The Skulls

The Skulls
Theatrical release poster
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 Steve Harris with William L. Petersen David Asman Scott Gibson Nigel Bennett Andrew Kraulis Derek Aasland Jennifer Melino Noah Danby and Craig T. Nelson
Music by	Randy Edelman, Emmanuel Kiriakou, Steve Porcaro
Cinematography	Shane Hurlbut
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	March 31, 2000
Running time	106 min.
Language	English
Budget	$15,000,000
Followed by	The Skulls II

The Skulls is a 2000 film starring Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, and Leslie Bibb; and directed by Rob Cohen. Its plot is based upon some of the conspiracy theories surrounding Yale University's Skull and Bones student society. The movie was critically panned, but successful enough to spawn two direct-to-video sequels, The Skulls II, directed by Joe Chappelle and starring Robin Dunne, Ashley Lyn Cafagna and The Skulls III, with Clare Kramer as the first woman member of the society.

Plot

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 Litten Mandrake (Craig T. Nelson) is the current Chairman of the Skulls, and his partner Senator Ames Levritt (William Petersen) 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 Caleb 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 Litten'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 Lombard committed the murder - not Caleb. In trying to convince Caleb of the truth—that it was Litten 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 a detective who has been threatened with some secret by the Skulls, and Luke ends up being confined to a mental hospital under the control of the Skulls.

With the help of Ames Levritt 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. Litten 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 Litten to kill Luke, Caleb cannot bring himself to pull the trigger. At this point, Litten 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, Litten 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 and says, "Well done, son," though Luke cannot hear him. The final shot of the movie is Luke's reunion with Chloe.

Cast

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 Skulls' headquarters while the office of the Skulls' 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. Several scenes were shot on Dark Island.

External links

• The Skulls at the Internet Movie Database
• The Skulls at Allmovie
• The Skulls II at the Internet Movie Database
• The Skulls III at the Internet Movie Database