running time...another honor not bestowed on The Da Vinci Code. Basically, it's perfectly mindless, harmless fun, with a better than average cast who seem to revel in the camp of it all. Enjoy when you got nothing better to do.

Reasonable, but a little dated

[bh_tafe3 · 7/10 · 25 February 2015]

In the late 90s a lot of supposedly mysterious themes were explored in movies. Urban Legends, ghosts, nuclear power, vampires, the list goes on. In the Skulls, teen movies decide to take a look at secret societies.

The film stars Joshua Jackson as Luke McNamara, a young rower who wants to study for a law degree. But as a poor townie, it's going to be an uphill struggle to finish, unless a secret society known as the Skulls decides to make him a member.

Of course they do make him a member. The first thing we learn about secret societies is that they endorse the buddy system, and Luke is paired with Caleb Mandrake (the late Paul Walker), a boxer. Luke's room mate Will, decides it would achieve something to break into The Skulls secret chamber, and does so. Sadly all it achieves in doing is annoying Caleb, who pushes Will down a ledge, knocking him out. Caleb's father and Skulls big-wig Judge Litten (Craig. T. Nelson) tells his son he'll take care of it and orders some subordinates to kill Will and make it look like a hanging.

Luke is pretty shaken up about his friend's death, but not as shaken up as Caleb, who believes he killed the man. The rest of the movie is pretty much Luke working out what happened to his friend with help from another senior Skull Senator Ames Everitt (CSI's William L. Peterson), and love interest Chloe (Leslie Bibb). The ending is pretty satisfying without delivering anything unexpected.

The Skulls is a bit ridiculous at times, but it does work reasonably well in its own right. There's enough going on to keep you interested and the performers are all invested enough in the story to put out a sincere product. It is very much a product of its time, but fans of the era should check it out if they are looking for a trek down nostalgia lane. Not essential viewing by any means, but worth checking out if it comes on cable.

'Secret Society' Film Is So-So

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 8 August 2006]

This is one of those pretty entertaining-yet-not memorable stories. It's about a "secret society" in an Ivy League school and a subsequent cover-up of a murder. There is a neat little twist about a half hour before the end of the film.

The college kids in here are no-name actors but all credible not offensive or annoying. The film is nicely photographed. Apparently, the film was successful enough to spawn a sequel, so that infers this has enough going for it to check it out if you haven't watched it.

It's okay, but don't expect anything super. However, I have a good friend who thinks this movie is super, and he's usually very critical.

As secret as a presidential affair

[dfranzen70 · 4/10 · 31 October 2000]

The Skulls is a thinly veiled allusion to one of the purportedly most secret of all secret societies, Skull and Bones, the Yale group to which George Bush (the former president) belonged. You know all about those secret societies; they breed smart, rich young men who will put other smart, rich young men in power, and then those men will put other smart, rich young men in power, and so forth and yadda yadda yadda. You can find out all sorts of things about Skull and Bones online, and I suppose there's a chance some of those things are actually true. But for the purposes of this movie - and this review - suffice to say that The Skulls is a small group mostly made up of rich white kids who get paid scholarships, free cars, free women, the whole works. And what does this secret society ask for in return? Unbound loyalty, of course. Unquestioning and absolute loyalty, kind of like the Mob, really, only the Mob is more overtly criminal.

The story focuses on Luke, a townie at Yale University. Luke wants to go to law school, but the tuition's a little high. He's parentless and low on funds, so of course he's prime pickings for The Skulls. Will he join them? Darn tootin' he will, despite the protests of his best friend and this hot young blonde he likes. They try to reason with him, believing their friendship is stronger than his need to be a lawyer, but they're wrong. If they were right, we'd have no movie.

So he joins, and wouldn't you know it, all kinds of bad things happen to poor Luke. There's murder, there's corruption, and gosh and golly, our boy just doesn't know who to trust. More twists than a Poe novel; the only problem is, they're not believable twists. If you're cynical about this kind of movie (as I am), you'll laugh out loud many times, both at the acting and the dialogue. The worst offense is in the timing, quite frankly. At no point are we led to believe that this society could be a GOOD thing. We know immediately it's bad. See, I think to be truly sinister you need to wear a mask of credibility. If I already know how bad you are, I won't be as afraid of you or as startled when you actually do something despicable.

This is a real chucklefest, in the same vein as Final Destination, Urban Legends, I Know What You Did Last Summer (both movies), and even the Scream movies, which I didn't care for (but I know many of you did, so whatcha gonna do). You have an attractive cast spouting incredible lines in unbelievable situations. The old moviegoer in us wonders what Jimmy Stewart or Gregory Peck would have done in this movie when they were younger (and, in Stewart's case, alive), but that's probably a philosophical debate best left to denizens of the old critics' home. As for me, I'd say pass on The Skulls - it's as hollow as its name might imply.

Not too fast nor too furious

[raulfaust · 6/10 · 21 July 2011]

Well, first off I don't understand the real purpose of this secret society. I understood, they are secret, they have some authorities in the group, but what is the main point of having a secret society?

The story's development isn't bad, the story is quite engaging, but we never really know any of the characters. Caleb Mandrake, is he a bad boy or a good guy? And Will, the guy who 'accidentaly' died? Why did he want to tell everyone about The Skulls, maybe for money? Comparing "The Skulls" with the other teen films of 99~01, I believe this is a weak movie. Nothing much really happens and all the happenings are a little pointless to me. Also, it's not very plausible that Caleb would shoot in his own dad instead of shooting in a "friend". Not to say how bad Paul Walker used to act in this period. It's a miracle he went from this to "Fast & Furious" franchise.

It deserves six stars because it's quite original and entertaining, but it's no big film in any aspect.

Interesting but bland

[breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com · 5/10 · 7 November 2021]

In life, people learn to like all kinds of things. In time, they will realize there are groups for these interests. Some groups are just for recreational reasons, while others can be for more serious topics. There are also some people who don't even know about it. The reason is for the amount of power or influence these associations may have on society. The thing is, what most of these secret cliques have in real life is the capability to conceal itself so far that it is very hard to pinpoint. This of course leads only to a very select few who can speak to it but in the end, sound like they're out of their mind. In short, conspiracy nuts. That's essentially the topic of focus in this feature film. It's an interesting idea, but the overall execution is just average. It's nothing out of the ordinary.

Written by John Pogue (U. S. Marshals (1998)), the plot is about your everyday looking college student Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson) hoping to be a success after he graduates. He, his best friend Will (Hill Harper) and close female friend Chloe (Leslie Bibb) very much share the same values. Additionally, they all think a group known as "The Skulls" is one of the strangest ones around. That is until Luke is brought in to join them. That's when things turn all upside down for him. Again, the idea of secretly powerful societies is not an uncommon plot but if done right, can be captivating to watch. This unfortunately is just watered-down. For one, the group is publicly known but operates secretly. It's a bit contradictory to say the least. Who operates a tight ship with sloppy security? How is that even allowable?

That's just one question out of many. The group has a rule book of over 100 things to follow by. Yet, there seem to be a lot of loose ends hanging around. Additionally, while the group is promoted internally as being able to effect outcomes elsewhere, there's no examples of it. Much of everything is so vague someone could assume they could impact anything. That's not the only odd thing going on. Once Luke the protagonist and his "soul mate" Caleb Mandrake (Paul Walker) meet at their first initiation, Luke's character flips to the exact opposite of the values to Will and Chloe. It's not that Luke is an unlikeable character, but he is a clichéd dull one. It's surprising director Rob Cohen who wasn't fresh to the job by this point didn't callout any of these issues.

Not even Caleb Mandrake is consistent in his character arc. One moment he's saying one thing and the next he's doing the exact opposite. That's not saying the acting is unwatchable though. Joshua Jackson is believable as the lead. It's just his character is motivationally confused. Paul Walker who at the time was mostly unknown still pulls in a performance that mostly makes sense for the story. Leslie Bibb is also okay despite her character falling into the expected clichés as well. She would later have roles in Trick 'r Treat (2007) and Iron Man (2008). What's more interesting is that William Petersen is also in this movie as a member of The Skulls and would later share screen time with Hill Harper in the CSI shows. There's also appearances from Christopher McDonald, Craig T. Nelson and Steve Harris.

The camerawork was acceptable for the picture. Shot by Shane Hurlbut, the camera makes use of its surroundings as well as incorporating dizzying shots to convey hysteria. This is pretty good considering this was his first theatrical film credit. Also done acceptably was the film score composed by Randy Edelman. While known for having more stock sounding music, Edelman does create a main theme for the story. It's not the most memorable, but it's not really forgettable either. Better that than just soundscape textural noise produced by other composers. What Edelman relies on for this work is piano keys to convey the feeling of the tracks. Thankfully the album is very much easy listening as well. Like usual though, Edelman's albums do not consist of much runtime. So best not to expect too much.

The crew behind the camera and actors performing do their jobs like they should. It's just the writing that challenges those things and weighs it down. The premise seems sloppily put together and the character arcs are erratic.

A great movie!

[Garnet1186 · 3 October 2001]

I just saw The Skulls and I loved it! The characters were very believable in my opinion. After reading most of these reviews, I think a lot of people are overanalyzing so they never really got to sit back and enjoy the movie for what it was.

Joshua Jackson did a good job as Luke McNamara. He could have done it a little better, but all in all, his acting was very well done.

Leslie Bibb did a neat job as well. She was an awesome female character and looked nice on screen with Joshua.

Paul Walker did an amazing job of adding that complex aura to Caleb Mandrake. I think he was the best part of this movie. He has always done a really wonderful job of expressing emotions through those beautiful eyes and he did it again in The Skulls.

I'd give it a 9/10

Secret society

[jotix100 · 6/10 · 14 October 2005]

Not having seen this film when it first was released, we took a chance when it showed on cable recently. Despite the general bad comments from all contributors of this film in IMDb, Rob Cohen's "The Skulls", shows some interesting aspects about a secret society in one Ivy League university.

First of all, it's almost inconceivably how a "townie" like Lucas McNamara, can enter this society, which is clearly intended for the rich boys that attend the university. If ever there was someone who had no chance in being a candidate, it was Luke McNamara. But then, Lucas' character is thrown in to show a contrast in the proceedings, otherwise the film would have been unwatchable if it only concentrated in these boring rich boys.

Films like "The Skulls", and other thrillers, thrive in the paranoia factor that is created around the situation. In this case, it shows how a few misguided individuals want to control everything where their members are influential figures. In this case it is the judge that aspires to be the next supreme court nominee, something that has some actual interest, since the president of the United States, a secret society member himself, has had to choose people to fill key vacancies in the government.

The best assets of the film lie in the crisp cinematography by Shane Hurlbut, who does wonder with his camera. The fine editing of the film by Peter Amundson shows outstanding quality that makes "The Skulls" a film that is easy to watch. Mr. Cohen has an eye for camera placement that shows in the different settings in the film.

One wishes Rob Cohen luck with his next undertaking because she demonstrates he knows his craft well.

Could've been worse...

[hpoirot88 · 4/10 · 27 July 2010]

The Skulls is a decent mystery/drama that has some intensity, keeps you interested, and moves well enough. But in the end though, you feel like there should have been, well... more. It has a similar feel to "Enemy of the State" but fails to strike you at home, for the struggle comes to the privileged membership of an elite college, and not to the ordinary man (although they do their best to make Joshua Jackson seem as normal as possible) The acting is fair, bordering on good. Paul Walker, does his part justice and the veterans of this cast- William Petersen (in one of his last films before CSI) and Craig T. Nelson both give the film credibility but the characters are restrained as to not overshadow the youngsters. Leslie Bibb is somewhat limited as her character's dialogue and use is at times asinine. Director Rob Cohen built a movie exactly for the PG-13 rating, using actors mostly known for TV teenage dramas, he does not over complicate things for the sake of the age group it's aimed for. Still, when all is said and done, the fact that it played it safe made certain that this movie did not fall on it's face. If there is one thing I take away from this movie, it has a classic last line delivered by William Petersen- but you're gonna have to watch it to find out.

There are no spoilers, this movie spoils itself

[jay_hovah703 · 10/10 · 27 April 2012]

It's clear, just from my 10/10 review of this movie I have terrible taste. But I mean it. Please read my other reviews and don't trust a word. Seriously, this movie is a quintessential bad 90's movie. And I love it.

Suspend your reality for 2 hours and watch this movie. Joshua Jackson as THE athletic star of THE crew team at an Ivy League school (unnamed, but I think winking and nodding with the jerseys with Y on it say it all). I've never seen such a scrawny crew member in my life. Paul Walker as an IVY LEAGUE student. SUSPEND REALITY. It's worth it. Paul Walker is one of my favorite actors of all time because he cannot silent the surfer boy inside himself.

These two men, coupled with fraternity bro dialog, it has everything. Remember, skulls are forever. Skulls are soul mates. We are watching you all the time. You get 20g's and a car. An implied racially charged storyline. Did you know, that if you really wanted to find out who was a skull, you JUST have to take off their watch.

I spent the last 2 hours giggling like a little school girl and I couldn't be happier. There is nothing real about this movie but I don't think that's the point. Twelve years after its release, its laughable at best, but it will put a smile on your face the whole time.

Not the greatest, but worth a look

[vkuchma · 6/10 · 11 April 2008]

The Skulls was definitely an interesting concept, and contained some truly intriguing moments however good writing alone could not save this film. The bad acting (especially by Jackson and Harper) overshadows what could have been otherwise great moments in the film. However as a whole the acting did not affect the integrity and overall quality of the film. It truly does make one wonder, what this film could have been, had they actually attempted to cast better actors. The film was good, but left more to be desired. Its still entertainment and a viewer could do much worse than this movie, however they most likely could also do much better. Unless you have nothing better to watch and have two hours to waste, you should try your hand at another movie. The idea alone of The Skulls as a secret society was most likely what spawned the sequels, not this film.

For a secret society, they're not very good at keeping secrets

[Smells_Like_Cheese · 5/10 · 31 July 2011]

Another film that just makes you more afraid and non trusting of secret societies, makes you wonder if they will ever make a movie that praises these groups. Well, we have The Skulls which I watched today and I have to say that I wasn't so sure to trust this movie. We've seen the whole "don't trust anybody" plot a million times before. Joshua Jackson was so popular with his Dawson's Creek era and I wondered why they would put him in a lead role, pretty much for the money. But I gave the movie a fair chance and wasn't too disappointed. It's very predictable and has some flaws to it, but overall it does provide entertainment. The story has been done to death, but beggars can't be choosers in this Hollywood.

Luke McNamara is a college student with aspirations to eventually become a lawyer. He attends Yale along with his girlfriend Chloe and his best friend Will. Luke's friendships hit the rocks when he is invited to join a secret society known as "The Skulls." As a member of the Skulls, Luke is partnered with Caleb, and the two quickly strike up a friendship. Eventually Will, who has been conducting research on the Skulls for some time, discovers their secret ritual room. Will gets caught in the ritual room by Caleb and in the ensuing struggle he falls and is knocked unconscious. Caleb is ordered to leave the room by his father, after which one of Litten's cronies breaks Will's neck. The skulls manage to move the body and make it look like Will committed suicide in his dorm room. But Luke knows there's more to the story than it looks.

The acting is alright; for the most part Jackson does a decent job in the leading role. But they could have had someone who was a bit stronger considering that every line that Jackson said in the end was made for the trailer pretty much. Paul Walker, again, more used because he was just the hottie of the time, he was OK. No major stand out performances, Craig T. Nelson is the most cartoon villain I've seen in a while. The only thing that was missing was the lightening in the background as he's laughing manically at the Skulls meetings . But the film works on the story pretty well, it keeps the tension, even though there are unbelievable moments. I seriously love how this secret group is possibly going to be apart of the CIA or FBI one day, part of the government top secret, yet doesn't realize that when they murder someone, they should check the room for security cameras. But the scares are captured with Joshua not being able to go to anyone to find help for his room mate's murder. It's hard to say if I would recommend this film, it's just alright and average. I think there are some good moments and bad one's, it's certainly flawed and made for the teens, but I think the adults could find something good from the story. It just needed a little more work.

5/10

I'll admit it, I rented it for Paul Walker

[Jadey97 · 21 October 2002]

While his character was believable, I could NOT take Joshua Jackson seriously in this film at all. He reminds me too much of Joe from Blue's Clues. Overall the movie was OKAY...wasn't too thrilled with it, but hey, at least I got to see Paul Walker! ;).

6/10

Look at this movie's poster, and you'll know the main problem of it !

[elshikh4 · 7/10 · 20 October 2010]

The intention to show this supposed community, and utilize it in a thriller where the poor good guys beat the rich and influential evil guys, is great apart. The script is smart with breathless consecution. It's written by (John Pogue) who wrote (U.S. Marshals), a very good action thriller, 2 years earlier. I love director (Rob Cohen)'s work in anything. He nails the right way to "tighten" things on screen, with all the senses of the word. The humid colors, the narrow cadres, the hot pace.. etc. they are all his elements to make an exciting time. This movie is no exception. But why I felt that it was like fancy dinner party with only cheap rusk to serve!

(Joshua Jackson) can't be the lead. He's uncharismatic and uninteresting to the max. Among the ones chosen for the skulks who were entering the center for the first time / namely the movie's extra, he was the least noticeable. I'm no fan of (Tom Cruise), but the young him should have been more fit for such a role; a la he did in (The Firm - 1993) once. Further, although looks are deceiving, but by a look to the movie's poster, you'll grasp that (Paul Walker) has more presence than (Jackson). It's an irony that wasn't for the sake of the lead, his persuasion, or our interaction with him.

(Steve Harris) as Detective Sparrow was a joke. He looked like another student yet fatter, doing his job usually or awfully. And (Hill Harper), as the friend, was one annoying actor. I believe many viewers thanked God that he got killed earlier in the movie. He was in bad corner too, concerning the way his role was written. His character, so hastily, hates how his friend becomes a Skull, for no logical reason. Here, the bad writing perfected with the bad acting to produce something between bad and laughable!

Long story short, save the old actors (Craig T. Nelson) and (William Petersen), this movie has a major casting, and acting, problems. But maybe it was all due to a lack of budget. I wanted to say forget about the big names, but this cast forbids me.

The emphasis on the yellow color was terrible. I know that (Rob Cohen) wants us to live that sick phase of the lead's life, however not to the extent of making us sick ourselves! I noticed that many directors intend to use this color in specific exaggeratedly in their movies or TV shows lately. Is it a way to prove how artistic their work is? Is it a way to cut down the budget? Is it a way to hide defects in the image? I really don't know. What I do know is too much of something is bad enough!

Generally, it's a very good thriller with different atmosphere, and major casting problem along with minor writing problem too. It's obvious that (The Skulls) just needed more skills to be more effective and, why not, believable.

Great, trashy fun

[Andy-296 · 7/10 · 2 January 2001]

This film is great, trashy fun. Of course, it's impossible to take it seriously. It has such incredible, unbelievable situations than to enjoy it one has to see it as an unintentional comedy. My best scene in that sense would be when Joshua Jackson is interned by the baddies in a madhouse. It's such a ridiculous scene that you can't help laughing at it. The second-best situation would be the duel, and the father, telling his son after being shot the immortal line "You're not worth the trouble". Take it easy and laugh out loud.

Feeble

[binnertdebeaufort · 2/10 · 11 February 2006]

Someone in the videostore advised me to see this film. Now I understand that this probably was a joke. Skulls is terrible. It is not even funny for it's flaws. The acting is lousy though you must feel sorry for the actors because the screenplay is even worse. The story itself is a cliché: blue collar student gets an invitation to join some fascist fraternity which seems to secretly run this planet. The fraternity exists for about two hundred years but it's rituals are shallow and do not go beyond driving expensive sportscars, having sex with supermodels and quoting the fraternity rules from a bible-like book which seems to be a mixture of Mao's Red Book and Hitler's Mein Kampf. The blue collar student completely dropps his old friends from the white ghetto - who conveniently for the story happen to be video-editing experts and own a surprisingly sophisticated mixing studio for the white trash they so unconvincingly try to portray- but becomes remorseful when his formal best (black) friend get's murdered by his new Buddy's dad who is president of the fraternity but also a high court judge and a total maniac. When the hero tries to uncover the cover-up he briefly ends up in a mental institution but is saved with in a day by this senator - who is also a skull's member- and by his girlfriend who earlier in the film made a MacGyver like paint spraying robot. The film drags on to a most ridiculous ending. One of the rules of The Skulls sacred booklet states that you are entitled to challenge a fellow Skulls member for a duel with ancient guns. Till death that is. So we see our hero in a duel with his formal new buddy, the buff but thickheaded son of the Skull's president. This troubled young bully kills his dad, the maniac judge, instead of our blue collar hero. The end.

The Secret

[jack_o_hasanov_imdb · 6/10 · 14 August 2021]

My father recommended this movie. I don't remember much from the movie, I have to watch it again. The subject is interesting.

Too Pompous

[Theo Robertson · 4/10 · 5 August 2003]

***** MILD SPOILERS *****

According to the caption at the start of this film this is actually based on fact . You see at least three presidents of the United States have actually belonged to the secret guild featured here . Well if that`s the case then the producers should name names because it`s only fair to the electorate that they know that the leader of their nation is part of a conspiracy.

The first 20 minutes of THE SKULLS is taken up with Luke a college cook and sometimes student learning about a secret college fraternity called " The Skulls " . So far so good in a film that will appeal to teenagers doing higher education , but as soon as the secret society is revealed you might not have to read too far between the lines to think the film is pointing fingers in certain directions . A father and son are members of the skulls a secret fraternity that likes to prove the courage of its members by starting wars . Father ? Son ? Hey you don`t think ....? Not only that but there`s a middle aged southern senator who likes to have sex with girls young enough to be his daughter ! Well that can only mean it`s..... Alas these witty pokes at real life politicians are total flukes because instead of witty humour we`ve got a film that`s taking itself seriously when it should be splashing the audience with subtle satire . That`s the problem with conspiracy theorists - Their ideas are bizarre and they lack a sense of humour , very much like this film

The Skulls Starts Out Interestingly Enough, But Becomes A Mere Skeleton of a Thriller

[RBongo · 6/10 · 16 October 2000]

Well after a long sabbatical from writing movie reviews...and I am sure you all missed me, I have returned to my former glory by doing a write up on a movie that I am sure you are all eagerly anticipating my review on...The Skulls.

But before I get too far into my review, I want to tell you watch out for some minor spoilers that I may include in this review...alright so here we go. The film opens on the campus of what appears to be Yale University (it is actually an unnamed Ivy League college, but the giant Y's in various parts of the campus give me that idea) with star crew member Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson) preparing for a regatta of some sort. This whole introduction is meant to serve as an introduction to Luke's friends, which include Chloe (Leslie Bibb), Will Beckford (Hill Harper), and Caleb Mandrake (Paul Walker) and to show how "amazing" of a rower Luke is, therefore making him a major candidate for The Skulls.

So, surprise, surprise, Luke gets into the secret society known as The Skulls after going through a "cat and mouse" game involving telephones and has to join another 10 candidates in a surprisingly stupid act of vandalism that is supposed to show how superior the candidates are. Oh and I forgot to mention how unbelievably preposterous the sets are for the mansion in which the Skulls conviene...I won't spoil them, you need to see them for yourself. So Luke pulls off this act of petty vandalism with the help of Caleb, comes back to the center and meets Coach, I'm sorry, Judge Litten Mandrake (Craig T. Nelson), gets a skull embossed on his flesh, and a top of the line watch...pretty cool eh? Of course, Chloe and Will are p***ed at Luke's involvement in the Skulls, and tempers flare. Not long after though, Luke finds the perks of being in The Skulls, which include cars, ladies, and parties (none of which I have...heh heh)...but this has to come at a price, right, or there would be no conflict and the movie would just end.

Now here is the point of the film that I want to keep in the dark, because whatever intrigue this film might have happens in this part of the film on. All I think I should tell you is that a little campus dischord erupts..and Will ends up in a noose in the school's newspaper office. This leads to a downfall including paranoia, confusion, and fear. Oh yeah and the obligatory steamy shower sex scene (how about that for alliteration?)

As a film, The Skulls fails on many levels. Rob Cohen's direction is a mix of formulaic "let's set the camera here and swivel it around" shots and half-way through, during Luke's breakdown scene, tries to become stylish. Of course it doesn't matter that the script, by John Pogue, while based on something very interesting, is just one big generic thriller that could have been based anywhere. I must commend Pogue on staying away from the easy cliches in the scipt, not that he stays away from cliches altogheter, not many films do that anymore. The acting from everyone is supbar to say the most...there were points when I really like Joshua (he at times reminds me of a young Tom Hanks) and there were points when I just hated him. Leslie and Hill are just "blah" in their roles. Paul Walker just gives an overall vague performance...basically every performance he has given in his short (and hopefully shortened even more)career. The elders in the cast, Craig T. Nelson, and a woefully underused Christopher McDonald, resort to overindulging their bizarre dialogue (the former) and barely talking and just getting the hell beaten out of him (the latter). One thing good that comes from Nelson's performance is his wonderful moustache! But with all these small gripes, I still got some moderate enjoyment out of this movie. It was just an unpretentious movie, that sure may have taken itself seriously, but it did keep me interested and did much more for me then I expected a movie with this "esteemed crew" involved. So I would say this is a good rent if you have a girlfriend or wife to yourself for a night, or you are just in the mood for something you don't have to think too much about.

My Rating: 6 out of 10

Skulling

[jimarick · 5/10 · 8 June 2005]

The acting was OK, but the story was uninspired. The funniest thing that I noticed was that the entire story was constructed on "pacey's" ability to Row.

From the onset, his rowing prowess was eagerly demonstrated on the waters. Throughout the tense, dramatic, visually stunning moments, that had me gripped, the proceeded to flash up "Pacey's" training on the "Old-skool" rowing machine, with stunning "out-of-focus" camera shots.

Then, just to put the icing on the already over iced, lump of icing, the end of the movie showed our hero "dawson" no sorry, the fat one, "Pacey", Skulling to freedom, from the Skulls.

For those of you unfamiliar with rowing terminology, SKULLING is the art of rowing a single, small boat, with 2 oars, by yourself.

It appears to me, that this rowing progression, is an anti-mirror to his progression through the elite SKULL group. As he left the SKULLS, he himself became a Skuller...

I mean, What the hell! All in all, the only part I liked was the wicked guitar song..("taste" by lorna vallings) God bless, A Fan

Silly but fun

[preppy-3 · 8/10 · 3 April 2000]

OK the plot is old hat (a secret society that rules the government and covers up a murder or two) but the movie is entertaining. The plot is relatively intelligent and fast-moving; the cast is uniformally good--even Joshua Jackson!; there's no graphic gore (or nudity); and the action scenes are well-done and exciting. Not a great film by any means, but a fun, action-filled, entertaining two hours. Just don't think about it too much afterwards.

A hoot and a half.

[howlandowl · 6/10 · 3 March 2000]

Rarely have I laughed so hard at a film, even if it's not intentionally funny. The Skulls is a badly shot, badly dialogued, and badly plotted film, and it still tries to portray itself as being deep and probing. It seems likely that the film was written while shooting, which might as least begin to explain the endless cliches and plot loopholes. The characters are mostly motiveless, moving about to the tune of tired old characterizations, which aren't even carried out particularly well. If you can't call the final fate of at least half of the characters within five minutes of their introduction, you've got problems. Still, worth watching just to see it try to take itself seriously.

One of the worst movies of the year

[dkuhar · 1/10 · 26 January 2001]

I was wrong when I said that Urban Legends The Final Cut was the worst movie of the year. Battlefield Earth was. But this movie took second place. The acting was terrible. Joshua Jackson (who usually isn't that bad an actor) completely sucked in the lead role. You didn't feel sorry at all for the reporter roommate who is killed. And the ending was hilarious(I challenge you to a duel!). Anyway, this movie had an interesting premise which was killed off by bad script, bad acting and pretty much bad everything. It's final grade is, of course, an F. This is just my opinion, but if you want to send me nasty e-mails, my address is [e-mail].