The Ruins (2008)

A group of friends whose leisurely Mexican holiday takes a turn for the worse when they, along with a fellow tourist embark on a remote archaeological dig in the jungle, where something evil lives among the ruins.

Director:

Carter Smith

Writers:

Scott B. Smith (screenplay), Scott B. Smith (novel)

Stars:

Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Laura Ramsey

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jonathan Tucker	...	Jeff
Jena Malone	...	Amy
Laura Ramsey	...	Stacy
Shawn Ashmore	...	Eric
Joe Anderson	...	Mathias
Sergio Calderón	...	Lead Mayan
Jesse Ramirez	...	Mayan Bowman
Balder Moreno	...	Mayan Horseman
Dimitri Baveas	...	Dimitri
Patricio Almeida Rodriguez	...	Taxi Driver
Mario Jurado	...	Mayan Archer
Luis Antonio Ramos	...	Mayan Rifleman (as Luis Ramos)
Walter Quispe	...	Mayan Rifleman
Pauline Whyman	...	Wailing Woman
Nathan Vega	...	Mayan Boy

Storyline

While on vacation in a resort in Mexico, the Americans Jeff, his girlfriend Amy, her best friend Stacy and her boyfriend Eric befriend the German Mathias in the swimming pool. Mathias invites the group to visit the ruins of a Mayan temple with his Greek friend Dimitri in an archeological field where his brother Henrich and his girlfriend are camped eighteen kilometers far from the resort. They hire an old taxi and when they reach the spot, they are surrounded by Mayan villagers armed of revolver, rifle and bow-and-arrow that kill Dimitri and do not allow the group to leave the place. They climb a construction covered of creepers with red flowers, and remain under siege of the locals. When they hear a cell phone in the bottom of a well, Mathias decides to seek the apparatus using a rope that breaks and he has a serious accident breaking his back. Amy and Stacy go to the bottom of the mine to rescue Mathias and they find many corpses covered by the climbing plants; further, they realize...

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Plot Keywords:

ruins | cell phone | greek | corpse | jungle | 

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Taglines:

Terror has evolved.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and gruesome images, language, some sexuality and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Dreamworks [us] Official site [au]

Country:

USA Germany Australia

Language:

English Maya Spanish Greek German

Release Date:

4 April 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Las ruinas

Filming Locations:

Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£123,507 (UK) (20 June 2008)

Gross:

£123,507 (UK) (20 June 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks SKG, Spyglass Entertainment, Red Hour Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 93 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Greek characters, while present in the novel, were not originally included in the screenplay. Director Carter Smith convinced screenwriter Scott B. Smith to add them back into the story.

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Goofs

In the beginning of the film, Amy is wearing sunglasses. A few shots later, she is wearing glasses. A few shots later, she is wearing sunglasses again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Archeologist #2: Help me!

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Connections

Referenced in Hewy's Animated Movie Reviews: The Top 13 Scariest Animated Monsters (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Mexico Mi Amor"
Written by Marc Ferrari, Matt Hirt & Julisa Kruydenhof
Performed by David Gomez
Courtesy of Marc Ferrari/MasterSource

User Reviews

The Day of the Triffids with Cabin Fever

Director Eli Roth should take note of and learn from this film. It is what Cabin Fever hoped to be... spooky.

Two twenty-something couples are vacationing in Mexico when they are invited to witness the excavation of some ancient ruins. Instead of fun and excitement, however, the four are held captive at top of the ruins by the locals. But it isn't long before they find they may be in even greater danger. Something cunning, hungry, and green has a taste for human flesh and the four vacationers have rung the dinner bell.

The characters seemed real. The mood was gripping. There were some good scares. I enjoyed it.