Review of The Ruins (2008) by David K — 26 Jul 2009

So a German guy loses his brother, tracks him to these ruins that some indigenous locals guard by killing anyone that enters the ruins and then tries to escape. So this German guy tries to lower himself down into this dark hole into the ruins and the rope breaks and he busts his legs and back up. Luckily, he's rescued but the next morning he's found with a bunch of evil vines wrapping his legs. The team of teenagers gets those off of him, kind of. They decide it's a good idea to amputate his legs in order to save his life. To do this, they break both legs, and cut them off with a hunting knife. Gross. But he lives! So far, this German guy is toughing things out; a real trooper. It's really funny.

Then the plants finally eat him. It was sad because he had been through so much and I was really pulling for him and he goes out like such a wuss. Anyway, with him gone, the group of four can finally figure things out. One goes nuts and kills another member of the group in their insanity. Out of the final two, one creates a diversion while the other can escape. This final act of the film, where the group literally breaks down, was some compelling cinema, but not enough to make this movie good. That means if you can suspend belief and buy into the ludicrous scenario of plants killing people, the film is still just "okay." I couldn't help but wonder why the German was in the movie for so long. He just "ruins" "The Ruins." That's right, I did it.