The Ruins (2008)
We’re being quarantined here. We’re being kept here to die.
– Amy
The Ruins is the next entry in my “Creep-A-Thon”. I do not know what this movie was about when I saw it. Judging by the poster, the ruins are going to get them. I was somewhat right. This is an interesting way to torture your characters.
Based on the book of the same name by Scott Smith, the movie is about four college age friends; Jeff (Jonathan Tucker), Eric (Shawn Ashmore) and their girlfriends, Amy (Jena Malone) and Stacy (Laura Ramsey), that are on vacation in Mexico. They are bored. They wanted to have a last hurrah before going back to school.
A German traveler, Mathias (Joe Anderson) befriends them and asks them to come along on a trek to long lost ancient Mayan temple that hasn’t been discovered yet. Mathias wants to find his older brother, Heinrich (Jordan Patrick Smith) that disappeared looking at the same area.
They travel to the remote place from a makeshift map with a friend of Mathias, Dimitri (Dimitri Baveas). When they arrive at the pyramid, the local Mayans in the area, Lead Mayan (Sergio Calderón), Mayan Bowman (Jesse Ramirez), Mayan Horsemen (Balder Moreno) confront the group.
The locals kill Dimitri and chase them to the top of the pyramid. They surround it. The group wants to know why the locals cannot let them down. Jeff thinks that they would be rescued because before they left Dimitri left another copy of the map with a couple of Greeks.
The more time that the group stays up there, the more the pyramid wants to kill them.
I thought that this is a departure from the typical horror movie. That was no human killing them. It’s a plant. I know that sounds lame, but I thought it was more intriguing of a concept. The psychological effects that being near the vines are doing to them. By the way, doesn’t the growth on the temple look like marijuana?
Judgment: It’s a different type of horror movie to pique your interest.
Rating: ***1/2
Posted on October 29, 2009, in 2008, Creep-A-Thon, Horror, Psychological, Running Feature, Thriller and tagged Balder Moreno, Dimitri Baveas, Jena Malone, Jesse Ramirez, Joe Anderson, Jonathan Tucker, Jordan Patrick Smith, Laura Ramsey, Sergio Calderón, Shawn Ashmore, The Ruins. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh………..I was so hoping you were with me on this one. I loathed this movie. It turned out to be the best comedy, and worst horror film I’ve seen in a long time. I’m certain I’m dumber for having seen it, which is possible why I laughed so much, but by the end of it’s short 93 minutes it’s pretty boring anyway. The corny ending allowed for a good slap across the forehead, but all in all it was awful! LOL
To each their own I suppose!
I know on the surface I should hate the movie, because they are hunted by murderous vines. There was something about this movie that appealed to me.
I guess, I was tired of the blood and gore in my binge.
Maybe, if I watched it again, I would change my mind.
I’m not a big horror junkie myself, so my opinion isn’t entirely subjective, but after a few cocktails I would make anyone watch this or Cabin Fever. Both are awful, but hilarious for all the wrong reasons!
I heard about Cabin Fever where a group of kids are in cabin and they have an infection. I believe they start going paranoid and start killing each other. They made sequels on that movie.