SOUND MIX
Dolby Digital 5.1

FEATURES
- Spotlight on Location Featurette
- Audio Commentary with Director ��Rob Cohen
- Deleted Scenes with Director's ��Comments
- Theatrical Trailer
- Production Notes
- Cast & Crew Bios

STUDIO
Universal

RECOMMENDATION
Maybe worth a rent.

GRADING SCALE
Film
Features
Audio
Video

He really gets in over his head when one of his friends is killed. And of course, he gets blamed for the murder. However, he knows who committed the crime, so he's on a mission to clear his name. He won't get help from the Skulls, as they're the ones after him. He doesn't know who to trust, but he must survive.

If this sounds cheesy, it is. "The Skulls" is full of cheese. Sometimes really bad stale cheese. The script is dreadful. You'll find yourself cringing after a few lines. The characters are thin, the camera is wildly out of control, and the finale is flat.

Any redeeming qualities? Well, there's a few small twists and turns in the plot, and Jackson is decent in his first lead role. That's not enough to make this film watchable.

Features
For some unearthly reason, "The Skulls" gets a collector's edition cover from Universal. Compared to CE's in the past, this one is a little skimpy on extras. In fact, this has fewer extras than some of their standard releases. Go figure. Anyways, you get a commentary from Cohen, deleted scenes, and a somewhat interesting featurette, which actually isn't all fluff.

Audio
Not much of an aggressive mix, but that's not saying it is bad. This 5.1 track gets the job done, as everything sounds good. The surrounds are really only used during the car chase scene. Bass is active at times. This isn't bad sound, it's just underused.

Video
Universal continues to send out top-of-the-line transfers. This one doesn't look as good as some of their gems, but there's nothing to really complain about. Detail could've been sharper during some scenes, but there's not grain or shimmering on this. It's fine.

Overall
Definitely not the thriller it was intended to be. Might be worth renting, but I wouldn't go farther than that. Don't let that "Collector's Edition" cover fool you.