The Skulls (2000)

A senior at an ivy league college, who depends on scholarships and working on the side, gets accepted into the secret society The Skulls. He hopes it betters chances at Harvard but The Skulls is not what he thought and comes at a price.

Director:

Rob Cohen

Writer:

John Pogue

Stars:

Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, Hill Harper

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joshua Jackson	...	Luke McNamara
Paul Walker	...	Caleb Mandrake
Hill Harper	...	Will Beckford
Leslie Bibb	...	Chloe
Christopher McDonald	...	Martin Lombard
Steve Harris	...	Detective Sparrow
William Petersen	...	Ames Levritt
Craig T. Nelson	...	Litten Mandrake
David Asman	...	Jason Pitcairn
Scott Gibson	...	Travis Wheeler
Nigel Bennett	...	Dr. Whitney
Andrew Kraulis	...	McBride
Derek Aasland	...	Sullivan
Jennifer Melino	...	J.J.
Noah Dalton Danby	...	Hugh Mauberson (as Noah Danby)

Storyline

Luke McNamara, a college senior from a working class background joins a secret elitist college fraternity organization called "The Skulls", in hope of gaining acceptance into Harvard Law School. At first seduced by the club's trapping of power and wealth, a series of disturbing incidents, such as his best friends suicide, leads Luke to investigate the true nature of the organization and the truth behind his friends supposed suicide. He starts realizing that his future and possibly his life is in danger.

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Plot Keywords:

cia central intelligence agency | college | ivy league | suicide | secret society | 

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Taglines:

If a secret society can give you everything you desire, imagine what they can take away.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence and brief sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

James Van Der Beek was considered for the role of Luke McNamara.

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Goofs

In the first classroom scene, the overhead shots show Luke sitting at a table with one girl sitting on his left. Another woman is sitting at the head of the table. In the eyelevel shots of Luke from the teacher's viewpoint, the woman from the head of the table has shifted position to become a second woman on Luke's left.

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Quotes

Will Beckford: If it's secret and elite, it can't be good.

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Alternate Versions

The DVD version includes deleted scenes showing: Luke working as a singing flower delivery boy; a longer bar scene; after the bar scene they stop off at the news office; what happens after they fall off the roof; judge Mandrake blackmailing Luke; judge Mandrake convincing Caleb to "confess".

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Connections

Referenced in Vintage Video: A Small Circle of Friends (1980) (2020)

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Soundtracks

Devil's Train
Written by Daniel Lenz, Brent Daniels
Performed by Hednoize
Courtesy of Wax Trax Records/TV Records

User Reviews

'Secret Society' Film Is So-So

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.

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 March 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Skulls

Filming Locations:

Belfountain, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,034,885, 2 April 2000

Gross USA:

$35,046,120

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$50,802,120

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Original Film, Newmarket Capital Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1