diaz987 I loved this movie, even if the actors are not always convincing. The only downside for me is that there is no explanation to explain to us why the ruins are cursed. It would have been nice at the end to tell us why the ruins are in this state. Finally, I did not much like the ending. There are two purposes and I find the second much more convincing.

chaos-rampant This is a weird one and not in any way I care to see, just weird in the parts it was made from.You have youth venturing in the jungle to explore, an abandoned pyramid, killer plants, all of which bring to mind older and cheesier types of film, like we would be running from shenanigans in a harmless way. It looks like it would be generic and watered down from afar and I skipped it when it came out based on that.But the actual thing turns out to be contained, gruesome, an "infection" movie with people growing unhinged in close quarters instead of a themepark ride. It came out when horror was going through its "torture" phase so we get "torture" cadence. We hear bones crunch, skin is punctured, characters are made to convey extreme suffering. One of the boys says "four Americans can't just disappear", mimicking angst that Hostel had given traction.So it work for a while as it makes that shift and I realize it's going for impact after all. But after a point the new cadence begins to feel as contrived and driven by market forces as the one I expected, just a different sort. There's a gnarly bone cutting scene that looks like it was just crossed off of someone's list, simply stuck in there to have us wince. It's lazy impact in the most tacky way. So this is odd, and there will probably never be another film made from these parts again.

Wuchak Scott B. Smith, writer of "A Simple Plan" (the novel and the 1998 movie), also wrote the 2008 novel & film "The Ruins," which is about two college couples vacationing in Mexico who hook up with a German and visit an unknown Mayan pyramid off the beaten track. They are terrorized when local Natives surround the pyramid with deadly weapons, refusing to permit them to leave, and more horrified by the reason why!"The Ruins" refuses to make the mistake of too many conventional horror flicks by not going over-the-top with the situation, the "monster" or the horror/thrills, which makes these films more goofy than horrifying. For instance, take the ending of "The Ruins" (which is different than the book and, in my opinion, better): In a typical horror movie there would've been a wild (i.e. thrilling but totally unbelievable) vehicle pursuit by the Mayan descendants; not here. It's the BELIEVABILITY of "The Ruins" that makes it effective, which is reinforced by the notable acting of the five protagonists.Speaking of which, I don't normally notice acting performances, but I found the acting stellar by the main protagonists – Jonathan Tucker as Jeff, Laura Ramsey as Stacy, Jena Malone as Amy, Shawn Ashmore as Eric and Joe Anderson as Mathias, the German. The two girls and Tucker (Jeff) especially stand out.I found these protagonists likable and fairly fleshed-out for a 90-minute horror flick. For one, they're not the typical frat trash you see in so many horror movies. Secondly, we see signs of character again and again, which I detail below.Some complain that the non-human antagonists are decidedly un-scary, but that's one of the main points of the movie. Like 1963's "The Birds," it takes something we see every day and are NOT scared of and turns them into a source of horror.One memorable scene is when Stacy and Amy are in the dark bowels of the pyramid searching for a cell phone they keep hearing. What they discover is equal parts shocking, surreal and amazing. More on this below. Another memorable sequence is when Jeff & Eric are forced to perform a gruesome operation. The ending is also well-done and suspenseful.While the story takes place on the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, it was surprisingly shot at Gold Coast and Tamborine Mountain, Australia, just south of Brisbane, which is on the East coast. In any case, the locations are spectacular.BOTTOM LINE: "The Ruins" really surprised me in light of the inexplicable mediocre ratings and incessant panning. It's an adventure story mixed with psychological horror utilizing something common and un-scary as the "monster." It features quality gore, excellent locations & props, top-of-the-line performances and quality filmmaking in general. Plus it takes advantage of the presence of Laura Ramsey and eschews the overdone cartoony-ness of too many horror flicks, which are more funny than creepy or horrifying. In other words, "The Ruins" delivers the goods.The theatrical version runs 90 minutes and the unrated version 93 minutes. I viewed the latter.GRADE: B+ or A- ***SPOILER ALERT*** (Don't read further unless you've seen the film) The plants that live on the pyramid and what they are able to do spur a fascinating point: The animal kingdom spans the spectrum of worms to human beings. What about plant life? The plants at the Mayan ruins are obviously from the higher-developed end of the plant kingdom – they work as a team to obtain sustenance and are able to mimic sounds, like human voices and the ringtone of a cell phone, etc.I've heard complaints about how the protagonists constantly make the wrong decisions. Answer: The foursome had befriended Mathias and therefore trusted him. They wanted to experience some Mayan history off the beaten track. When the Natives suddenly arrive on the scene and brutally shoot one of their members in the head the only place for them to safely flee is the pyramid. At that point they're stranded because the Natives have the ruins surrounded. How is any of this a wrong decision? Besides, show me a list of the most popular horror flicks and I'll be able to cite way more ridiculous decisions by the protagonists than seen in "The Ruins." Someone complained that the youths never attempt to escape the pyramid until it is basically too late, which supposedly defies logic. Answer: They're only on the pyramid for two nights and were waiting for help to arrive. Their only other recourse was to make a run for the jungle, which was impossible because the pyramid was surrounded by Natives with deadly weapons who already proved they would kill without mercy anyone infected by the plants. As such, the most logical thing to do was to wait for help and only make a run for it (to the jungle) if they absolutely had to, which is what happens. Sounds logical to me.I've heard the criticism that the protagonists are imbeciles with little character development. I found them likable, as noted above, and there are numerous examples of character: They desire to experience the culture of the area and not just utilize their exotic vacation to party, like the average one-dimensional spring-breakers. Also, they refuse to leave Mathias for dead in the pyramid and the girls risk going down the same dubious rope that resulted in his fall. Moreover, Jeff insists on performing the gruesome task of cutting off Mathias' legs and Eric agrees to help even while the primitive operation causes him to vomit. Lastly, Jeff willingly sacrifices himself so that Amy has a chance to escape and she makes a bold dash for freedom. All this sounds like character to me.Needless to say, the criticisms leveled at the film are mostly invalid or easily explained.

bowmanblue It's amazing that there are any teenagers left in America. Every time they seem to venture more than five miles out of their home town they seem to get picked off by Rednecks/Werewolves/Undead serial killers (take your pick).In The Ruins, we see your average bunch of plucky American teens (i.e. far too good looking to be believable) taking a well-earned holiday (sorry, vacation) to Mexico. All is going well until someone suggests venturing off the beaten paths to look at some... you guessed it, ruins.And, before you can say 'teen horror' our poor, hapless heroes are knee deep in (of all things) killer plants! Hardly the most fearsome for every to play its part in decreasing the population of an American High School, I hear you cry. But, to make matters worse, our young models are stranded on top of some ruins, surrounded by the feral fungi and they can't get off because the locals will shoot them if they do.All in all, it's a lot of silly fun - as is most mainstream horror these days. There's some nice gory scenes and plenty of things that happen even though any sane person wouldn't so that. But it's horror, right? So we're happy to suspend our disbelief.Give it a go - it's very watchable, plus, if these kids ever make it back to civilisation, they will get a guaranteed A+ for any 'What I did in my holiday' essay.