Other Titles • The Skulls • Le Clan des Skulls (2000)
Synopses for The Skulls (2000)
1.
Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson) pays the ultimate sacrifice for fitting in. Once the over-achieving New Haven townie is able to claw his way into an Ivy League College, he is invited to join an elitist secret society known as The Skulls. He jumps at the chance, hoping it will help secure his acceptance into a prestigious law school. At first seduced by the club's upper-crust trappings, Luke finds himself ensnared by his own ambition when his journalist roommate commits suicide amidst cloudy circumstances. Now at the risk of his own life, he must outwit The Skulls at their own game.
(15 votes)
2.
Think of the Skulls as a collegiate Freemason's society--an ultrasecret organization that opens the doors of power to a few lucky Ivy League students, including school rowing star Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson), a poor kid with a misspent youth. "If it's secret and it's elite, it can't be good," cautions his journalist roommate, but the lure of lavish gifts and cabal-like ceremonies in torch-lit stone chambers is too much to resist--until his roomie is murdered and his own Skull "soulmate" Caleb Mandrake (Paul Walker) is the number one suspect.
There's a campy kick to the initiation ceremonies, ancient rituals in dungeonlike alcoves filled with haze and shadow, performed by enthralled frat boys, but as Jackson flounders at the center of a Skull conspiracy it spins into ludicrous melodrama. See the college president become a thug for the Skull godfather! See street punks become high-tech criminal masterminds! See the conspiracy collapse under its own absurdity!
Jackson is pretty much a dud as the well-meaning hero, but Walker, with flashing eyes under furrowed brow, is mesmerizing as a haunted rich kid torn between a ruthless, overbearing father (Craig T. Nelson) and his conscience. Director Rob Cohen drives the film at a galloping pace and fills it with foreboding images, but his humorless solemnity finally buries The Skulls in a heap of clichés. --Sean Axmaker
(14 votes)
3.
At a top Ivy League college, a prestigious secret society has begun recruiting new members. One of their selections is Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson), a local working-class boy and star of the crew team. After a dangerous and arcane induction ceremony, Luke and other young men are welcomed into the Skulls, an elite fraternity with two former presidents and numerous powerful and important men as members. Luke enjoys his newfound privileges, which include fancy cars, money, and admittance to the law school of his choice. But when Luke's best friend and editor of the school newspaper goes investigating into the Skulls' inner sanctum and winds up mysteriously dead, Luke believes there may be sinister forces at work. Luke tries to quit the Skulls, refusing to go along with a cover-up involving the wealthy Caleb Mandrake (Paul Walker), son of the Skulls' president, and soon ominous forces are threatening not only Luke but his girlfriend, Chloe (Leslie Bibb). But can Luke get away from the Skulls, or is he a part of them forever? THE SKULLS is a creepy blending of conspiracy thriller ideas, based on the actual Skull & Bones Fraternity at Yale, which included screenwriter John Pogue as a member.
(14 votes)
4.
Deep within the hallowed walls of the Ivy League's most prominent campus exists a secret society where power and influence are bred. Every student dreams of an invitation to join the prestigious organization where Presidents are groomed wealthy bloodlines bond and devious plots are hatched. When a fellow pledge gets caught up in a murder scheme, one student must summon up the strength to stand up against immeasurable odds.
(13 votes)
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