I just screened The Ruins and didn't think much of it beforehand. I thought it looked cool, but didn't really expect anything bad or good. All in all, it was better than most movies of it's kind, and could've easily been worse, but could've been just a little bit better too.
Of course, it's about a group of young people that, by chance, find their way into the old ruins of some old Mayan pyramid thing. When they get there, they're ambushed by the (Mayan?) locals, and pretty much held at the pyramid/ruins against their will. The locals won't let them leave, and stakeout the outside of the ruins with guns and arrows and all that cool stuff. So, really, what's one to do in such a freaky, crazy situation? There's not much to do other than survive, which is what these people struggle to do throughout the movie. Not only do they have to worry about surviving from hunger or dehydration (five people have only ONE bottle of water to ration, plus a a tiny bit of food), but they also have to worry about not only the crazy ass killer vines/foliage that inhabit these ruins, but they also have to worry about staying sane.
Everything that can go wrong pretty much does. The worst things happen to these people. Really. I was watching and every few minutes, I just said, "Wow, that's a bitch. That sucks." Not only do they have to worry about freaky killer vines, they also have to worry about themselves, because one of them starts to go insane and one of them is seriously injured.
I know what you're thinking. The whole notion of killer plants/vines sounds completely stupid. I thought so, too. How was this going to be scary or even kind of freaky? Personally, I thought they handled it pretty damn well. What could've ended up being ridiculous and stupid ended up being kind of freaky. It's not really the vines/plants themselves that are scary, it's just the idea of what they are and what they do to these people that's kind of scary. The scenes inside the pyramid, where it's just wall to wall of this scary crap, was a little creepy because they were everywhere and it was overwhelming and claustrophobic at the same time. The scenes inside the actual pyramid are scary because it's so dark and it's such a confined space that these vines actually were kind of freaky because they were pretty much wall-to-wall. It was an abyss filled with these plants, that mimicked the noises around them, making them that much more creepy.
Of course, the movie's filled with blood. Lots of it. The violence is great because most of it didn't come from the vines like you'd expect; most of the crazy crap was a result of the characters; the presence of the vines just made things worse and nastier. None of the gore is there to really shock you, it's just there, it just makes you cringe instead of yell in excitement, like most movies of it's kind. There's a really nasty scene involving a guy, legs, a hunting knife, a rock, and a hot pan...and it's nasty....
The only thing I was missing from the movie was that it didn't really pack much of a punch. It was just there, there wasn't that much to it. A lot of what happens is sad and effective, especially how a lot of these characters get screwed over, but I would've preferred if there was just more to it. I thought it would've been better if the movie was just an all-out downer, even though nothing really positive ever happens. The characters act like you'd expect, too. They go through every decision rationally and logically, and opt not to do things that they know will get them killed. They react just as you'd expect someone to react in a situation like this.
It's a cool movie because it doesn't take the easy way out like most horror movies do. Bad things happen to characters that you like, even though you kind of hate to see it, because all these characters are pretty likable and interesting. I thought the ending could've packed more punch, because it ended up being too bland for my taste, but that's just me. Even though some unexpected stuff happens, it still could've used some more punch. But eh. Who cares?
This was a pretty cool movie. Could've been a little better, but could've ended up a lot worse, too. Pretty damn entertaining, and some pretty crazy violence.
Score: 8
Of course, it's about a group of young people that, by chance, find their way into the old ruins of some old Mayan pyramid thing. When they get there, they're ambushed by the (Mayan?) locals, and pretty much held at the pyramid/ruins against their will. The locals won't let them leave, and stakeout the outside of the ruins with guns and arrows and all that cool stuff. So, really, what's one to do in such a freaky, crazy situation? There's not much to do other than survive, which is what these people struggle to do throughout the movie. Not only do they have to worry about surviving from hunger or dehydration (five people have only ONE bottle of water to ration, plus a a tiny bit of food), but they also have to worry about not only the crazy ass killer vines/foliage that inhabit these ruins, but they also have to worry about staying sane.
Everything that can go wrong pretty much does. The worst things happen to these people. Really. I was watching and every few minutes, I just said, "Wow, that's a bitch. That sucks." Not only do they have to worry about freaky killer vines, they also have to worry about themselves, because one of them starts to go insane and one of them is seriously injured.
I know what you're thinking. The whole notion of killer plants/vines sounds completely stupid. I thought so, too. How was this going to be scary or even kind of freaky? Personally, I thought they handled it pretty damn well. What could've ended up being ridiculous and stupid ended up being kind of freaky. It's not really the vines/plants themselves that are scary, it's just the idea of what they are and what they do to these people that's kind of scary. The scenes inside the pyramid, where it's just wall to wall of this scary crap, was a little creepy because they were everywhere and it was overwhelming and claustrophobic at the same time. The scenes inside the actual pyramid are scary because it's so dark and it's such a confined space that these vines actually were kind of freaky because they were pretty much wall-to-wall. It was an abyss filled with these plants, that mimicked the noises around them, making them that much more creepy.
Of course, the movie's filled with blood. Lots of it. The violence is great because most of it didn't come from the vines like you'd expect; most of the crazy crap was a result of the characters; the presence of the vines just made things worse and nastier. None of the gore is there to really shock you, it's just there, it just makes you cringe instead of yell in excitement, like most movies of it's kind. There's a really nasty scene involving a guy, legs, a hunting knife, a rock, and a hot pan...and it's nasty....
The only thing I was missing from the movie was that it didn't really pack much of a punch. It was just there, there wasn't that much to it. A lot of what happens is sad and effective, especially how a lot of these characters get screwed over, but I would've preferred if there was just more to it. I thought it would've been better if the movie was just an all-out downer, even though nothing really positive ever happens. The characters act like you'd expect, too. They go through every decision rationally and logically, and opt not to do things that they know will get them killed. They react just as you'd expect someone to react in a situation like this.
It's a cool movie because it doesn't take the easy way out like most horror movies do. Bad things happen to characters that you like, even though you kind of hate to see it, because all these characters are pretty likable and interesting. I thought the ending could've packed more punch, because it ended up being too bland for my taste, but that's just me. Even though some unexpected stuff happens, it still could've used some more punch. But eh. Who cares?
This was a pretty cool movie. Could've been a little better, but could've ended up a lot worse, too. Pretty damn entertaining, and some pretty crazy violence.
Score: 8