The Ruins: Off The Beaten Path (Spoilers!!)-- Written by Jerry Dennis

“Most plants thrive on animal waste, but I'm afraid this mutation possesses an appetite for the animal itself.”
-- Mr. Coker from Day Of The Triffids

“It hasn't got a name. It's a new system. No one's ever been down here before. I wanted us all to discover it!”
-- Juno from The Descent

“We're being quarantined here. We're being kept here to die.”
-- Amy from The Ruins

The summer of 2006 saw the arrival of Neil Marshall’s The Descent in movie theaters and Scott B. Smith’s The Ruins in bookstores. Neil Marshall had directed a truly terrifying tale of several explorers on a caving expedition gone horribly wrong. Scott Smith had written a truly frightening novel young American Tourists who find themselves ensnarled in the ultimate vacation from hell. The film and the novel transcended the genre. The great irony is that Scott B. Smith’s second novel has made it to the big screen but it cannot escape the shadow of Marshall’s masterpiece. This is not a criticism, but rather a strength. Not much can live in the shadow of The Descent, even Neil Marshall is having a hard time living in the film’s shadow. While I liked Doomsday a great deal, it was not everyone’s cup of tea.

Scott Smith adapted his second novel to the screen for Carter Smith to direct. Scott Smith also adapted his A Simple Plan for Sam Raimi to direct in 1998. Smith has only written two books-- both knockouts. A Simple Plan is an underappreciated film in my estimation. The film went through many hands before it made its way to the big screen in 1998. I have a feeling that The Ruins is going to be viewed as a rip-off of The Descent; this is a shame because both films have their virtues. Let me put it this way, The Ruins is light years ahead of The Cave. Although fans of the book may feel the ending is a cop out, it does not change the fact this is one of the most disturbing, creepy and frightening films since last year’s Bug. William Friedkin managed to make a truly creepy and disturbing film. The Ruins comes close to that film in some ways.

My biggest bone of contention is that there were no advanced screenings for critics for this film. What the fuck? This is a fine film, a couple steps above the usual PG-13 remake garbage that passes for horror these days. Ben Stiller was one of the producers on this film. Come on Ben, you mean you felt pride in the wretched remake of The Heartbreak Kid, but not this film? No one at DreamWorks Pictures had enough sense to see that they had something above average? Granted horror films get a bad rap these days from the critics, but come on folks, we have a film based on a bestselling novel which got rave reviews. Horror films are dismissed by the critics for the most part. It is snobbery and hypocrisy that is not necessary or warranted. I’ll be the first to admit I can see why some films are not screened, but this one deserved a chance. 2008 has already seen three remakes of Asian horror films-- One Missed Call, The Eye and Shutter. Remakes are a fact of life, but many are tiresome for the most part. When something like The Ruins comes around, it easily stands above the mediocrity.

I know what you’re thinking. Have we not seen the American tourist suffer enough in the Hostel films and Turistas? What makes The Ruins so special? It is not just about American tourists visiting jungle ruins in Mexico; it is about primal fear. The film follows four young Americans (Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Shawn Ashmore and Laura Ramsey) who meet up with a German tourist, Mathias (Joe Anderson) at a Mexican resort. They join Mathias on a trip to the jungle ruins to meet up with Mathias’s brother and his girlfriend at an archeological dig. The night before the trip, there is a lot of partying going on, but come morning the party is over. Dimitri (Dimitri Baveas), a Greek tourist, joins them for their jungle adventure. They take a bus and then a taxi to get to the path which will lead them to their destination. An abandoned jeep awaits-- a bad omen and one that says turn around to me. They also see two Mayan children in the distance watching them-- just another omen that the group ignores. Once they reach the clearing, an ancient Mayan temple is dead ahead. This is where Mathias’ brother must be. There are tents at the top of the pyramid. But as soon as they make their way to the ruins, men on horseback arrive with guns and arrows. The local Indian population has them surrounded. Why? They cannot leave; they must stay on the ruins. What is it about the ruins? Dimitri is the first to touch the ruins. He is the first to be killed by the Mayans. He is shot in the head. The others are jolted and make their way towards the top of the temple. What is going on? Why has their friend been killed? Needless to say, Mathias’ brother and girlfriend are nowhere to be found at the top of the dig. Did they suffer the same fate as Dimitri or something far more primitive and evil? If The Ruins reminds me of any film in relations to vacations gone horribly wrong then it is the 1975 film, Race With The Devil with Peter Fonda and Warren Oates. In that film, two couples on a vacation witness a murder during a Satanic Ritual. The tone of the two films is very similar.

Once Mathias is lowered down into the temple, he falls and breaks his leg, the real trouble begins. The ruins harbor an ancient evil. It becomes apparent that the tourists are fighting a hopeless version of the Schlieffen Plan. They are fighting the ultimate two front war-- the mysterious evil of the ruins as well as the Mayan villagers surrounding the temple. I will never look at vines in the same way again; the jungle vines have an insatiable appetite for human flesh. These intelligent creatures do not care what nationality you are-- all human flesh is desired and needed. The vines themselves are reminiscent of the creatures from The Day Of The Triffids; the film even has shades of Ishiro Honda’s Matango (Attack Of The Mushroom People). The vines themselves are far more advanced than anything Doctor Genshiro Shiragami could have created in Godzilla vs. Biollante. There is some of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Karisuma in there, too. The flowers are able to manipulate human voices and even cell phone rings. The vines make their way into their victims through cuts and open wounds. Laura Ramsey’s Stacy goes through the most wretched display of self mutilation to get them out of her body. It is truly sick and disgusting to watch, but it is effective. The whole situation spins out of control. In the end, it is not First World vs. Third World or even the punishment of the Ugly American; it is just about survival. Amy, the always wonderful Jena Malone, realizes that this is quarantine; the villagers will let no one escape-- no one can live who has touched the vines. Even when one of the Mayan children has come into contact by some debris, the child is killed, right in front of his mother. No one is immune from the evil. While they are fighting a two front battle against the vines and the Mayan villagers, they will even turn on each other.

The Ruins is a truly bleak, but very good horror film. It is the first great horror film of 2008. The performances, especially by Jena Malone’s Amy and Jonathan Tucker’s Jeff stand out. The truly remarkable thing about The Ruins is that it is terrifying. Carter Smith has done an excellent job of bringing Scott B.Smith’s novel to terrifying life. What worked so well on the page, works very well on the screen. The ending of the film will upset fans of the book. But think about the ending and its implications. In the jungle, the strong always survive. In The Ruins, man is merely a tenant in the jungle. What lies in the ruins, will be here long after us because the vines demand human sacrifice just as in the times of the ancient Mayans. Their gods have to be appeased-- no matter what the cost.