The Skulls (film)
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| The Skulls | |
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| Directed by | Rob Cohen |
| Produced by | Neal H. Moritz, John Pogue |
| Written by | John Pogue |
| Starring | Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, Hill Harper, Leslie Bibb, Christopher McDonald, William L. Petersen, Craig T. Nelson |
| Music by | Randy Edelman, Emmanuel Kiriakou, Steve Porcaro |
| Distributed by | MCA/Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 2000 |
| Running time | 106 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15,000,000 |
| Followed by | The Skulls II |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Skulls was a 2000 film starring Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, and Leslie Bibb; and directed by Rob Cohen. Its plot is based upon some of the most wild conspiracy theories surrounding Yale University's Skull and Bones student society. The movie was critically panned (For example, it was one of Roger Ebert's most hated films), but successful enough to spawn two direct-to-video sequels, The Skulls II, starring Robin Dunne, and The Skulls III, with Clare Kramer as the first woman member of the society.
- Tagline: Getting in is easy. Getting out is a killer.
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[edit] Plot summary
Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson) is a college student with aspirations to eventually become a lawyer. He attends Yale along with his quasi-girlfriend Chloe (Leslie Bibb) and his best friend Will (Hill Harper). Luke's friendships hit the rocks when he is invited to join a secret society known as "The Skulls." After Luke passes the first part of the initiation process, he has a falling out with Chloe when she realizes that he has become a skull. As a member of the skulls, Luke is partnered with Caleb Mandrake (Paul Walker), and the two eventually strike up a friendship. Caleb's father is the current President of the Skulls, and his partner Senator Ames Levritt takes an interest in Luke. 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 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 his father'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.
Luke is greatly troubled by the death of his best friend, especially because Will's family is the only family he had (due to the death of his parents at a young age). Luke eventually becomes suspicious of what actually happened to Will, and discovers that he was murdered. He initially thinks that Caleb is guilty of the murder, and Caleb thinks that he himself is guilty since he assumed that Will was dead when he left the room. Luke obtains tapes that prove that Mr. Mandrake's hitman committed the murder - not Caleb. In trying to convince Caleb of the truth--that it was Caleb's father who was responsible for Will's death, Luke realizes how scared Caleb is of his father. Before Luke can show the evidence to police, the tape is switched by another skull member, and Luke ends up being confined to a mental hospital under the control of The Skulls.
With the help of Ames Levritt (William Petersen) and Chloe, Luke manages to escape the mental hospital and an attempt on his life. At this point Luke decides that his only option is to fight The Skulls by their own rules, and "bring war to them." He challenges Caleb to a duel at The Skulls' private island. Caleb's father tries to take his son's place in the duel, but is denied the opportunity due to another Skull rule. After the two college students take their paces and turn around, Luke drops his gun and tries to convince Caleb of the truth, being that he is not responsible for Will's murder. Despite being pressured by his father to kill Luke, Caleb cannot bring himself to pull the trigger. At this point, Caleb's father loses control, grabs a pistol, and attempts to shoot Luke himself. Before he can successfully fire his weapon, Caleb shoots his own father. The wound is apparently not a mortal one. Furious, Caleb's father rebukes him, and Caleb, grief-stricken, tries to kill himself, but is stopped by Luke.
The film ends with Luke's realization that Senator Levritt waited to help him until he had no other choice but to duel and eliminate his rival (Caleb's father). Luke becomes disgusted with the order and refuses to participate, even after Levritt threatens to track him down some day and make demands that could have serious repercussions. As Luke walks away Levritt congratulates the boy on a job well done, though Luke cannot hear him. The final shot of the movie is Luke's reunion with Chloe.
[edit] Setting
The movie was filmed at the University of Toronto but it is strongly hinted that the plot takes place at Yale, with large "Y"s on uniforms and walls the most prominent clue. Also, during a scene in a bar, the rowers are seen singing "Mory's Song," a traditional Yale song of celebration. Many of U of T's most notable buildings are featured in the film. A part of University College stands in for the Skull's headquarters while the office of the Skull's evil leader shown as being in Trinity College. The rival society is headquartered in the student council building. The protagonists live and eat in Burwash Hall. The opening rowing scene was shot in St. Catharines, Ontario.
[edit] Trivia
- The film features both William Petersen and Hill Harper. Harper is currently a star of CSI: NY, the spin-off of Petersen's series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
- The Skulls are said to have "322 alumni worldwide." The Yale secret society Skull & Bones uses the number 322 as an identifier on many of its symbols.
- The Skull-and-Bones Society (on which this movie was based) actually gives out watches to each class of skulls, though not necessarily with the whole branding ceremony. After the movie was filmed, Joshua Jackson acquired one of the actual watches and gave it to director Rob Cohen.
