Sliding along in the wake of Turistas AKA Paradise Lost, The Ruins teaches us the dangers of travelling in unknown locations, and most importantly treating ancient temples and customs with respect.
While on holiday in Mexico five friends enjoy some downtime by their hotel swimming pool where ... Read review
Unspeakable. Unstoppable.When a group of tight-knit college friends visit the site of an ... more
undisturbed Mayan ruin, they stumble into an ancient trap. An unspoken evil waiting to drag its victims into an endless nightmare. As fear and paranoia eat away at their sanity, their only chance at escape is to commit the unthinkable.
Craving an adventure to wake them from their lethargic Mexican holiday before they return ... more
home four friends set off in search of one of their own who has travelled to the interior to investigate an archaeological dig in the Mayan ruins. After a long journey into the jungle the group come across a partly camouflaged trail and a captivating hillside covered with red flowers. Lured by these the group move closer until they happen across a gun-toting Mayan horseman who orders them away. In the midst of the confrontation one of the group steps inadvertently backwards into the flowering vine. And at that moment their world changes for ever...
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The world of Liath and Alain is breaking apart as King Henry's kingdom is savaged by ... more
earthly and supernatural forces which they alone have the power to understand. The Eika warriors thirst for the King's land and power their enmity sealed by generations of blood. Bitter in-fighting within King Henry's court and the ceaseless attrition of raiders also weaken his reign. Those who remain true must stay strong as the shadow of the Cursed Ones falls and the spell holding the exiled from the planet fails. Liath must force her wild sorcery to maturity and Sanglant her husband and King Henry's heir must struggle to hold the realm together. The twin destinies of Liath and Alain may yet avert the destruction written in the stars.
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Amazing Adventures: The Forgotten Ruins transports players to an archeological dig, where ... more
they discover clues and follow a character-filled storyline that will lead them to a long-lost Mayan ruin. The game features 18 missions and 9 DS-only locations through which players are challenged to "find" over 90 hidden objects per scene. Players can also unlock additional gameplay modes by locating bonus items such as Jade Masks and Mayan Glyphs. The game includes four mini-games featuring unique stylus-based controls and high score leaderboards, an interactive journal and bonus content.
Production Year: 2003 - Horror - Director: Marcus Nispel - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Erica Leerhsen, Mike Vogel, Eric Balfour, Andrew Bryniarski
Advantages: Quite different, compelling viewing Disadvantages: No niggles here
Sliding along in the wake of Turistas AKA Paradise Lost, The Ruins teaches us the dangers of travelling in unknown locations, and most importantly treating ancient temples and customs with respect.
While on holiday in Mexico five friends enjoy some downtime by their hotel swimming pool where they encounter the kindly Mathias (Joe Anderson). He tells the five travellers about his intentions to travel to an ancient temple the following ... ...have our travellers arrived at the ancient temple than they are surrounded by an angry looking mob. Trying to cool the situation down due to the misunderstandings of no knowledge of each other's language Dimitri (Dimitri Baveas) the groups self appointed leader steps forward to make amends. His five travellers look on as he is cruelly murdered by the mob, causing them to head for the temple. Surrounded at the base of the ancient ruins by a fifty ... more
Sliding along in the wake of Turistas AKA Paradise Lost, The Ruins teaches us the dangers of travelling in unknown locations, and most importantly treating ancient temples and customs with respect.
While on holiday in Mexico five friends enjoy some downtime by their hotel swimming pool where they encounter the kindly Mathias (Joe Anderson). He tells the five travellers about his intentions to travel to an ancient temple the following day to meet with his brother. After some debate the five Americans decide to follow Mathias on his adventure being as it is their final days of their holiday, and figure that this would be an ideal way to finish off their holiday.
No sooner have our travellers arrived at the ancient temple than they are surrounded by an angry looking mob. Trying to cool the situation down due to the misunderstandings of no knowledge of each other's language Dimitri (Dimitri Baveas) the groups self appointed leader steps forward to make amends. His five travellers look on as he is cruelly murdered by the mob, causing them to head for the temple. Surrounded at the base of the ancient ruins by a fifty strong army the travellers, the group try to debate their escape, but what lies in and on the temple is far worse than the terror below.
The trailer for the Ruins gives a viewer little inspiration to begin watching this movie, looking rather bland and similar to a lot of other movies, however it fails to illustrate the complexities of the plot and what appeared to be familiar horror fare turned out to deliver well beyond believable expectation, and for a movie that comes from Hollywoods Dreamworks studio, it's surprisingly dark.
The Ruins wastes no time getting straight to the heart of the action, having introduced the characters and their foibles, you are then rushed to the ancient ruins; where rather like fireworks you are given a quick succession of shocks. Considering the limited amount of space the cast have to manoeuvre around and the limited cast, there is an awful lot to The Ruins, more than you could ever expect in fact. Initially climbing the ruins filled with hope, the travellers are presented with a series of horrors that cause their hopes to slowly become diminished.
The big horror of the movie is the terrible vines that cover the ruins, and nothing is being ruined by this disclosure. Seemingly having a life of their own the vines can move, communicate, and most importantly devour our cast in a matter of seconds. You could call this horror a very tongue in cheek one, let's face it vines that can communicate and kill? It sounds suspiciously like the plot for a nasty 60's movie or TV series. But this is nothing to be laughed at, the vines are incredibly dangerous, and sinister; completely relentless in their actions and methods of seducing their prey these are the stuff of nightmares.
The special effects are great, and for a horror movie fan this will not fail to entertain with both reasonable scares and gross out horror this is the sort of thing a horror movie fan loves to see. The Ruins does echo back to the very dark horror movie output of the 1970's where literally anything goes, there is lots of mutilation and limb removal that will have you turning away but desperately wanting to watch.
The cast perform well, Black Donnellys star Jonathan Tucker heads up the cast as medical student Jeff, while Jena Malone, and Shawn Ashmore add great support. The heart of the movie goes out to Laura Ramsey as Stacy a character who you are feeling for from the movies offset, she undergoes the greatest transformation of the movie, and some of her scenes will have you on the edge of your seat.
What works so well about The Ruins is the unchartered feel of the movie, yes we have seen similar offerings but this really is something genuinely different. Rather like Paradise Lost, Hostel, The Mist and Saw this movie opens up some new doors for horror and focuses as much on the psychological aspects of horror as it does the physical and graphic. It movies along at a rate of knots, one minute calm the next minute intense, while keeping the character development and emotion sharp. It's movies like this that can give lethargic horror movie fans a little more hope for the future, this is hardly what you would consider normal or run of the mill.
The ruins is a horror film that was released in 2008, directed by Carter Smith and starring Jonathan Tucker, Shawn Ashmore, Jena Malone, Laura Ramsey and Joe Anderson. The book was originally based on a Novel that was written by Scott Smith. I had the pleasure of watching this film, last week, and I was one of mixed feelings. At times this film was brilliant, a fresh new plot, which didn't have any ghosts, or villains, but at times it was hard to ... ...moments were the film slowed down. A great horror film should be one that has a constant flow to it, one that constantly keeps you on the edge of your seat. Plot: So the film starts of in a dark cold place, the viewers see a woman, who is trapped in a dark dungeon type area, one that looks more like a well, or a cave. She tries to call for help, but with no success, she has her phone with her but she can't seem to pick up a signal, then suddenly ...
jaygami1986 18.08.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Ruins (DVD)
Advantages: Small traces of tension Disadvantages: It's a shambles
...When they arrive at the ruins, Mexican locals appear from nowhere on horses wielding guns and arrows, they shoot a young boy from their own tribe after Amy throws something to distract the gun men which hits the boys. The group of teenagers manage to escape and end up at the top of a temple, all that’s there is an abandoned camp and a well, they hear a phone ringing down the well so they hoist Mathias down there, the rope snaps and he breaks his ... ...that there’s more horror in the well than they could ever have imagined…
I didn’t know what to expect when I watched this on Sky Movies, there was very little synopsis and no trailers to give me a spec of knowledge on what to expect from this psychological horror film. I had never heard of it before and although I wasn’t exactly enticed by the brief and vague synopsis I decided to give it a watch hoping that it would be an interesting and spine-tingling ...
Great_reviewer07 19.07.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Ruins (DVD)
Advantages: Good Cast, Well Paced, Well Directed, Tense Disadvantages: Nothing Really
The horror genre has taken its usual slump into the gutter recently with such films as Saw being able to churn out five films of decreasing quality in quick succession. But every so once in a while something decent comes along and promptly gets ignored.
The Ruins is such a film. Based on a book by Scott B Smith (A Simple Plan), the story sees four young adults on a lazy vacation in Mexico. Looking for a last fling of adventure, they take up the ... ...than just old architecture in the Ruins and a Mayan tribe seems hell-bent on keeping our travellers from leaving the ruins. They soon discover why and what ensues is a blend of horror, paranoia and relationship breakdown within a confined space.
The thing I liked about this film is that it doesn't go down the route of filling the film with hot bodies and a rocking soundtrack. Its villain is something more than your usual bogeyman. It's also well ...
utero 16.11.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Ruins (DVD)
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Advantages: Fascinating - loaded with suspense. Disadvantages: Not actually frightening.
Director: Carter Smith
Screenplay: Scott B. Smith
Novel: Scott B. Smith
Genre: Horror - Thriller
Country: Australia/USA
Certification: 18
Language: English/Maya/Spanish/German
Released: 13th October, 2008 (DVD)
MAIN CAST:
Jonathan Tucker (Jeff)
Jena Malone (Amy)
Laura Ramsey (Stacy)
Shawn Ashmore (Eric)
Joe Anderson (Mathias)
Dimitri Baveas (Dimitri)
A group of friends on vacation in Mexico make the acquaintance of a German tourist, Mathias, who tells them about a remote archaeological dig in the jungle. The German tourist tells them that his brother met an archaeologist and went with her to the dig? but he left a map behind. Excited at the prospect of visiting a ruin that has not yet been fully excavated or even made public, the group agree to accompany Mathias and his friend.
Hiring a taxi to take ...
GoFigure 27.10.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Ruins (DVD)
Advantages: Good acting and gore, original premise Disadvantages: Underdeveloped story and characters
Just watched this last night on DVD and, no, I'm not going to say I want my life back, neither that it is a masterpiece. The acting is quite good and it's maybe the best thing about the movie, although the charachters were a bit underwritten.
The plants were kind of an unusual horror villain, and it is for me a good variation on the human vs. nature theme. Some of the actions of the characters didn't ring true or believable, but, for gore enthusiasts, there are some fine scenes that can make even hardened horror fan cringe so it's worth checking it out.
All in all, don't expect a life changing experience, just a bit of fun.
Gore fans will enjoy it more than most. ...
Eternauta86 03.09.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of The Ruins (DVD)
Advantages: one funny scene Disadvantages: boring, predictable
I was given this film on DVD by a relative ages and ages ago, who obviously wanted to get rid of it! I'd never heard of the film, but thought I'd give it a chance and watched it recently.
~The Story~
11 year old Jason (Cody Jones) is feeling worried as a lot of his friends parents are getting divorced. His father , Paul (Judge Reinhold) is applying for a new job in Chicago, but fails to tell his wife that it might mean moving the family there. Jason overhears an argument between his parents, where in the heat of the moment his mother (Joely Fisher) says that if Paul gets the job, she won't be going with him. Jason panics and convinces himself that they are going to get a divorce.
Along with older sister Celina (Melody Johnson), Jason decides that the only way to prevent his parents divorcing, is to sabotage his dads job ...
In THE RUINS, a group of vacationers travel to a remote area in search of a missing man, but what they find there is far more disturbing and dangerous than they were prepared for.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Alternate ending, Commentary with director Carter Smith and editor Jeff Betancourt, The Making of THE RUINS, Creeping Death featurette, Building THE RUINS featurette, Deleted scenes, Theatrical trailer
Aspect Ratio
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Professional reviews
Review
A surprisingly effective little horror nightmare (Boston Globe, 30/04/2008)
The tension is brutal (Sunday Mirror, 19/09/2008)
DVD Description
Scott B. Smith adapts his own novel of tourism gone wrong with this horror film. In THE RUINS, a group of vacationers travel to a remote area in search of a missing man, but what they find there is far more disturbing and dangerous than they were prepared for.
