The Ruins (2008)

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... cases, smarter and far more talented than any of the humans in the entire film. Another catch is that these accursed vines are not keeping our characters on top of the temple against their will. As far as the vines are concerned, they can run. This is however not a good idea, for the temple is surrounded by natives that inhabit the once Mayan empire, and they are aimed to kill all who comes in contact with the mysterious man eating vines. Does it make you want to throw your hands in the air and give up on any horror writer's ability to come up with an original, or in this case decent, idea? Yes, it sure has hell does!...but hold on! First: Read the book! Second: Director Carter Smith actually does an amazing job at mending together Smiths script, the gorgeous jungle surroundings, and the overly animated killer vines, to make one hell of a tense and gore-tastic horror film. The film, at times, does seem a bit hokey but at no point does the films sense of absolute dread and hopelessness ever leave its audience. The Ruins, as ridiculous as it sounds, is terror in its truest form.

Now, if the plot of the film is razor thin, as well as its clique characters, what are you left with to keep you at all interested for an hour and a half? How about bodily dismemberment? Do I have your attention now? Good! The Ruins will too, simply because it shows us some of the most outrageous and realistic gore scenes to ever hit the big screen. Everything looks incredibly realistic. Whether they used CGI or magic, you'll be asking yourself, "how'd they do that", on much more than one occasion.

So is The Ruins just a gore film? Well, yes and no. Since the plot is so slight, I am more inclined to recommend this film, maybe not even to Scott Smith fans, but to only gorehounds in general; however, I won't necessarily jump to that conclusion either. The Ruins is an impressive snap shot of terror and it refuses to let up, even for a second. The film is for horror fans too, and for this horror fan, with as many aspects of this film that I found completely frustrating, I found just as many elements that were truly rewarding as well. The gore may get tedious, but in the end, real is real.

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