The Skulls

PG-13

Released Mar 31, 2000

1 hr. 46 min.

Mystery & Thriller

List

9%

87 Reviews

Tomatometer

43%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

For Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson), an invitation to join the prestigious secret college organization, The Skulls, is a dream come true. But he soon comes to realize just how powerful The Skulls organization really is -- and that the truth, like success, comes at a very high price.

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Critics Consensus

The Skulls is full of nonsense and empty of good script and plot.

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Delaine H

I enjoyed this movie. It did not have the best plot, but the acting was good and it was enjoyable to watch.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/03/23

Full Review

Freek V

The Skulls was one of the most predictable and bland movies I have seen in a while. My expectations were already quite low but this is bland terrific

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/29/23

Full Review

Steve D

The script is passable but the two stars aren't good enough to make it work.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Sure, it's set in Yale, but that's Toronto, but otherwise, this is about the Skulls and Bones Society but they're called the Skulls. Far be it from me to say it's disinformation, but writer John Pogue (U.S. Marshalls, Rollerball and the just finished under the radar reimagining of Eraser; he also made Quarantine 2: Terminal and Deep Blue Sea 3) went to Yale, so either he knows something or he just lucked into three movies out of this idea. Lucas John "Luke" McNamara (Joshua Jackson) grew up an orphan on the wrong side of the tracks but he still made into Yale on a rowing scholarship which is totally a thing. His only friends are his girlfriend Chloe (Leslie Bibb) and his friend Will (Hill Harper), yet he's still invited to join one of Yale's secret societies, the titular Skulls, and made a soulmate with Caleb Mandrake (Paul Walker), a legacy whose father Judge Litten Mandrake (Craig T. Nelson) is still very involved in Skulls business, along with Senator Ames Levritt (William Petersen) and provost Martin Lombard (Christopher McDonald, who is, always, Shooter McGavin). As you can imagine, the Skulls are so connected that they run the cops, the courts, the government, pretty much anywhere rich people are. They kill Will when he gets too close to exposing their secrets and is killed, which pits Skull brother against Skull brother, Skull father against Skull son and Skull boyfriend against non-Skull girlfriend. Director Rob Cohen didn't go to Yale, but he did go to Harvard and Amherst. He followed this movie up with The Fast and the Furious and XXX, so maybe he did have something to do with that whole secret society making its members wealthy thing. Then again, he followed those up with Stealth and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, so maybe he wasn't in all that tight. Also, if you ever saw the 1970 TV movie The Brotherhood of the Bell, you may have already seen this movie.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The movie was cut from the cloth of most of the young adult movies of this time. Great cast, interesting story but it fell flat. That movie deserved a better ending than it got. It was like they ran out of time and let him row off to meet his lady. But we really have no idea what happens to him or Caleb or anyone other than the presumption the character played by Coach has his career end for being a narcissist psycho. It should have ended better. I want to go peruse a fan fiction site to see if anyone has a better ending… William Petersen needs more characters with southern accents. He has a good one!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It was real stupid. Joshua Jackson is hot AF though so that was one redeeming element.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

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Rob Cohen

Director

Joshua Jackson

Luke McNamara

Paul Walker

Caleb Mandrake

Hill Harper

Will Beckford

Leslie Bibb

Chloe

Christopher McDonald

Martin Lombard

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The Skulls: Official Clip - Luke's New Friend

2:55

The Skulls: Official Clip - Will Is Hanged

1:23

The Skulls: Official Clip - Caleb Issues A Warning

2:01

The Skulls: Official Clip - Chloe Loves Luke

1:43

The Skulls: Official Clip - Initiation

2:57

The Skulls: Official Clip - The Revealing Process

2:38

The Skulls: Official Clip - Are You Ready To Be Reborn?

2:54

The Skulls: Official Clip - The Good Life

2:06

The Skulls: Official Clip - Leaving The Skulls

1:15

The Skulls: Official Clip - Challenge to a Duel

1:58

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Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B-

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Lisa Alspector

Chicago Reader

Initially tolerable but increasingly stupid.

Mar 5, 2007

Full Review

Trevor Johnston

Time Out

The movie's unintentionally played like a comedy all the way.

Feb 9, 2006

Full Review

Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

The only thing The Skulls does well is put viewers to sleep. There's nothing to recommend in this sad, boring queer-baity "thriller"

Apr 3, 2021

Full Review

Trace Thurman

Horror Queers Podcast

Dumb, interminable and (worst of all) boring.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 31, 2021

Full Review

Mark Halverson

Sacramento News & Review

The usually dependable Rob Cohen directs from a ludicrous script.

Rated: 1/5

Aug 7, 2008

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

For Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson), an invitation to join the prestigious secret college organization, The Skulls, is a dream come true. But he soon comes to realize just how powerful The Skulls organization really is -- and that the truth, like success, comes at a very high price.

Director: Rob Cohen
Executive Producer: Chris J. Ball, Bruce Mellon, William Tyrer
Screenwriter: John Pogue
Distributor: 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures
Production Co: Original Film, Universal Pictures, Newmarket Capital Group, Cranium Films, Overbrook Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Violence|Brief Sexuality)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 31, 2000, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 10, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $35.0M
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Surround, DTS, Dolby Stereo

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