Film Reviews

The Ruins

• Rating:
• Director: Carter Smith
• Starring: Jena Malone
• Details: Australia / US / 91mins (16).

Continuing with the xenophobic horror sub-genre tackled in the Hostel franchise and Paradise Lost (American kids on holiday come undone at the hands of nasty locals), The Ruins, adapted from Scott Smith's novel, does its level best to stand out from the crowd. Two couples - Jeff (Tucker) and Amy (Malone), and Eric (Ashmore) and Stacey (Ramsey) - are enjoying a quiet poolside holiday in Mexico, when German Mathias (Joe Anderson) suggests a trip out into the jungle to a Mayan ruin, a site where Mathias's brother went visiting. Before they get a chance to marvel at the archaeological find covered in vines and red roses, they are attacked by locals who force them up the temple steps and won't let them down. A ringing phone coming from the depths of the ruin lures the kids inside, where the find the body of Mathias's brother. There's something else, too - the vines are alive and have a thirst for human blood. Ah, so this is why the locals won't let them leave - they believe the place is cursed, and anyone coming in contact with the temple vines must remain, for fear of contamination. With the locals barring escape and the vines encroaching their small space on top of the temple, what can the kids do? The Ruins has the usual set-up: a prelude to whet our appetites (a screaming girl trapped in an underground cave is attacked by an unseen force), cut to peace and harmony as the kids enjoy life, followed by the teaser jump (the barking dog) before it gets down to business (the ruins itself). Director Smith does a decent job considering the tight space he had to work with (90% of the movie takes place at the top of the temple) and ushers in the action as quickly as possible, because he knows that he's got a hook that differentiates his film from all the rest. He also fools the audience into guessing what film they're watching: signposting a slasher horror, then hinting at a Descent rip-off before settling on a supernatural terror. However, just like our own Isolation (which was a competently-executed horror until you remember that it was about cows), The Ruins is a competently-executed horror until you remember it's about ivy.

Review by Gavin Burke