Based on the novel by Scott B. Smith, The Ruins stars Shawn
Ashmore, Jenna Malone, Laura Ramsey and Jonathan Tucker as American tourists
vacationing in Cancun, Mexico. With only two days left on their vacation, they
meet a German tourist named Mathias who tells them about this great ancient
Mayan temple site that’s not on any tourists map. His brother had already gone
up with his girlfriend, and since Mathias is going up there to join up with them,
he offers to take the Americans along, along with a Greek tourist they’ve met at
the hotel.
The local taxi driver initially doesn’t want to take them to the site--which is
always a bad sign--until he’s bribed into doing so. Once the taxi leaves them at
the drop off point, the tourists hike the rest of the way to the temple. When
they arrive, they are greeted by a bunch of extremely agitated locals who
angrily confront them with bow and arrows and guns. The problem is none of the
tourist can understand what they’re saying, since the locals are speaking in
their native Mayan dialect. When one of their party is shot down in cold blood,
the tourist take refuge in the Mayan temple.
Oh, no, it’s Turistas: Part Two! Um, not quite. Although The Ruins begins as a
standard psychological/slasher thriller, it quickly turns out to be a very nasty,
all-out horror film with plenty of gore and a truly terrifying threat. It
manages to be scary and very creepy, despite the fact that the majority of its
scenes take place in broad daylight. Screenwriter Scott B. Smith, who adapted
his own novel, does of a great job in concentrating on the elements that made
the book work so well. And although certain aspects of their characters have
been changed from those of the book, the tourists remain very sympathetic.
Director Carter Smith keeps things moving in the film’s brisk, 93 minute running
time. And the unrated version on DVD shows that he doesn’t flinch from the more
gory moments. I’m trying to keep the threat a surprise for people who haven’t
seen the movie, nor read the book--but fans of the novel can rest assured that
the main threat is handled here very well; especially in a couple of truly
scary moments that are downright skin-crawling. The DVD is loaded with special
features, including a commentary and well-done ‘making of’ documentaries. But
it’s the film itself that’s the big draw here. If you enjoyed Turistas, or are
looking for a good horror movie with a creepy threat, give The Ruins a visit. --SF
Main Review Page | Horror Reviews |Email Me |Buy This DVD Here
