The Skulls Trilogy – DVD Review

Film, Reviews

skullstrilogy

The Skulls

Luke McNamara is a poor student trying to make his way through the world of the rich kids without ever actually having all that they do. He currently works in the dining hall at Yale University so he isn’t necessarily part of the “in crowd” but he does extremely well in the sport of rowing and therefore is rather attractive to a particular society at the school. That society is known as “The Skulls” and they are willing to look past his poor stature and even pay his way through school if he simply keeps the secrets of the society to himself. It’s too bad though that Luke has friends outside of the Skulls and when they learn some of the society’s secrets and rituals; Luke must make a decision between them and people like his Skull brother Caleb who could make life very troublesome, and even dangerous, for all of them.

The Skulls takes the idea of secret societies to the levels we’ve all come to learn about in films and it’s not very easy to take any of it seriously. Students being so rich and arrogant that they can get away with physical abuse, verbal threats in public, and even murder is stretching it a bit far. One of the biggest problems is that everyone knows about the Skulls. I wouldn’t necessarily say that falls in the “secret” category. It does build a little tension throughout the film and that especially holds true once Luke has to decide between his art friends Will and Chloe or Caleb and the Skulls. The rest of the film is just so incredibly dull and even laughable at times because it’s just way too hard to take Paul Walker in such a serious and evil role. Trust me, there are many other problems in this film and while it’s a semi-decent popcorn flick; it’s not good for taking seriously or hoping for a true thriller.

The Skulls II

Ryan Sommers is a Legacy member due to his brother formerly being in the secret society so many people know simply as “The Skulls.” His inclusion into the society is almost a guarantee and he couldn’t be more excited about it so he decides to pay a small prank on his new brethren. Little did he know that he would be a witness to a girl’s murder in the realm of the Skulls and now he must fight with himself whether to side with his brothers or do what is right. The police are on his case but he knows that the rest of the Skulls always have their eyes on him and it could spell social disaster and severe physical harm. Ryan soon realizes that what he knows could actually stretch back to past contingencies of the Skulls and destroy their entire history.

Again we have a huge problem here in that the Skulls as a secret society just isn’t that damn secret. Everyone knows about them and knows their history and what goes on in the throngs of their legacy. Sure there are many social groups at universities that are known to the public, but they don’t promote themselves as being “secret” like the Skulls always do. Word to the wise fellas; if you’re promoting that you are secret then you really aren’t that secret. While this film has a better storyline then the first film; it just doesn’t seem to have the small amount of tension that The Skulls brought to the table. I will say though that the last half of the film rather impressed me by bringing the first two films together and making them connect. Very well done.

The Skulls III

Taylor Brooks has found out about the secret society, The Skulls, that everyone is talking about (that problem is here again). Her boyfriend has made it into the Skulls and she wants to know everything that goes on inside of their chambers and she makes a valid point for them letting her in because there has never been a female member in their history. See, the deeper story is that Taylor’s brother was killed during initiation four years ago and a part of her wants to prove that the Brooks’ family is alive and well and belongs in the Skulls. Soon after her acceptance though, her brothers try to pin a murder on her and the “secret” of the Skulls is in grave jeopardy as is Taylor’s life.

The Skulls III is exactly the same film as the first two but with different people in it. Once again nothing is kept secret whatsoever and rush is almost more like a public freshmen initiation then a secret society ritual. One thing that rings in a little change here as opposed to the first two films is that there is a woman in the lead role and she is all for the “anything men can do, women can do better” cliché. There isn’t much to thrill here, and by the time I even started The Skulls III my mind was ready to explode with mediocrity and boredom. Don’t expect much here and prepare for the same as before unless you decide to watch the films out of order.

The Skulls and The Skulls II are shown in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen while The Skulls III is shown in 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen format. All of the films look decent but have some serious color issues at times with a few of the darker scenes being in shadow a tad too much.

The films are all heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and the dialogue is all heard fine throughout the trilogy, but the surround speakers are used so little that it almost makes no sense having that format in use.

The Skulls

Spotlight On Location – Interviews with the cast and crew help give the background of the film and its production a new light. Basically you’re getting everyone involved with making The Skulls having a positive attitude towards everything about it. (13:40)

Audio Commentary – Director Rob Cohen sits alone for this commentary track and it is quite an enjoyable one at that. He seems to be thrilled about his film and enjoyed making it. Cohen gives some really good information about how the shoot went, certain aspects of the film, and how it was working with the different actors. This is well worth listening to if you’re going to give the film a second run through.

Deleted Scenes – These can be played with or without commentary from Cohen. None of these scenes would have helped the film any by being left in nor did they hurt it by being taken out. (12:25)

Theatrical Trailer

Production Notes And Bios

The Skulls II and The Skulls III – Have no special features


Had this been the release of just the first film in The Skulls trilogy then my opinion of it all might be a little better, but not by much. All this collection does is bring the previous releases together and throw them into one neat little package. Again, calling it “neat” isn’t exactly accurate either because there’s not much neat about three close to awful films and special features for only one of them. I just don’t like a franchise that is supposed to be built on mystery and intrigue yet every single thing is out on the table for the world to see from the very first moment. Never before has a series of mystery films lacked so much mystique and intensity before and made me not really even interested in what’s going to happen at the end of each one. Oh well, you can’t win them all. Let’s drink to this trilogy hopefully meaning there will be no more Skulls films. Come on, they really couldn’t have made that much money.

………………………………………




Universal Studios presents The Skulls Trilogy. Directed by: Rob Cohen (The Skulls); Joe Chappelle (The Skulls II); J. Miles Dale (The Skulls III).

Starring: Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, Hill Harper, Leslie Bibb, Craig T. Nelson (The Skulls); Robin Dunne, Nathan West, Ashley Lyn Cafagna, Lindy Booth (The Skulls II); Clare Kramer, Bryce Johnson, Steve Braun, Len Cariou, Shaun Sipos, Barry Bostwick (The Skulls III).

Written by: John Pogue (The Skulls); Hans Rodionoff & Michelle Colucci-Zieger (The Skulls II); Joe Johnson (The Skulls III).

Running time: 310 minutes on 2 discs. Rating: R. Released on DVD: February 10, 2009. Available at Amazon.com