While I’m sure that there are plenty of original film ideas floating around Hollywood, we rarely see any of them make
it to the screen. Let’s face it, Hollywood was into recycling long before the rest of us caught on. A recent trend has been to take a particular genre or film and re-package it for a different audience. (This has been happening for years with foreign films being remade for American tastes.) Another practice is to take "adult"-themed films and change them so that they will appeal to younger audiences. Well, apparently "The Firm" and "The Devil’s Advocate" were too "high-brow" for teenagers, as Universal has brought us "The Skulls", a suspense thriller which will seem very familiar, but does offer some exciting action.
Joshua Jackson of "Dawson’s Creek" and "The Mighty Ducks" fame stars as Luke McNamara. Luke is a rising senior at an unnamed Ivy Leauge school (although, it’s implied that it’s Yale.). Luke is the captain of the champion crew team and as a poor scholarship student, proven himself to be a hard-worker and a go-getter. Because of this, Luke is "tapped" (asked) to join The Skulls, a secret society. Secret
societies are like fraternities, but more... secret. Luke accepts this offer, much to the chagrin of his friend Will (Hill Harper) and his would-be girlfriend Chole (the beguiling Leslie Bibb). The Skulls are known to bestow money upon their members and as Luke can’t afford the law school that he wants to attend, he sees the tapping as a blessing.
But, soon things start to turn sour. Luke learns that The Skulls are a renegade group who are drunk on power and seem themselves as being above the law. When Luke discovers that a student has been murdered by a Skull, he tries to alert the authorities. Luke soon finds himself in a paranoid nightmare, as it seems that the influence of The Skulls reaches every corner of society. With the help of Chloe and some colorful characters from Luke’s old neighborhood, Luke decides to take on The Skulls single-handedly and challenge their power.
As noted earlier, the plot of "The Skulls" borrows heavily from "The Firm" and "The Devil’s Advocate". (There are even some shots lifted from "The Firm".) Herein lies the main problem with the film. As we are familiar with these other films, much of "The Skulls" is predictable. Fortunately, the film does redeem itself during the last reel as there are several unexpected twists and turns. Also, the use of the secret society angle helps the film. As many of the rituals shown in the film are based on fact and rumor about real secret societies (screenwriter John Pogue was in one at Yale), the film introduces us to a world that has been relatively unexplored in film. I do wish that we could have learned more about these secret societies, but then I guess they wouldn’t be secret.
Joshua Jackson is very good in the lead role. After cutting his teeth working in the shadow of Emilio Estevez and James Van Der Beek, Jackson comes into his own here, doing a fine job portraying the "everyman" necessary for this role. Leslie Bibb goes above and beyond the aura she portrays on "Popular" and gives a fine performance as Chole. It’s always a pleasure to see William Petersen working and he’s good as the enigmatic Senator Levritt. Craig T. Nelson is also good as the cold Litten Mandrake, but his moustache is the scariest part of the film!