THE SKULLS II

Ryan Sommers, a naive university student, is dragged into the mysterious world of the most powerful secret society in the country: the Skulls. Ryan must never reveal the organization's secrets or the names of its powerful members. The boy, however, witnesses a murder at the association's headquarters, from that moment his life will be in danger. To judge this "The Skulls II" it is enough to start from some premises that hint at the type of product you are dealing with. First of all, the predecessor. The first "The Skulls" was certainly not a masterpiece of cinema history nor an incredible commercial success, premises that already in themselves would not justify a second chapter. Even more so, if one considers that the film had, with all probability, already said everything – little! - that there was to say. Secondly, the direct-to-video destination certainly did not help. It is known that films that are born directly for home video often – fortunately not always, there are titles above the average! – stand out for a poverty of means and ideas. The third "charge" is directly linked to the first two. To justify a sequel to the first film and to stand out from the average of direct-to-video films, a brilliant idea would have been needed, something new and interesting, talent on the part of directors and performers, components that are consistently lacking in this sequel. "The Skulls II" does nothing but re-propose – changing just a few details – the plot of its predecessor, all in a much poorer and less interesting version. And let us say that proposing a dull copy of a film, which in itself was already enjoyable but certainly not memorable and not without flaws, is certainly not the pinnacle of life. We are therefore once again in the presence of yet another accident/murder by the unpunished "Skulls" and the new initiate of the moment who will reconsider the association trying to bring out the truth at risk of his own life. The film has no connection to the first chapter except, obviously, in the subject of the secret society, with all its rituals. A mention of Cohen's film would also be there but it seems more of a forced connection than a real connection between the two films. The cast is made up of mediocre actors, some of whom are clearly miscast. If in "The Skulls" the roles of president and advisors of the "Skulls" order were entrusted to the experienced and convincing Craig T. Nelson, William Petersen, and Christopher McDonald, in this sequel we find some stupid young boys who are too young and really not credible for the part. The television actor Robin Dunne, in the role of the protagonist, seems to have found his dimension in direct-to-video sequels given his presence in titles such as "Cruel Intentions 2", "American Psycho II" and "Species III". Also in the cast is the beautiful but not equally artistically talented Ashley Lyn Cafagna, whose appearances in that abomination of "Frankenstein & The Werewolf Reborn" and – above all – in the soap opera "Beautiful" alone make it clear what the level of casting and the product itself must have been. The director is Joe Chappelle, an honest craftsman who, after having managed to make a couple of non-exceptional but still enjoyable titles, such as "Halloween 6" or "Phantoms", has turned to series ("C.S.I. Miami" in particular ndr) and here is in line with the mediocrity of the product due to a flat and too television-like direction. TV packaging to which also contribute editing and photography. The duration of the feature film does not help at all, about 100 minutes are definitely too many for a film that had little or nothing to say based as it was on a dull and lifeless screenplay. Boredom, therefore, will already after a short time be an inseparable companion of the viewer. In conclusion, we would define "The Skulls II" as a bad copy/paste of the previous film, a pale direct-to-video that can be avoided and with points of interest equal to zero. The vote is rounded up for excess.