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The Skulls

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The Skulls (2000)

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Reviews Counted:83

Fresh:6

Rotten:77

Average Rating:3/10

Consensus: The Skulls is full of nonsense and empty of good script and plot.

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: 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... 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. [More]

Starring: Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, Craig T. Nelson, Leslie Bibb

Starring: Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, Craig T. Nelson, Leslie Bibb, Hill Harper, Steve Harris, Christopher McDonald, Jenn Melino, William L. Petersen

Director: Rob Cohen

Director: Rob Cohen
Screenwriter: John Pogue
Producer: Neal H. Moritz, John Pogue
Composer: Randy Edelman

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Skulls

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

This is a straight to video job.

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
10/30/01
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

One of those releases that really should have gone straight to video -- in the discount bin.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/01/00
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A good movie gets you hooked by introducing a fascinating story, likeable characters or thrilling action. The Skulls has none of these.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

The writing is so bad that it's impossible not to laugh out loud at scenes intended to be scary or serious.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press

It's so ludicrous in so many different ways it achieves a kind of forlorn grandeur.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
At the Movies

The Skulls is shot and edited with enough verve to make you forget what a load of junk it is.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Murray
Steve Murray
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

This movie takes itself way too seriously, though, unfortunately, not quite so seriously that I was able to suppress those spontaneous guffaws that kept arising.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

If there was an Oscar for the Silliest Movie Category, then The Skulls might be in with a good chance of winning.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/01
Ben Falk
Ben Falk
BBC

To explain the number of things wrong with The Skulls would require more space than is available and more time than can be spared.

comment Comment
01/01/00
George Thomas
George Thomas
Beacon Journal

The Skulls plummets into the realm of ludicrous failure.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Jay Carr
Jay Carr
Boston Globe

Empty-headed piffle.

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
03/24/02
Peter Keough
Peter Keough
Boston Phoenix

A display of some of the worst writing and filmmaking ever captured for the screen.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Tim Cogshell
Tim Cogshell
Boxoffice Magazine

This is unbelievably dumb.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Griffin Van Malssen
Griffin Van Malssen
Charlotte Observer

Initially tolerable but increasingly stupid.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
03/05/07
Lisa Alspector
Lisa Alspector
Chicago Reader

To call this movie simply absurd is almost to pay it a complement.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Michael Wilmington
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune

It’s amazing that so many viewers were still seated by the time the end credits began to roll.

Full Review Source: Cinemaphile.org | comment Comment
03/10/07
David Keyes
David Keyes
Cinemaphile.org

The Skulls turns out to be such a mediocre, listless effort.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
01/01/00
Scott Von Doviak
Scott Von Doviak
culturevulture.net

The film drags in the middle, ends with an anticlimax and requires a fair amount of suspension of disbelief throughout.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kendall Morgan
Kendall Morgan
Dallas Morning News

If, in fact, Skull and Bones was ground zero of a powerful conspiracy, The Skulls would be a great disinformation tool. After seeing this, no one could ever take it seriously again.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press

It’s hard to get outraged about a movie this bad.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Skulls

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Last thing we heard about a new "Fletch" flick was that "Scrubs" creator Bill Lawrence would direct and (probably) Zach Braff would star. Well, forget all that. More...

September 27, 2006: "Stealth" Director Gets "Scared Straight"
Director Rob Cohen, best known for movies like "The Skulls," "The Fast and the Furious," and "xXx," has signed on to direct a prison thriller... More...

July 28, 2005: RT Critical Consensus: "Sky High" Soars, "Stealth" Crashes, and Diane Lane and John Cusack Go Dateless
The willing suspension of disbelief is often essential to the moviegoing experience. This week's wide releases provide no such relief. We will be asked to believe that a fighter... More...

July 11, 2005: Pogue Pens Remake of a French Fright Flick
Screenwriter John Pogue has sold his pitch for a remake of the 2002 French horror film "Malefique" to Paramount, says Variety. Producer Neal Moritz... More...

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