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Americans, stay home. If the offshore terrorists, organ harvesters, torture-tourism entrepreneurs or angry ghosts don’t get you, plant life just might.
This last spin on present horror conventions arrives via The Ruins, less dependent on suspense or even scares than on squirm-inducing gross-outs.
Scenarist Scott B. Smith’s adaptation of his own novel reverses the results of his first such effort.
The opening reel of The Ruins though decently directed by feature debutant Carter Smith is indistinguishable from that of Turistas, as two post-collegiate couples vacationing at a Mexican resort mull the predictably fatal offer of a day trip to an inland spot “not in the guidebooks”.
Fated invite
The invite hails from German Mathias (Joe Anderson), eager to rejoin his brother, who abandoned him for a cute archaeologist exploring an ancient Mayan ruin.
Eric (Shawn Ashmore) and Stacy (Laura Ramsey) are both game, Jeff (Jonathan Tucker) even more so, although his annoying brat girlfriend Amy (Jena Malone) isn’t at all intrigued by this lucky cultural-historical break.
Trail of death
Nonetheless, the variably hung-over travellers drag themselves on to a local bus the next morning, joined by the youthful Greek Dimitri (Dimitri Baveas).
After scrambling up a hidden trail to reach the impressive temple ruins, they’re immediately surrounded by armed local Mayans who seem riled over some offence the tourists seem to already have committed.
This results in a death and a forced scurrying up the vine-covered pyramidical structure to apparent safety, for the others.
There they discover evidence of the archaeologists’ recent occupation but the people themselves are missing.
It’s only when Amy and Stacy attempt to retrieve a cellphone from a shaft below — their discovery of the ringtone’s source yields the tale’s creepiest twist — that the protagonists realise the extent of their predicament.
At this point, The Ruins abandons all hope of subtlety or real surprise and leans on the “ewww” factor, as characters have their bodies invaded by virulent vines and practise gruesome surgery on themselves.
Routine, silly content
The squabbling the characters indulge in doesn’t induce much sympathy either.
The novel offered some psychological depth but not the film, which comes across as nothing but routine, silly horror content.
Tech-design aspects are accomplished, from Darius Khondji’s widescreen lensing to the eerie soundscape.
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