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

Ben Stiller was involved with this film because he is a friend of novelist / screenwriter Scott B. Smith.

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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

"Solto O Frango"
Written by Pedro D'Eyrot, Rodrigo Gorky, Thomas Pentz & Marina Vello
Performed by Bonde do Rolê
Courtesy of Domino Recording Co., Ltd.

User Reviews

Good for it's genre

The Ruins has it's typical horror movie cliché's, but aren't really that big of a deal compared to the overall effect the movie has. The nudity scene is very short and not very explicit, the cheating girlfriend thing isn't that big of a deal either. The only corny parts in this movie I would consider mediocre and not that big of a deal.

The acting was overall pretty decent. I've always been impressed with Ashmore since he played the only good role in the "Animorphs" TV series. I was also very impressed with Jonathan Tucker's acting. Malone and Ramsey through in great performances as well.

The chills in this movie were real. My fiancé' was so disturbed during this movie that at one point he started biting my scalp. The movie also uses an excellent balance of silence and music in appropriate sections. And the fact that the audience is kept in the dark about some of "why" this was going on is also a big bonus. There isn't an overabundance of blood and gore, but it's great for this movie. Kudos for a horror flick that does it right!