Don't feed the plants

'The Ruins'

4 out of 5 stars

People planning on taking a trip to Mexico should probably stay far, far away from "The Ruins," at least if they're planning to go backpacking through the jungle.

"The Ruins," based on the novel by Scott Smith, is the first good horror movie to be released this year. Although it isn't as good as the novel it is based on, it still provides one heck of a scary story and enough blood and gore for horror aficionados.

Most horror films spend the first act setting up the characters to be killed, and this one is no different. Here it's two American couples spending a week in Mexico before they all go off to school. They meet a foreign man by the pool, who invites them to explore an ancient pyramid that his brother went to visit on an archaeological dig (and never returned ...) They go off hiking through the jungle to find the pyramid, but once they get there, the local Mayan tribe makes it pretty clear they won't be allowed to leave. The remainder of the film is a fight for survival for everyone involved, although the Mayans turn out to be the least of their problems.

What they discover on the ruins would seem silly if viewed objectively, so that secret won't be revealed here. What is true about the film is that it is intense and frightening, and far bleaker than most horror films released. After the characters are introduced, the audience is pretty much thrown into the chaos with almost no time to catch its breath, which works incredibly well.

Anyone going to the film in hopes of a gorefest won't be disappointed, The film's violence is definitely not for the faint of heart. This is not a film like "Saw" where the violence is almost comical and entertaining. This is harsh and uncomfortable, since the audience gets the sense that these are real people in a real situation. The crude doctoring tools used during one crucial scene inspired walkouts at the screening.

Scott Smith, who adapted his own novel for the screen, knows a thing or two about taking ordinary people and throwing them into extraordinary situations. His previous book/film, "A Simple Plan," was a hard hitting examination of how crime doesn't pay. Here he focuses more on how the prospect of death messes with the minds of five ordinary people, and how we can be more dangerous to ourselves than any mass murderer could be. Obviously this is difficult to translate on screen, but director Carter Smith and his fine team of actors do an excellent job of conveying the emotional gamut these people go through, despite some of the deeper implications and characterizations being lost in the translation to screen.

The only area where Smith errs in his adaptation is the ending. Though the film's ending isn't exactly happy, it's not a bad ending. it's abrupt and a distinct shift in tone from what has come before. The book's ending was far bleaker, and although it wouldn't have been as pleasing to audiences, it would have fit the film better than the current ending.

In spite of that quibble, "The Ruins" succeeds at what it intends to do, which is create a suspenseful and scary ride with deeper implications along the way. If nothing else, the cinematography is gorgeous, if you can see it from between your fingers.

Wes Lawson can be reached and 536-3311 ext. 275 or w4027@siu.edu.