Cool News
Is THE RUINS any good? Capone surprisingly says yes!
Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
I have a low tolerance for bad horror, maybe the lowest of anybody I know. And while I acknowledge that some films are so bad, they're good, it's rare to never that I think that about shitty horror films. Bad is not only bad, it's aggravating and maddening. So when a horror film like last year's Turistas opens with a bunch of way-too-good-looking college kids vacationing on a beach in Latin America, screaming "Whooooo!!!" every 30 seconds because it somehow is supposed to convey that they're having a good time, my brain begins to tune out and suddenly twirling my watch around my wrist is more interesting that watching a bunch of kids get knocked off one by one. Imagine my feelings when the new film The Ruins opens with exactly such a scenario. College kids on a beach in Mexico, drunk, half naked (I don't mind the half-naked part that much). Damn! I forgot to wear my watch!
But then something happened with The Ruins. I realized that I recognized some of these actors; and in most cases, these were actors who I liked. Jena Malone (Into the Wild; Saved) plays Amy, whose boyfriend Jeff (Jonathan Tucker from In the Valley of Elah) is planning to leave for med school when they return from this vacation. The other couple on this trip is Eric (Shawn Ashmore--Iceman from the X-Men movies) and often-unclothed Stacy (Laura Ramsey from The Covenant and Venom). But familiar actors wasn't going to be enough to turn the tide for me. Nope, what did that was the film's low-key approach to building suspense and the way it almost drove me insane trying to figure out exactly what was going to happen next and to whom.
The Ruins (based on the wildly popular book by Scott B. Smith, who also wrote the screenplay) takes these youngsters (along with a couple new friends they meet on the beach) into the jungles of Mexico to what they believe is an ancient Mayan temple. The locals watch them carefully, and the minute the students step foot on the temple grounds, the locals forbid them to leave. One tries to leave, and they shoot him with an arrow through the heart. The kids climb to the top of the temple where they find the remains of a camp site where those before them set up to explore the site. But where are they now, and why is the sound of a cell phone coming from down into the temple? I'm sure many of you know what the true danger in The Ruins is, but I'm not going to be the one who spoils it for you if you don't. It took me by surprise, and proceeded to scare the wee wee out of me for 90 minutes.
First-time feature director Carter Smith does not spare us the blood and guts, but he doesn't go overboard with it either, especially when the young med student is forced to perform emergency surgery a couple of times in the group's time atop the temple. The film also puts the perfect amount of weight on every decision the group makes. Should they stay put and wait for rescue (logic and circumstances dictate that eventually someone will come look for them), or should they true to outrun the waiting natives at the base of the temple who will kill them as soon as they try to leave (a rescue is far from guaranteed)? Either decision seems like a bad one. The Ruins will make you scream, squirm, cringe, bite your nails, perhaps even dry heave or throw up in your mouth. The one thing it will not do is bore you. It parcels out just enough information in each scene to make you salivate in anticipation of the next morsel. Then, of course, when you discover the truth and the extent of the trouble, you'll wish you hadn't.
The acting is stronger than I'm used to seeing in most horror films. Even Ramsey gets a few choice scenes, and in the end is the actor who is forced to endure the most suffering. Tucker also is extremely good as the natural leader who may be the only one with a clear enough head to understand the extent of the group's peril. One of my favorites is Joe Anderson (Control; Across the Universe) as Mathias, a tag-along part of the group who gets his ass whooped almost as soon as they arrive atop the temple. Despite being set almost entire out in the open, The Ruins feels remarkably claustrophobic, so much so that it feels hard to breathe at times. My only complaint is that the ending of the film seems abrupt (and apparently is slightly altered from the book's conclusion), leaving a few unanswered questions that I suppose might have been left so deliberately to keep the film open for a sequel, but I still feel a cleaner ending was possible. That's a minor complaint. The Ruins is great, freak-out-worthy material that will have you questioning every little bump under your skin and itch you can't quite reach. Oh, I need to see this again very soon.
Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com
-
+ Expand All
-
I just watched The Mist today and that was so good that I was thinking that it was going to be impossible to find horror that was even acceptable. Good to hear the Ruins delivers the goods.
-
for saying, "First!!" but fuck it.
-
First....sounds good. I shall be checking it out.
-
But who cares. I shall still be seeing this, with rubber undies incase I wee wee myself for a continuous 90 mins.
-
I don´t need to read more. I´m sold!
-
I tend to agree with the Capman a lot.
-
douche vs douche.
-
The trailer (as they always do) looked interesting but I dared not hope that it would be worthy of a good B movie scarefest. I've just watched Mist, 1408 and Rec in the last week so it looks like I can stay on a roll with this badboy.
Thanks Cap. -
I just might have to check this movie out
-
I'm gonne give this a watch. I generally avoid all teen horror flicks as they all suck ass, especially the bloody Scream movies.
-
I recommend it. Really scary and tense, gross, makes you feel very uncomfortable. Anyone who has been in the hot hot heat without any escape will know what I mean. No imagine being in inescapable hot hot heat with shit crawling under your skin (or is it) and going nuts and getting shot if you try to leave. A great read.
That being said, the movie looks awful and I have no interest in seeing it. Do yourselves a favor and read the novel instead. Reading is good for you. -
Apr 03, 2008 5:43:50 AM CDT
Cool, will have to check out the book after the film
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
that way I go in fresh, then get my own extended edition.
-
often-unclothed Stacy.
-
I think it's more annoying in horror movies than in action movies. Are we going to see anything that's gonna happen in the movie?
-
because Scott Smith wrote the novel and screenplay to A Simple Plan. I loved that book. I also loved that they cast Bill Paxton in the lead who was exactly who i envisioned reading it a couple of years before it went into production. I'd have gone for Pruit Taylor Vince over Billy Bob (although he was very good in it). Haven't read this book but was hoping Smith might have delivered again. Sounds promising, will definitely see.
-
As in, there are a lot of plants in this movie. Nice review, Quint - the trailer for this actually made it look vaguely worthwhile.
-
When I read that he was the DP for The Ruins I figured he was just doing it for the check. It just seemed strange to go from shooting Haneke's "Funny Games" remake to this (at least it seemed strange to me). Thanks, Capone. I'm kind of interested now . . .
-
Jena Malone! Yowza!
She hasn't been in enough movies. -
The Ruins (the book anyway) was incredible.
-
Okay, so I guess there won't be any shaky cam or shit like that.
-
I hope Capone is right.
-
LOL if you go the Turistas IMDb board page, its fucking hilrious all the people that post there...all these Brazilians who are like pissed off at the movie and shit. Really funny.
-
I just might have to check this movie out. Many friends I met on a millionaire dating site called meetingwealthy think so too. They are successful men and women. We usually talk together.
-
Apr 03, 2008 6:59:06 AM CDT
The book is a padded short story and the characters are all unli
by trazadone
...but I still enjoyed it despite the crappy ending.
-
Jackass.
-
Loved the book- I read it after Steven King mentioned it in his Entertainment Weekly column. Think it was his favorite horror novel in '06.
Agree with poster above that the story/ character development was a bit thin, but in this type of film (thriller/horror)that doesn't bother me. (and except for rare films like silence of the lambs, it's rare to have big-time character development in this genere).
Looked like they got the look right based on the trailer (particularly the temple- looked very much as I imagined while reading the bood), hope they get the rest right as well.
-
I was about to say just the opposite, the whole time I read it, I imagined them just being at the top of a big hill. They would have to walk a while before they could look down and see the natives. When I saw the terraced temple, I thought it looked all wrong. It looks like they take 5 steps and BAM, there are are the natives down there. Oh well, it has me interested enough to check it out this weekend. I enjoyed the book but found it a tad bit overrated.
-
with characters that were cliches, and the whole thing amounted to an interminable wait for everyone to die. BUT, my main thing with the book was that the evil threat, the "monster" was laughably ridiculous. The plants, they, they can mimic our voices! A silly, silly book.
-
...basically a B horror flick premise (kids meet at beach...and then the unthinkable happens...), but with interesting characters who think and react like real people...the situation and options are very very limited, so the reader is right there with them every second trying to figure out what the hell to try next. Ultimately the situation they're in is sort of like life...nobody gets out of here alive...how long does it take you to truly realize that? (if ever)...and once you truly realize that sooner or later you're worm food, can you keep it together? In the book the different characters display pretty much the whole range of psychological reactions...an obsessive need to try to control this unimaginable situation to complete denial and delusion....
-
what these young actresses say when they have to get nude for a movie... i wonder if they bang the producer or director to get that role... hmm...
-
she doesnt seem like the type who would but a boy can dream. plus i've been surprised by other actresses in the past who i never thought would do this. but even if she doesnt get naked, staring at that face for 90mins...no bad can come from this.
-
don't know about this one, but she has been naked before. watch "THE DANGEROUS LIVES OF ALTAR BOYS" perv.
i want to see this but i'm the only one of my friends who wants too... -
And this might please some, I read that a lot of the mimicking sounds and smells the plants are capable of emitting are left out of the movie. I thought Smith went overboard w/ the sci-fi elements when it is realized that the plants were actaully using the sounds to play the people against one another. And don't get me started on them giving off the smell of everybody's favorite food to drive them crazy. Oooh that smells like apple pie, now I'm even more hungry and miserable! Give me a break . . .
-
I read this book in various airports while traveling a few months ago...It was intense until the ending, which I thought was a real let-down. If the movie mirrors the novel, count me out.
-
I didn't like this book at all. Ugh. It's just drawwwwwwwwn the fuck out, everything about it. The kids get to the hill. The natives block them off. They bitch at each other, whine, while they slowwwwwwly die. They don't ever really go anywhere, come up with a plan, and nothing 'changes' during the story. Realistic, sure, but not something I want to sit through and have to read for 300+ pages. Even the style of the book I didn't like- no chapter breaks and no spacing, it's just one continuous, monotonous stretch of plodding miserable.That said, it would probably work better in a movie format, but I won't be seeing it.
-
Read an article on this while it was in production. Smith thought the voices might be "unintentionally comical".
-
From Friday The 13th through Cloverfield, I may find it difficult to sit through another "kids" in peril flick. But I trust that Scott Smith has smartly adapted his book ( sounds like he's batting 2-for-2 so far ). I enjoyed A Simple Plan, and it sounds like he knows how to place his characters in situations and then slowly tighten the vise.
-
No serious. It's about a plant.
-
I agree with you. I felt like the book was a cheat because each scene was padded to death to get to the punchline. I found myself scanning the pages quickly to get to the main point.
-
Looks like it. No reviews on rottentomatoes.
Worrisome.
-
The story could have easily been told in 100 pages. Was anyone else as annoyed as I was when that one guy kept making lists of words that start with the same letter?
-
but scenes like the hand-job in the tent made up for that :)
-
I went to that 'Turistas' message board on IMDB. People have writen entire essays on global security, oxidenatlism, and many other high brow topics in this message board. It's actually pretty funny. Watch out Syriana, Turistas is on the block!
-
Given King's endorsement on the cover, I was expecting something good, but the book just annoyed me to no end. Most idiotic "monster" in a long time. "Oooh, the plant's blood is acidic... Wait, haven't I seen that before?" Stupid characters, stupid plot. At least the movie takes place on, you know ruins. The book was a hill. I read that motherfucker front to back looking for ruins and found nothing.
-
By the time we figured out the plant is making cell phone noises, I was like, "You know what? Give up. If the fucking plant can imitate a cell phone, it's unstoppable." Shoulda brought Seymour Krelborn along to ice that bitch.
-
You're only looking at # 1, but consider the story in the light of its other definitions:
Ruins:
1. the remains of a building, city, etc., that has been destroyed or that is in disrepair or a state of decay: We visited the ruins of ancient Greece.
5. the complete loss of health, means, position, hope, or the like.
7. the downfall of a person; undoing: the ruin of Oedipus.
8. a person as the wreck of his or her former self; ravaged individual.
9. the act of causing destruction or a downfall.
–verb (used with object) 10. to reduce to ruin; devastate.
11. to bring (a person, company, etc.) to financial ruin; bankrupt.
12. to injure (a thing) irretrievably.
13. to induce (a woman) to surrender her virginity; deflower.
–verb (used without object) 14. to fall into ruins; fall to pieces.
15. to come to ruin.
-
I was amazed at the amount of negative feedback this got when it came out. People keep talking about thin or unlikable characters which I dont get at all. The strength of the book was the character developement and the group dynamic. Why do you think that there were endless pages in which you were privy to the characters thoughts. I also thought it was great as a survival novel as well.
-
Fair enough. But I don't think that the book itself is clever enough to warrant a title that is open to interpretation. Obviously neither did the studio--hence the relocation to an actual temple ruin. The Ruins--like Speed, except on a Hill with Plants instead on a Bus with a Bomb.
-
SPOILERS
The concept of killer plants is very interesting, and for the beginning of the book its done very interestingly and creepily, but the moment the plants started imitating the teens to turn them against each other it went way too far. It was just an out of nowhere fantastical leap that makes no sense in any logical sort of way(how the fuck do plants vocalize? And how do they know what EXACTLY to say to piss the kids off?), and it really took me out of the book. That, and it really did need some trimming. Coulda been told in 100-125 pages. -
Movie titles are in italics.
-
Ironically, I thought that the only potentially scary moments were supplied by the plant's vocal mimicry. Maybe the film will be an improvement on the source.
-
I kept going and going, turning pages, expecting it to "kick in" any YEAR... and I finally tossed the time-waster.
-
But it seemed to me like it was a short story stretched out to book size. Stephen King has a record of giving glowing endorsements for mediocre material
-
We shall see.
-
I surprisingly say, "Yes!"
-
Was that at first I thought it was one of those elaborate commercials they do for books. You know like they do for every James Patterson novel that comes out. After I saw the trailer I was like, hey I want to read that book, why is it rated R? OHHH wait that was a movie preview.
-
Smith name-drops Ben Stiller in the acknowledgments. He obviously said to himself "fuck, I'm running out of money. The Simple Plan royalty checks are petering out. I know! I'll write a crappy teen horror film disguised as a novel! I'm Scott Smith! I wrote A Simple Plan! Someone'll want to option it..." The characters all sucked. There's a reason there aren't any female characters in A Simple Plan, Smith can't write them. He leaves his ends loose. He telegraphs all of his deaths. The vine is goofy, not scary. It's an airport paperback tripe.
-
Yeah, but can it top "Congo" for pure jungle terror? I sure the fuck hope so. Oh yeah, the two actresses is this are hot, I'd fuck the hell out of them, and they would like it.
-
Characters don't ever need to be likable, or sympathetic. They need to be INTERESTING, which not one of the characters in 'The Ruins' was. It was a silly, ridiculous book, with a ridiculous 'menace'-- the plant makes it smell like apple pie! The plant's making it sound like my girlfriend is fucking someone else! The horror!
-
Apr 03, 2008 1:23:57 PM CDT
I hated the book also. Enough to keep me out of theaters.
by the skeptical
I read it after a positive review here on AICN, when the news of the movie first came out.
The book sucked. I'm not much of a writer, but I never would have published such an unpolished meandering tome.
The first third was okay, the second was pretty bad, the last third was just lousy. I disliked all the characters--who had no development anyway. There was no suspense past the first act. The sci-fi elements were ridiculous.
I was partly fooled by Stephen King's endorsement. He said--and I quote--"The best horror novel of the new century."
But all I can conclude is that King feels bad for never finishing his own carnivorous plant series, so he foisted this on his unsuspecting constant readers. -
I'm sure many of you know what the true danger in The Ruins is, but I'm not going to be the one who spoils it for you if you don't.Unless something else is the true danger I don't think that anyone who has seen a trailer doesn't know what the true danger is.
-
but the inference I got was that Capone doesn't like horror movies. And as a lifelong horror fan one thing that really sets alarm bells ringing is a horror movie that appeals to people who normally don't like horror movies. So, color me doubtful, this sounds like another high-concept piece tailored for maximum market crossover.
-
is that it leaves a bad taste in your mouth when you finish it. When i read it I wanted it to scare the shit out of me. Though it didnt do that, it left me with an uneasy feeling which I think makes it succesful. Through the whole thing you know deep inside that the inevitable is coming so why keep reading? because you want to see at least one of these poor fucks make it out of this horrific situation. you just want there to be a hero but you know that there wont be and you watch them all slowly die a physically and mentally painful death. pretty cool, i thought.
-
SPOILER... was when Eric cut most of his skin off trying to find the vine inside of him. But that was it. The rest was just gross, and that doesn't cut it.
-
I read the book at the end of last summer after it was mentioned in a couple magazines. Certainly wasn't my favorite book or anything, but it was pretty effective. It didn't scare me, but it definitely creeped me out, with the creepiest parts having nothing to do with blood or guts or that crap. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll stop there.
While reading it I knew that it'd be a story that could very easily turned into a terrible, SciFi Channel crapfest. But I was pleasantly surprised by who was cast and the fact that what little CGI is visible didn't seem poor or cheesy. I'm hoping for the best. -
....ohhhhh....THE RUINS....I get it now.
-
why'd they make a movie about diahrrea? Must be one BAD horror film...
-
ha ha - it ain't the first or last time something like that's happened on AICN. Cheers!
-
only made it about 100 pages in. then i got the audiobook at the library for a road trip and tried to pick up where i left off in the book. only made it about halfway through the entire thing. i wanted to like it, but it just didn't happen. the lack of chapters or any breaks at all in the book also annoyed me to no end. might check out the movie at a $5 matinee, though.
-
it was good, but not nearly as great as the book. smith totally cut out the best part of the book -- the part near the end, where the main character realizes he has to go back to the liquor store to retrieve the $100 bill (or was it $50?). i won't ruin it for anyone who hasn't read the book, even though it's been some 10 years since it was published, but do yourself a favor and check out the novel. one of the best reads i've ever had. my guess is that including that part in the film would have made the main character just totally unsympathetic and unforgivable.
-
"Why cant you look at me??"....and you see this wiggling thing.
I hate that type of "eewwwwww!" type movie, not because I am scared (I watched that crap throughout childhood), but I'm tired of it. Why pay $10 a ticket to get grossed out?...to watch stuff bursting, oozing out, that kind of crap? -
"Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae." -Kurt Vonnegut
-
the whole "worms right under the dermis" bit, and pretty damn well for the technology available at the time.
-
I quess I might see it...but really? It's good?
-
lIRYMthO NdmfCvG
-
cupixMYx ziNjgMP
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 171 total posts 169 posts
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 157 total posts 111 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 138 total posts 75 posts
- Here's The Red Band Trailer For Drafthouse Films' THE FP! -- 67 total posts 67 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 479 total posts 62 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 59 total posts 59 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 62 total posts 59 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 48 total posts 45 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 116 total posts 32 posts
- SPACE 2099!! -- 181 total posts 30 posts