“The Ruins” tells the story of a group of friends who decide the typical tourist destinations in Mexico are not exciting enough. When they hear about a new dig located deep in the jungle, they think . . . why not check it out? So begins a botanical nightmare even Hitchcock would appreciate.
If only the film weren’t so boring.
I read Scott Smith’s horror novel (the book on which this movie was based) cover to cover in a single night – it was that engaging. Smith’s pace was mercilessly unrelenting. Carter Smith, the film’s director, obviously tried to go for a similar pace, but something was lost in the translation. What works in the novel does not work in the movie. While the book archs nicely toward it’s 11th hour climax, the movie starts loud and stays on the same note. The novel encouraged me to read on, yet the film’s action all seemed to happen too fast. The markers I remembered from the written story blew by without setup or fallout. It was like watching a cliffnotes version of the book – a filmed summary.
Actors Jonathan Tucker and Shawn Ashmore try to establish themselves as characters we care about, but the pace allows for no examination of their motives, desires, and flaws. The book was filled with delicious confrontations as each character began to turn on the others, but this too flowed by like a casual breeze.
That’s not the only conflict that suffers in translation. There is also, of course, the issue of the story’s villain – an ancient, malicious plant that uses each character’s fears and desires against them. Scott Smith did a wonderful job making his bloodhungry creature come alive. The book’s vine reeks with a sickening intelligence and a relentless thirst that makes it truly terrifying. There is also an aire of mystery surrounding the plant and how it came to be protected by the farmers who now refuse to allow the main characters to leave. The battle to survive in Smith’s novel is also a battle to understand before it’s too late. This mystery is also lost on screen due to some screenplay changes that make some important plot points obvious from the start.
I wouldn’t say the movie was terrible by any stretch, but I think my advice is obvious: read the book. See the movie if you like the genre and think it looks interesting, but if you’ve already read the book, I wouldn’t bother, because you will inevitably wind up disappointed.
My Rating: C
Other Reviews: Owen Glieberman, EW (C-)
Filed under: Movie Reviews | Tagged: film, horror movie, horror movie review, Jen Malone, Jonathan Tucker, movie review, Scott Smith, Shawn Ashmore, The Ruins
