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Ruins, The
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 15 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 31 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Horror | Suspense/Thriller
Written by: Scott Smith
Directed by: Carter Smith
Release Date:
Theatrical: April 4, 2008
DVD: July 8, 2008
Running Time: 91 minutes, Color
Origin: Australia / USA
Summary
RATING: R for strong violence and gruesome images, language, some sexuality and nudity
Starring Jonathan Tucker, Laura Ramsey, Jena Malone, and Shawn Ashmore
Based on the terrifying best-seller by Scott Smith, The Ruins follows a group of friends who become entangled in a brutal struggle for survival after visiting a remote archaeological dig in the Mexican jungle, where they discover something deadly living among the ruins. (DreamWorks)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
ReelViews James Berardinelli
In order to appreciate The Ruins, one has to be a die-hard fan of horror or bloody thrillers. Those in that category will discover that The Ruins delivers the goods.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Jim Ridley
First-time feature director Carter Smith, working with resourceful cinematographer Darius Khondji, pulls off the neat trick of using the wide screen to claustrophobic effect. And the actors give such a convincing display of starvation-fueled fear that they deserve their own private craft-service table.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
The Ruins is, with one major caveat, about as good an adaptation of Scott Smith's bestselling novel as Hollywood was ever going to make.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Mark Olsen
The characters never evolve past mere functionality, and the adherence to certain tried-and-true horror tropes -- the good girl who doesn't want to go but does, the generic naughty kids who get it first -- feels workmanlike, robbing the story of any real suspense or surprise.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
In the end, the gimmick is too risible and its effects on the characters too forced to sustain either suspense or horror.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Director Carter Smith suffers from another, more common problem: In trying to squeeze every plot point from the book into a 90-minute movie, he failed to capture its chilling essence.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
Smith has changed a few plot points around to keep readers who already know the secret of the ruins guessing, and to some extent the strategy works. There was, however, no reason whatsoever to change the book's perfect endings.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
The Ruins is lumpish, static, and obvious. It's a gringos-go-home cautionary fright flick done in the spirit of a cheap '50s horror movie, except that it leaves you longing for the competence of grade-Z studio-system trash.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar
There are a handful of intense sequences and a few scenes of squirm-inducing gore in The Ruins, but not much else.
Read Full Review >Empire Staff (Not credited)
Slick, sick stuff, but save the odd squirm, a killer-plant horror that doesn’t grow anywhere.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Matt Zoller Seitz
More disgusting than scary, The Ruins is the latest in a long line of horror films about upper-middle-class travelers being terrorized in unfamiliar environments.
Read Full Review >Variety Dennis Harvey
Ultimately less dependent on suspense or even scares than on squirm-inducing grossouts, this tale of Yank hardbodies vs. carnivorous creepers should flower briefly in hardtops, then spread like an invasive weed in ancillary.
Read Full Review >New York Post Kyle Smith
The movie doesn't do anything with these viney bastards. There's no back story, no satire, no allegory, no implications beyond what's happening on the pyramid.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
As it stands, The Ruins is about as interesting as a pile of old stones and a monkey-dumb yanqui falling prey to the horrors of globalization. And that's pretty dumb.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 5.2 (out of 10) based on 31 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Grant Z gave it a10:
Ignore the haters, The Ruins is probably one of the best movies of recent times. It isn't cliche and it truly is shocking in places, the monster gets into one of the females, causing some of the most disturbing scenes i've ever seen in a movie. Scenes of amputation, are included. But there isn't too much blood. It instils a sense of fear by making you realize that in the end, we truly are our greatest enemies, when stuck in terrifying situations.
Mike gave it a2:
A very silly, laughable movie. And this was suppose to be a horror?!?
czar gave it a6:
I enjoyed this horror. It was edgy and suspenseful. As with any horror there are gaps in the story and lots of "why didn't they .." and "if only then" - but that is not the point. We had a good nights viewing and that is what it is about.
Anthony C. gave it a0:
Awful!!!! While the acting is actually pretty decent, there is no plot and the parts just come out of nowhere without any explanation. I don't know how anyone can say this movie is even half-way decent.
Zane S gave it a7:
I really liked this movie, but the novel was like a thousand times better. They really should've followed the novel instead, and the characters were all mixed up & stuff. But I liked the movie, had some intense sense, enough gore, and an antagonist unlike anything you've really seen before.
Paul R gave it a10:
Aaaah! A breath of fresh air for once from the horror coal mines. People keep on saying that horror is dead, that it died back in the late 80's and has been slowly trying to pop it's head up for air ever since. The Ruins looks like the kind of snuff horror film that you would have seen back in the late 70's, only this film adds a sublte supernatural twist. It is horror that bases its self in the suffering of a group of people slowly withering away while faceing varialble threats. This film is not a slasher film, but a film of intense despair that leaves you glued to the screen. It pulls no punches, it shows you the violence as if you where watching a autopsy video, detailed and precise. Not for the faint of heart.
Matthew gave it a9:
I don't understand all the negativity and derision this film has garnered. I found it to be a very interesting and well-done horror film. One of the better American offerings I have watched in the past 6 months.
