The Skulls II Blu-ray (original) (raw)

Mill Creek Entertainment | 2002 | 99 min | Rated R | Feb 15, 2022

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The Skulls II Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman, March 10, 2022

This Mill Creek Blu-ray release of 'The Skulls II' is currently only available as part of a three-film bundle with 'The Skulls' and 'The Skulls III.'

Ryan Sommers (Robin Dunne) is about to be one of the latest initiates in the prestigious underground collegiate society known as "The Skulls." It's an elite group of young men, a fraternity born not of a few Greek letters but rather of blood, legacy, and power. New initiates are expected to follow rigorous code, engage in cultic practices, and in exchange are granted seats of power, great wealth, women, and privilege. But Ryan couldn't really care less. He just wants to spend time with his girlfriend Ali (Ashley Tesoro). However, pull him away from her the organization does, but when he witnesses a young woman's death, he begins to poke and pry too far into the very heart of the Skulls, only to find himself, and his new ally, Ali's roommate Kelly (Lindy Booth), on the run from some of the most dangerous people in the world: his Skull blood brothers.

And...yada yada yada. The Skulls II is about as formulaic as they come and does not even deviate all that far from the first film. In both films, the main character, a Skull, finds himself forced to confront the dark underbelly of the titular secret society. The differences is that in the first film, the lead wanted to bask on the glory of Skull-hood (if that is what it is called). In this film, he does not want to be a part of the group. Otherwise, the films are more or less carbon copies, exploring the same themes and characteristics. There is no differentiation beyond a few small details, character faces, and names in the credits. That means fans of the original will probably find this a decent second outing, entirely otherwise unconnected to the original as it may be, while newly interested parties should probably just watch the first film, which is slightly better than this direct to video outing.

The Skulls II Blu-ray, Video Quality

Mill Creek releases The Skulls II to Blu-ray as part of a three-pack with the other two films in the series. All three films share a single BD-50 disc, so compression is likely to immediately come into question and indeed the compression shortcomings immediately reveal themselves. Backgrounds are blocky, extremely so at worst and bothersome at best: essentially, every scene reveals some level of chunky digital backgrounds. Long gone is the naturally smooth and organic, purely filmic look of the original source, replaced by the heavily compressed morass that permeates the experience. Worse, textures only skirt by on the level of "HD acceptable;" oftentimes one might rightly mistake the image for a decent upscaled DVD. Core facial and clothing definition is OK, but the picture lacks the organic complexity and natural sharpness the film medium provides to Blu-ray transfers up to spec. Worse, colors are very drab the film is dark by design, but even more forgiving light reveals a depressed and depleted palette. An outdoor chase scene around the 72-minute mark is about as good as the movie looks; it's adequately colorful and clear, but even then it can't escape that feeling of absolute mediocrity, and that is at its best. At least the print is relatively clean and free of distracting splotches and speckles. This is watchable, more or less, but don't expect anything more.

The Skulls II Blu-ray, Audio Quality

The included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is very front heavy. The presentation lacks the ability to even mildly immerse the listener into the material, including even during driving rain at the 34-minute mark. It's the most obvious example of the complete lack of surround integration and sense of immersion. It also demonstrates a lack of full clarity and command of its sound elements, lacking distinction and definition. Music is capably wide, at least, and decently clear, but don't expect a lifelike audio reproduction. Lighter atmosphere lingers along the front as well, and a few action-type effects, limited though they may be, deliver only serviceable definition. Dialogue is at least moderately clear and grounded in the front-center channel.

The Skulls II Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation

The Skulls II isn't a bad movie in terms of technical production, acting, or even story. It's just not very original, not by itself and particularly against the similarly structed original picture. There's not a whole lot of draw to this picture, not much of a reason to call it worthy of a first watch, never mind repeat viewings. And with stumbling video and lackluster audio, it's difficult to recommend this release in any form or fashion.

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