The Skulls

Luke McNamara is a scholarship student at an Ivy League university who works to pay his way while hoping for a place at Harvard Law School. When he is invited to join a secret campus society called the Skulls, he sees a chance to secure his future. The group offers money, connections and privilege, but its members expect absolute loyalty in return. After a friend and fellow student dies under suspicious circumstances, Luke begins to question what he has joined and finds himself at odds with people far more powerful than he is. The film was directed by Rob Cohen, with a screenplay by John Pogue, and stars Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, Hill Harper, Leslie Bibb, Christopher McDonald and Steve Harris.

Released in 2000, The Skulls sits between The Rat Pack and The Fast and the Furious in Rob Cohen's filmography. It was made for 15 million dollars and took about 51 million dollars worldwide, a solid return on its budget, though audience scores are modest: 5.6 out of 10 on IMDb from roughly 35,000 votes and 5.8 out of 10 on TMDB from a much smaller sample. A critics' rating of 3.7 out of 10 from 87 reviews is clearly lower than what general viewers gave it. The production was split between Canada and the United States, with Universal Pictures among the companies behind it.