Skull World (2013) User Reviews

Sommer's Zest For Life is Infectious

[gregsrants · 7/10 · 9 July 2013]

We all have a friend like Greg Sommer. A friend who seemingly lives in his own world. A friend who is a kid at hart living in an adult body. A friend whose youthful energy is contagious, but whose lack of worldly realism could ultimately leave them vulnerable.

Greg Sommer and his passion for the cult underworld of cardboard based combat is the focus of the new documentary Skull Wars from writer/director Justin McConnell. It is an engrossing film which lures audiences in with its exploration of the energetic and passionate Sommer.

We watch Greg Sommer as he explains his fanatical obsession and it's his intense likability that will keep you glued through his travels and battles which include a trip to Australia where Greg meets peers who also don the cardboard armour to battle with boarded swords and other weapons of intended destruction.

Greg himself comes across as a Roddy Rowdy Piper sort of adult. His exuberance is infectious and his desire to fulfill his cardboard-based combat fantasies are to be realized with or without the general support of friends and family. His combat battles are not that of average role-players mocked and pitied in other films. Greg and his opponents spend countless hours designing and crafting their suits and weapons. It is a talent only for those with an imagination that would rival the most creative of boyhood dreams.

Donning a skull mask for his battles, television spots and touring dates, Greg Sommer's personality is still able to radiate from behind the disguise. He is a heartfelt man, a passionate man and one who longs for what all adults seek – fun.

I argue that any man below the age of 45 that sits for countless hours behind a desk 5-days-a-week would love to experience life in Sommer's shoes for a battle. But I would further contend that the envious emotion would last for but a single day.

And that is the unfortunate tragedy of Greg Sommer's life goals. In a world where success is more generally perceived in terms of assets and family, Sommer lacks a firm grasp of a future that will provide for him long after he moves from his mom's basement. Yet, that is not the tragedy. The tragedy is that many adults will look to his behavior as being something that one should have grown clear of around puberty. And considering the fun that Greg emanates and his zestful lust for life, the tragedy is that there is not more people just like him.

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A Skull Man in a Skull World

[NoDakTatum · 8/10 · 10 October 2023]

Justin McConnell finally fills that "eccentric Canadian who wears a skull mask and hits people with cardboard weapons" documentary niche. Greg Sommer lives in his mother's basement, works at a cemetery, and does freelance video work on the side. He is obsessed with heavy metal music, and his "room" is a giant space filled with big boy toys. He hears about a new competition from Australia that gets him and his friends very excited- three Aussies have created Box Wars, where competitors dress in armor made of cardboard and, wielding cardboard weapons, beat their fellow soldiers until their armor falls off, and then that competitor is "out". Sommer has created an alter ego, Skull Man, and with his quirky sense of humor and his video work, embraces Box Wars, instigating competitions in his native Canada. What starts out as a few of his friends getting together turns bigger and bigger, and Sommer begins feeling the pressure of running the entire operation himself.

McConnell's film runs one hundred minutes, and in the first half hour, I was wondering why this wasn't a short documentary. A little Sommer goes a long way. McConnell gets into a competition himself, the Box Wars take off, and I couldn't figure out what more could be gleaned from the film. But then Sommer begins relieving stress by doing odd things like taking hallucinogenics, and going UFO hunting. He tries to come off as a wild and crazy guy (there's a little too much footage of his friends telling us how wonderful he is), but he is dumping thousands of dollars into these Box Wars with little to no return on his investment. The best segment of the film has Sommer travelling to the home of Box Wars, Australia, and meeting the game's three creators and finding out how they do things Down Under. McConnell does a great job exposing Sommer's faults as well as his positives. He is close to his subject, but allows some warts to show through. The editing and camerawork are great. Sommer was involved in the film's production, but this doesn't turn into a feature length infomercial for Box Wars. Sommer's weirdness does threaten to sabotage a few efforts to sell Box Wars. Aside from a few too many glowing testimonials in a film that runs ten minutes too long, "Skull World" is an entertaining documentary that lets the viewer peek into this odd corner of Canada.