Review of The Ruins (2008) by James S — 07 Mar 2011

Starting out as your below average - young American holiday makers get slaughtered in the wilderness - type horror, The Ruins becomes something altogether quite different, a character based piece with a refreshing restraint shown on horror cliches.

The stunningly good Jena Malone leads the cast of friends on holiday in Mexico, talked into visiting an ancient Mayan temple before encountering some freaky locals and some even creepier plants. The cast are refreshing as unlike in Hostel or Paradise Lost, they are not the usual bunch of loud mouth idiots but seemingly well educated and vulnerable. In short, they actually seem like real people. They quibble about the slightest things, such as wearing flip flops to walk through the jungle.

The Ruins takes its time getting to it's more terror fuelled moments, apart from the traditional opening scare scene (which on reflection seems out of place but is obligatory in horror). At the time this produces a mild frustration but the genius behind it is unleashed when the crew are submerged in viney panic as we actually care about what's going to happen to them, and as none of them are the loathsome types, we aren't routing for any of them to bite it.

The plants/vines that make up The Ruins monster are used very well. There's no quick leaping, plants looking like monsters type quick thrills. The threat is patient and methodical, often waiting until tragedy has occurred before taking an easy advantage. It's a slow kind of dread.

The Ruins is extremely well thought out. No one does anything for no reason and goes places they shouldn't without having a motive to do so other than to get killed. It's an intelligence rarely found in horror movies of this variety and for that reason alone, and be assured, it's not alone, this is a film worth celebrating.