The Ruins Review
by tom elce (dr-pepperite AT hotmail DOT com)June 20th, 2008
The Ruins (2008)
3 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Tom Elce
Directed by Carter Smith
Cast: Jena Malone, Laura Ramsey, Jonathan Tucker, Shawn Ashmore, Joe Anderson, Dimitri Baveas, Sergio Calderon, Jesse Ramirez Rated: R (MPAA), 18 (BBFC)
Destined to draw comparisons to 2006's torture one-two punch "Hostel" and "Turistas" though it is, Carter Smith's film stands on its own two feet as an atmospheric, if somewhat familiar style of horror movie mercifully more interested in elliciting the goosebumps from carefully managed, palpable tension than it is via violence. Which isn't to suggest for a second that the film is anywhere near devoid of the crimson stuff. Instead, it is that genre film that combines suspense with gore to effectively impact the viewer. Here we have an imperfect horror film, but one that genre fans will nonetheless willingly eat up.
At the heart of the film is a foursome of recent college graduates enjoying an exotic vacation in Mexico. When another traveler, in Mathias (Joe Anderson), approaches Amy (Jena Malone), Stacy (Laura Ramsey), Jeff (Jonathan Tucker) and Eric (Shawn Ashmore) with a proposal to head into the jungle in search on an archaeological site where his brother has disappeared, they agree to go with him (if not being uniformly pleased about it). Once there, they quickly find themselves cornered in by tribesmen unwilling to let them leave alive and, obviously, find themselves in hugely unfavourable circumstances - not helped by the fact that one of them is mercilessly dispatched by the tribesmen outside the Mayan temple. What they don't anticipate, however, is just how much worse their situation will get - nor how so.
Directed by Carter Smith with smooth editing and changes of scene that exploit the groups surroundings either for ironic beauty or a feeling of isolation/claustrophobia, the film is also decently written by screenwriter Scott B. Smith - who adapts his own novel. Yet this doesn't come without its misgivings. Too much time, for example, is spent analysing the jungle before the true villain of Smith's film is revealed, and it is after this point where a more regular view of the surroundings would have had the greatest impact. The screenplay, too, conforms to having characters do unintelligent things - explore dark corners, descend through deep holes in search of a phone - that don't appear to help them the first time, and simply exascibate their situation thereafter. The positive, though, is that these characters are more well-rounded than is the norm for the slasher genre, and are infinitely more likeable than the insufferable stick-figures presented in the recent "Prom Night."
As played by Jena Malone, Laura Ramsey, Jonathan Tucker and Shawn Ashmore, the characters themselves feel close-knit and evidently care about each other more than your usual cookie-cutter victims would. Malone and Ramsey are at the same time vulnerable and fiercely determined, as well as relatable human beings plunged into horrific circumstances. Jonathan Tucker does further good work in following his impressive turn in 2003's underrated "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remake and 2006's banal "Pulse." The weakest of the four would be Shawn Ashmore, who himself doesn't perform anywhere approaching badly.
More than anything else, "The Ruins" echoes reality in the way the friends communicate before and during their trying experience, their friendship palpable enough for the viewer to actually care about whether or not they make it out the other end. In adapting a book ripe for the movie treatment, Carter Smith has managed a horror experience deeper than the vast majority of mainstream horror, if inferior to the less gimmicky likes of "Wolf Creek" and "Gone." At the conclusion of its concise ninety-minute running time, there is concern that the finale has gone in the wrong direction, which ultimately subtracts a little from the quality of the finished product. Nonetheless, the film is a frequently frightening, bleak human tale meeting horror story that works well enough for it to merit recommendation.
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
