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The Skulls
2000 106 min United States of America PG-13 18+
★5.0
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Director: Rob Cohen
Trailers
Description
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.
Budget:
$15M
US Gross:
$35.05M
Worldwide:
$50.8M
Starring
Joshua Jackson
Actor
Paul Walker
Actor
Hill Harper
Actor
Awards
1 nomination total
Key opinion
The Skulls is a polarizing early 2000s thriller that earns praise for its compelling premise about elite secret societies and the chemistry of its leads. However, it is frequently criticized for failing to live up to that potential due to a predictable, formulaic screenplay and a low-budget aesthetic that many viewers found disappointing.
| Acting | Joshua Jackson and Paul Walker anchor the film with strong, charismatic performances that elevate the material. | |
| Originality | The premise of a secret, elite campus society provides an intriguing and ambitious hook for a conspiracy thriller. | |
| Cinematography | The film's visual identity is divisive, with some praising its atmospheric aesthetic and others dismissing it as cheap, television-style production. | |
| Screenplay | The screenplay is criticized for relying on predictable genre tropes and becoming a generic thriller once the initial mystery is dismantled. | |
| Ending | The narrative's shift from a tense conspiracy to an unbelievable, simplified resolution undermines the characters' motivations. |