#145;The Ruins
April 7th, 2008, 4:44 am Hobbies And Interests
Something or someone wiped out the Maya, that advanced Central American civilization that had all but disappeared when Columbus arrived.Might that something or someone still be around? Might one stumble across it, say, in “an ancient Mayan temple, off the beaten path, off the map”?One might.That’s the intriguing hook for “The Ruins,” a somewhat effective but only mildly scary horror film from the writer of “A Simple Plan.” Round up some texting, cell phone-obsessed American college kids on vacation, lure them into the jungle and kill them off as they face … oh, I’m not giving that away.Scott B. Smith’s novel, which he adapted for fashion-photographer-turned director Carter Smith (apparently no relation), takes pre-med Jeff (Jonathan Tucker of “In the Valley of Elah”), his girlfriend Amy (Jena Malone of “Into the Wild”), Stacy (Laura Ramsey) and her beau Eric (Shawn Ashmore of “X-Men”) out of their swimsuits (literally) at Cancun and to a jungle archaeological dig, thanks to a tip from German tourist Mathias (Joe Anderson). And just as in “Turistas,” these clueless kids are in over their heads, before they know it. They show the map to locals-”This place, no good.”The path is hidden. Why would archaeologists hide the route to their site?Amy whines. Amy nags. Amy is the one most likely to say, “I’m not supposed to be here.” Amy is the only one who makes sense.Jeff, the ringleader, is decisive, determined, a real take-charge kind of guy. He just makes decisive, wrong decisions. More than once.Natives scream threats or warnings at them in a language they don’t speak. But they climb the pyramid anyway. And as accidents happen and blood is shed, the kids are tested. If only they can get a cell phone signal! There’s one ringing inside the “dig.” So of course the women are the ones sent into the dark to discover the truth about this place, the Maya, and what fate awaits them.Director Smith puts most of his energy into “modeling” his pretty young cast, and in creating gruesome moments of field surgery (hunting knives and whiskey and lots of gore). There are a couple of decent frights, but “The Ruins” only manages to be squirm-inducing when the would-be doctor decides to “operate” to save this victim or that one. What they really need to be saved from is Jeff. He wants to wait for rescue.”This doesn’t happen,” he insists. Four Americans on vacation just don’t disappear.Jeff doesn’t read newspapers, apparently. There may be some metaphor at work here about clueless leadership, but that feels like a stretch.The characters aren’t well-developed; the structure doesn’t present the viewer with false hope of rescue or a rising level of suspense or terror. But Amy and Stacy have nice, polar opposite arcs, from ditz to competent and vice versa.With Scott Smith’s rep and a best-selling horror novel, a sexy location and solid young cast, you’d have hoped the studio would find a director with a little more than a Tommy Hilfiger commercial under his belt. There’s a better movie here hidden among “The Ruins” than Carter Smith delivers. THE RUINS 2 stars (out of 5)Cast: Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Laura Ramsey, Shawn Ashmore, Joe AndersonDirector: Carter SmithRunning time: 1 hour 31 minutesIndustry rating: R for strong violence and gruesome images, language, some sexuality and nudity
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