by Gene Michael Stover
created Tuesday, 2026 September 30
updated Monday, 2026 September 28
original at cybertiggyr.com/ijg4o.html
The Skulls is a film directed by Rob Cohen & released in 2000. The Skulls 2 is directed by Joe Chappelle & released in 2002.
Both films are thrillers that take place at a hoity toity college. They involve a fraternity that's a very old secret society; it's members remain active in it even after college. They tend to become powerful people.
There is also a film called The Skulls 3 which I have not seen.
Spoilers. I assume you've already seen the movies or you don't care that I'm about to tell you what happens in them.
The Skulls #1 is better than #2. Both are decent “conspiracy & paranoia at college” films. I was interested in a difference between the two films.
In both movies, our main guy is presented as a kind of independent thinker, one who is above the elitism of secret societies.
Our main character in the first movie is Luke. He pushes the boundaries & maybe breaks some minor rules of The Skulls, but in the end, he's still a Skull. He participated in a tiny little war within The Skulls. Another older Skull, a senator, confirms this in his own words towards the end of the movie (& had foreshadowed it earlier). Luke is still a Skull. His Skull soul mate is still a Skull, & it sounds like Luke will help him through whatever legal troubles might pounce on him (which is sweet, I think). So Luke assisted in a Skulls enema, but he did not reject them.
Our main guy in the second movie is Ryan. He's also presented as being beyond the elitism of secret societies, but he takes it farther with his practical joke during initiation. By the end of the movie, Ryan has resigned from The Skulls & gets another member kicked out. Unlike Luke, Ryan does reject the Skulls. (He also assists in a Skulls enema.)
So our two main guys are presented similarly, with similar tone in the two films, but they have different endings: In #1, our main guy does not reject The Skulls. In #2, our main guy does reject them in the end.
I'm not saying these are plot holes. They are either weak parts or things that I just missed (& might catch with a re-watch).
The Skull who was on the roof with the woman: I think his nickname was Hutch. The woman was Diana. She falls off the building. People in the film treat it like it was murder. It looked like an accident to me. Even if Hutch had drugged her drink (which is a crime), he didn't murder her. I'm sure The Skulls would hide such an event in any case.
Like I said above, I'm not sure why The Skulls needed such an elaborate plot against Ryan to prevent him from becoming a Skull. Wasn't he still a pledge? Couldn't they just say that he didn't make the grade, cut him loose? There's probably something I missed. Like, maybe much of the plot occurs after he's accepted. I dunno.
The elaborate plot to frame Ryan & kick him out is too complex by half, too shaky, also. That could be seen as a weakness in the plot, or it could be seen as realistic: The guy who came up with it did it on short order, didn't have experience doing that kind of thing, & did it alone. So he caught the blame for the failure.
The Skulls #1 is better than #2. Both are decent “conspiracy & paranoia at college” films.