Roger Ebert torched The Skulls back in 2000, but the movie has quietly settled into that sweet spot where a juicy premise, a hot young cast, and some shamelessly silly plotting add up to a good time. No, it is not high art. Yes, it goes down easy.
A quick rewind to spring 2000
The Skulls landed in March 2000, wedged between Scream 3 a few weeks earlier and Final Destination a few weeks later. That stretch was a buffet for teens and college kids. Joshua Jackson was peaking on Dawson's Creek as Pacey Witter, Paul Walker had just popped in She’s All That, and Leslie Bibb was on the rise. The casting did a lot of the heavy lifting, and it worked.
- Release: March 2000 (after Scream 3, before Final Destination)
- Cast: Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, Leslie Bibb
- Premise: A working-class student joins an elite secret society with consequences attached
- Box office: $50.8 million worldwide on a $15 million budget
- Location: Filmed at the University of Toronto
- Sequels: The Skulls II and The Skulls III (both went straight to video)
Ebert’s one-star broadside
Ebert reviewed the film in March 2000 and slapped it with one star. He came out swinging:
'It isn’t a comedy, but that won’t stop anyone.'
'It’s so ludicrous in so many different ways it achieves a kind of forlorn grandeur. It’s in a category by itself.'
Even when he hammered a movie, Ebert could still turn a phrase. And look, he was clear: he found the thing ridiculous from top to bottom. But if you meet The Skulls on its own terms, there is plenty of pulpy entertainment here.
Under the robe: the actual movie
At heart, this is a campus coming-of-age thriller. Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson) rows crew, comes from a tighter financial background than his classmates, and has law-school ambitions. He gets tapped by The Skulls, a hyper-connected secret society where power and privilege pour in as fast as the red flags. Paul Walker plays Caleb Mandrake, a legacy member whose charm masks some very messy loyalties.
The tone leans glossy and earnest, with dialogue that occasionally clinks, but the story clicks because it understands a pressure cooker a lot of students feel: the tug-of-war between belonging and staying yourself. The secret-society hook gives it a sleek thriller engine. And yes, there is a big reveal that still plays.
Why it stuck
Numbers first: $50.8 million worldwide on a $15 million budget is a tidy win, the kind that keeps a movie bouncing around cable and late-night lineups until it picks up a following. Over time it slid into that late-90s/early-2000s campus-movie lane alongside things like Urban Legend and The Rules of Attraction (starring James Van Der Beek). It never aimed for the halo of Almost Famous, but it delivers a snapshot of that era’s style: slick, dramatic, and a little breathless about wealth and influence.
For the curious: Ebert gave Urban Legend two stars, which tracks with how he separated pulpy fun from what he considered solid craft. Fair enough. Different lanes.
A location flex and a great line
The production shot in and around the University of Toronto, which gives the film a stately, almost storybook look. Ebert, even in full takedown mode, couldn’t resist painting the setting:
'a Gothic monument so filled with vistas and arches and caverns and halls and pools and verandas that Dracula would have something along these lines if he could afford it.'
If you know those buildings, you can practically hear the footsteps echoing down those corridors.
About those sequels
The Skulls spawned The Skulls II and The Skulls III, both direct-to-video. Curiosity is a powerful force; just know where that path leads.
Verdict
Ebert’s pan is worth reading because the man could write a lightning bolt. But The Skulls earns its cult badge. Jackson makes Luke’s climb feel grounded, Walker gives the society a glossy menace, and the movie scratches that old-school campus-thriller itch. If you remember that era fondly, this one still hits its mark.
