AC/AL 2008 91m ENGLISH GV/N CAST: Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Shawn Ashmore, Laura Ramsey, Joe Anderson, Dimitri Baveas & Sergio Calderon CREDITS: Director: Carter Smith; Screenwriter: Scott B. Smith, based on his novel; Producers: Chris Bender/Stuart Cornfeld/Jeremy Kramer/Ben Stiller; Director of Photography: Darius Khondji; Production Designer: Grant Major; Editor: Jeff Betancourt; Costume Designer: Lizzy Gardiner; Music: Graeme Revell THE SYNOPSIS In Mexico, Jeff (Tucker), girlfriend Amy (Malone), her best friend Stacy (Ramsey) and boyfriend Eric (Ashmore) search for more adventure than just sun, beach, pools, booze & sex. They hook up with pleasant German dude Mathias (Anderson) and his Greek buddy, Dimitri (Baveas)--who plan to make their way inland to an archeological dig where Mathias’ brother went to several days before. They head off, with DImitri leaving a copy of the map for his other Greek friends to follow when they’ve sobered up. Bad omens abound when their cab driver hesitates to drive them. Also, the path to the dig is almost covered-up...as if to deter visitors. In spite of all this, the group arrives at the ruin: an innocuous-looking moss-covered Mayan ziggurat. SUddenly, a group of rather perturbed Natives arrive and try to dissuade the group from nearing the ruin. Too late as Amy brushes up against some vines and the Natives become aggressive. After killing Dimitri in cold blood, they make the others (at gunpoint) climb the ruins. Turns out that the ruins house a hideous secret involving some lethal botanical tendrils. One by one, the group succumbs to the evil that dwells there--all the while the Natives down on ground-level prevent any survivors from making an escape attempt. But someone does... THE CRITIQUE THE RUINS (based on Scott B. Smith’s 2006 novel) comes to the big screen bearing another cautionary tale for wayward American travelers who like to party abroad. Nothing smacks of entertainment as much as watching drunken and lascivious teens meet their grisly end in some exotic paradise... No, not really. Why bother leaving the good ol’ USA at all when you’ve got cinematic wackjobs running loose in summer camps, grisly chainsaw massacres in Texas, loony hotel proprietors who cross-dress as they hack their unsuspecting victims in showers or deceased serial killers trying to murder you in your dreams? Much like the “torture-porn” horror movies of the new millennium (e.g. the Saw series or the Hostel movies), the “young American tourists in mortal danger” sub-sub-genre has become fodder for xenophobic and agoraphobic cinema. Before I come off sounding like some snob cinema-sociologist, I just want to bring to attention the notion that horror has morphed into a new entity--ripe with post-9/11 fears of travelling to other lands. On a more positive note, at least the THE RUINS doesn’t suck! It also helps that this cast of youthful, photogenic boys & girls possess enough acting chops to keep it interesting. The screenplay was adapted by the aforementioned Smith (who also scripted 1998’s A Simple Plan--based on his own novel as well); and while it doesn’t exactly light up the sky, it is perfectly serviceable. What does work about Smith’s streamlined screenplay is that simplicity is the name of the game. No social commentary or any kind of subtext needed here; but the one complaint I do have is that the motivations of the native Mayans is never clearly explained on-screen. It is only from reading the book, that their actions are explained. I’ve never read Smith’s book, so I read the short-short version on WikiPedia (synopsis located here). Helmed by renowned photographer and commercials director Carter Smith (no relation to the author), the movie moves along at a brisk pace while mounting tension--all the while holding our collective interest. And here, I must also credit genre film editor Jeff Betancourt (2006’s When A Stranger Calls/The Grudge/The Grudge 2). The best aspect of the entire production is the movie’s handsome widescreen cinematography, courtesy of veteran Franco-Iranian lenser Darius Khondji (Panic Room/Evita/Se7en)--which takes full advantage of the creepy, botanical set designs by veteran Kiwi production designer Grant Major (Oscar©-winner for LOTR: Return Of The King; also designed LOTR: Fellowship Of The Ring & LOTR: The Two Towers). The Ziggurat of Death is virtually a character in this movie--as are the carnivorous vines...courtesy of both old-fashioned SFX and modern CGI VFX. You know, for an estimated $8,000,000-budget movie (shot on location in Australia, by the way), THE RUINS delivers on its simple promise of terror and gore. What I do like about this movie is that the R-rating adds some legitimacy to the atmospheric proceedings. I’m sick of these PG-13 horror-lite movies that come out and basically deflate any chance of getting the crap scared out of you. Not here! THE BOTTOM LINE THE RUINS turns out be an entertaining horror yarn that takes off and never stops. A good-looking cast, photogenic locations and creepy-touchy-feely vines make for good genre conventions. Watching movies like this makes me want to stay home and never, ever travel—although living in New Jersey isn’t exactly a horror-free endeavor either! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture_porn#Torture_pornhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_filmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmsawseries.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenplayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenwritinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ruinshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_directorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_editor#Film_editorgrudge.htmlgrudge2.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmmakinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widescreenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematographerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scenic_designhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_designerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Awardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_effecthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-generated_imageryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_effectshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_budgetinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filming_locationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Association_of_America_film_rating_systemshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1shapeimage_2_link_2shapeimage_2_link_3shapeimage_2_link_4shapeimage_2_link_5shapeimage_2_link_6shapeimage_2_link_7shapeimage_2_link_8shapeimage_2_link_9shapeimage_2_link_10shapeimage_2_link_11shapeimage_2_link_12shapeimage_2_link_13shapeimage_2_link_14shapeimage_2_link_15shapeimage_2_link_16shapeimage_2_link_17shapeimage_2_link_18shapeimage_2_link_19shapeimage_2_link_20shapeimage_2_link_21shapeimage_2_link_22shapeimage_2_link_23