The Ruins [DVD]

To me this a refreshing new approach to the horror genre.Several young people holidaying are offered a trip to a Mayan temple deep in the jungle.What appears to be a sight seeing adventure turns into something far worse-there are trailing vines coming out of the darkness that either strangle you or make their way into your body.The vines also have the ability to mimic everything they hear.There are severed limbs in the course of the story because the young people try to save their infected friends plus the fact that they cannot escape down the steps to the base of the pyramid on account of a race of Mexican assassins camped on the edge of the jungle.I found the plotline quite gripping and you wonder how they are going to escape this terrible situation-I wont reveal the ending but I liked the twist as it wasnt something I expected.The bluray version is a superb one bright clean colours and a sharp print much better than the DVD version I bought previously.Highly recommended.

The Ruins is directed by Carter Smith and adapted to screenplay by Scott B. Smith from his own novel of the same name. It stars Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Shawn Ashmore, Laura Ramsey and Joe Anderson. Music is by Graeme Revell and cinematography by Darius Khondji.

Two young couples on holiday in Mexico make friends with a German tourist, Mathias (Anderson), who tells them of his missing brother who had gone off to view a Mayan ruin deep in the jungle. Their interest piqued, they agree to go on the adventure the following day. Once arriving at the remote ruin, though, they all find more than they bargained for....

Hot young cast in horror film that follows a stagnated formula? Well no, actually. It has all the hallmarks of being yet another in a sad long line of horror movies that con the faithful into watching it, only to disappoint with an unadventurous plot, making a quick bit of cash before disappearing in the stale popcorn tinted wind. The Ruins has generic moments, certainly the first half hour is your standard meet and greet your young protagonists stuff, but once we get to the ruins of the title the film shifts into a different world. Our fears that this is going to be just another case of guessing what order the young holiday makers are going to be sliced and diced, are quickly vanquished, this is a tale of survival, of a youthful group dynamic under severe threat, and bonus here is that the antagonist is something very different to what normally stalks these genre movies.

This really could have been a cheese fest, an unintentionally funny film, using gore and nudity to hide shortcomings in the screenplay, but it's not, writer Scott Smith has provided director and cast with material that pulses with an unexpected bleakness, a facing up to mortality at a young age, and crucially the characters do viable things given their circumstance, and that's mighty refreshing in a era of horror bulging with stupidity. It helped me personally that I knew next to nothing about the film before viewing it, and unlike some film lovers I'm not overly familiar with the young cast, though Joe Anderson is always on my plus list after his turn as Peter Hook in Control. But while it clearly didn't revolutionise horror as a genre, it at least had the gumption to veer in a different direction, going deeper in basic thematics than similar big budgeted films have.

Tension is deftly mounted, what blood and body horror there is (and a couple of scenes are genuinely wince inducing and well staged) is not cheap and exploitive, while the finale doesn't cop out. True, there are some unanswered questions that leap out when the end credits roll, and anyone expecting a fast paced thrill ride are right out of luck. Yet for those who lean towards a good psychological horror then this is very much recommended. 7.5/10

Hadn't heard of this product when I bought it, but it sounded appealing. This isn't a 5 * film by any stretch but it was certinly better than the average horror film of late. Blu Ray transfer was fine but nothing special.

Special effects were good, and the making of feature was also interesting to watch (not something I generally watch in all honesty)