The Ruins Review

"The Ruins" reviews

Movie

The Ruins

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2009-10-08 21:48:31

Rating

1.5/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

The lesson to be learned from this adaptation of Scott B. Smith's best-selling novel seems to be: "Don't trust the plants." The lesson for potential moviegoers, however, might best be: "Stay at home."

Story

Taking its cue from every vacation nightmare you've ever heard about, this shocker in the Stephen King/Peter Benchley vein sees a group of American tourists in Mexico taking an unwise, off-the-map sight-seeing tour of Mayan ruins, where they encounter a wicked strain of weed that feeds on humans. For the next hour or so, our panicked protagonists try to formulate an escape plan while sidestepping the vicious vegetation in their midst. Along the way, there are a couple of amputations and some amateur surgeries--all the better to please those members of the audience predisposed to such grisly goings-on.

Acting

As the principal foursome who find themselves endangered, Jena Malone, Jonathan Tucker, Laura Ramsey and Shawn Ashmore play it very straight. There's not much leeway with these characters; they're here to suffer, and suffer they do. They're so obviously doomed from the start, however, that it's hard to work up much interest in their eventual fates. Although the actors play their one-note roles with conviction, there's the nagging sense that each is capable of better--if only the material were there

Direction

Making his feature debut, Carter Smith (no relation to the author) directs in a straightforward, no-nonsense style. This is yet another of those horror films that might well have worked better in a shorter, tighter format--or, better yet, as part of a multi-part anthology (not unlike a similar installment about killer pond scum--remember that one?--in Creepshow 2 back in 1987). As a full-length feature, however, The Ruins is repetitious and predictable. Author Smith fared better when adapting his previous best-seller, A Simple Plan, back in 1998, even scoring an Academy Award nomination. Call this a sophomore jinx. The only major surprise is seeing Ben Stiller listed as one of the producers.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 1 1/2 stars.

Movie

The Ruins

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2008-06-20 16:40:25

Provider

Review

It might be look like yet another teens face danger in foreign country cautionary tale, that's been quickly rushed out by movie studios following the success of Hostel, but The Ruins has much more going for it than a quick cash in.

Based on a novel by Scott Smith, it tells the story of two American couples helping a new found friend trying to find his brother, who he believes is helping out on an archaeological dig in Mexico. Their journey finds them discovering an ancient temple. However, Mayan villagers are not too happy with their presence and, after a tense stand off, our heroes are forced to flee to the top of the temple as the tribe gets very violent indeed.

However, the real danger comes from nature itself, as the vines entwined around the ruins begin to come alive.

It's a premise that might sound not only silly but very similar to the recent The Happening. But unlike M Night Shyamalan's latest, Carter Smith's film manages to draw real tension and gasps that could easily have been replaced with giggles in less assured hands.

And kudos has to go to Smith for his refusal to splash the screen with gore, and instead concentrate on racking up nerve-shredding atmosphere and dread.

It of course gets a bit sillier as the film carries on (as horror films normally do) but it still manages to stand out in a very overcrowded market.