Starring: Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Shawn Ashmore, Laura Ramsey
Director: Carter Smith
Release Date: April 4, 2008
Running Time: 91 min
MPAA Rating: R
Distributor: Dreamworks Pictures

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Review by Jeremy Welsch

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Within the horror genre, the idea of young Americans being terrorized while on vacation doesn't break any new ground. This setting has been around almost since the inception of the genre, having been explored as early on as Friday the 13th. What is it about the concept that makes it such a good, if slightly overused setting? Well, at the core of any good horror movie is the idea of playing against people's common fears. Being on vacation automatically puts people on the defensive because they are out of their element. From flying to get there in the first place to simply being around people they don’t know, the vacation setting can be a breeding ground for good horror.

But as with any successfully used screenwriting device, 'young Americans encountering danger on vacation' is becoming clichéd. We’ve seen it used very well (Open Water, Deliverance, and, most recently, The Descent – my vote for the best horror movie of the decade) - and we’ve seen it used poorly (Hostel, Wolf Creek, and Turistas). As much as they all have the commonality of playing against basic human fears, the Hostels of the world have opted to ride the latest flavor of the moment and splatter gallons of blood across the screen in lieu of telling a compelling story. Don’t get me wrong: getting chopped to bits in a foreign country is probably pretty scary if it is happening to you, but for sheer watchability, call me crazy, I need something more.

Ask and you shall receive…

The Ruins is the latest entry in the “Why Foreign Countries Scare Young American Travellers” sweepstakes. The textbook opening finds four friends – Jeff (Jonathan Tucker), Amy (Jena Malone), Eric (Shawn Ashmore), and Stacy (Laura Ramsey) – nursing hangovers at a Mexican resort. They are two days from the end of their trip and trying to decide how to spend the tail end of it. Enter Mathias (Joe Anderson), a fellow vacationer from Germany. You are wary of him because you can’t quite make him out. And you are wary of him because vacation horror movie convention tells you that you should be. He and his friend Dimitri (Dimitri Baveas) are heading to an ancient Mayan pyramid the next day to look for Mathias’ brother, believed to have gone to an archaelogical dig site in the area. They leave a copy of the map with a separate set of guys, the Greeks, who will catch up with them later. After a bit of discussion, the whole gang decides to embark on a trek to the pyramid the next day. The ruins are not located on any map and vague warnings from the locals fall on deaf ears. After hiking through the jungle together, they happen upon the ruins. So far, not really much to write home about. Interesting enough but riding a wave of anticipation to this point.

As soon as they reach the ruins and without immediate explanation, they are ambushed by Mayan natives, who kill one of them and force the rest to the top of the pyramid at gunpoint. The natives set up camp, presumably to ensure that no one escapes. At this point we still do not understand why. And it is exactly in our not understanding that the picture begins to take hold. Without spoiling the movie I will say there is more to it than simply refugee natives and foreign travelers to be wary of. Our travellers soon realize the vines at the site of the ruins are unusual. They seem to be not only alive, but also deadly to whoever makes contact with them - deadly both physically and psychologically.

As the movie progresses the feeling quickly shifts from uncertainty and confusion to hopelessness and primal fear. And as ironic as it sounds, the hopelessness in the movie is its high point. Most critics have panned the film for its bleak outlook but I believe the unsettling tone is exactly what makes it as good as it is. The performances all around are just, well, OK. But it is the tone the story sets that makes the movie stand out. There is gore, and some of it is difficult to watch, but there is a perfect balance between gore and tension. It is used just sparingly enough, and at the perfect time, so that it plays into the film and the story as more than just a device to advance it. The filmmakers know their material well enough to understand that the movie should not pander to the type of audience that would make Prom Night the highest-grossing flick in the country.

I liked this movie because of its simplicity. I liked this movie because you were never really sure of anyone’s intentions. This allowed the filmmakers to achieve something unique by involving the audience in the story enough to put them on the defensive. The simplicity of the story added to the overall feeling of hopelessness as the movie wore on. For the record, I know the difference between the ending of the book and the movie, and I liked the movie version better. OK, maybe I didn’t like it better but it played out better on screen, adding a spice of Greek tragedy that helped sell the movie even more. Scott Smith (author of A Simple Plan – the novel and the screenplay) wrote them both this time round too, and had the sense to make the change for the movie. Who am I to tell him what to do with his own story?

And there’s the rub.

Film Rating: *** out of ****

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Comments (2)

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Thanks for the review! The previews for this totally freaked me out with the stuff crawling under their skin. But, I love horror movies (except for the torture-porn stuff) so I will most likely rent this one and watch it through my fingers, haha!

yiddidea , April 18, 2008 | url

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...getting chopped to bits in a foreign country is probably pretty scary if it is happening to you, but for sheer watchability, call me crazy, I need something more.

Love that.

Great review. I'm very squeamish, and not a huge fan of the horror genre, but this seems to have more to offer. I might just give it a try.

kellagood , April 18, 2008 | url

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