In "The Ruins", a dumb, selfish, hysterical b*tch (played by Jena Malone) indirectly causes the death of a German tourist, a little boy, and her own boyfriend. What is the inclusion of this character saying about women? Ask director Carter Smith, whose cinematic resume favors films about boys who like boys. Interestingly but not surprisingly, the male protagonists in this movie are strong and reasonably rational. Two American couples and a German follow a secret map to an old pyramid in Mexico. The pyramid, an impressive monument smothered in vines, is unofficially guarded by superstitious locals (Mayans, perhaps?) who don't take kindly to tourists. After Malone's ignorant behavior causes the German to get shot by the locals, the tourists retreat to the top of the pyramid where they face a different type of danger; their efforts to survive in a limited space make up the remainder of the movie. The enemy here is green and tentacle-like. It burrows into gaping wounds and has the ability to mimic sounds once heard. What could have been very silly in some hands is pulled off effectively here. Containing echoes of the Japanese masterpiece "Matango", this studio horror pic preys on our fears of bodily corruption and invasion. There is nowhere for our heroes to go, so we are invited to watch them as one would watch rats in a maze filled with traps. The prosthetic effects are convincing and extreme, and the performances are credible. The Malone character invites no sympathy because she's such a stupid waste of skin and bones; she's even depicted cheating on her boyfriend early in the peace. Why her friends didn't push her off the pyramid or leave her down the well she descends into at one point is anybody's guess. This gripe aside, "The Ruins" is a decent horror flick with some psychological depth.
Review of The Ruins
