Coming out of The Ruins, I can truly say that it wasn't at all what I expected. After watching some trailers and glancing at the posters I was fully prepared for another movie in the vein of Neil Marshall's excellent The Descent. Instead, screenwriter Scott Smith (who adapted this from his best-selling novel) and director Carter Smith have delivered a genre movie that's more concerned with the trials and mental stress of our main characters rather than throwing out as many effects as it can. In fact, the entire thing is mostly played out in one location and most of the uncomfortable moments come not from the horror elements but from how our cast reacts to them.

Considering that things kick off on an as by-the-book foot as possible, it's not hard to see why I was a bit hesitant at first. The basic premise follows a group of American twenty-something's during their summer vacation in Mexico. There's med student Jeff (Jonathan Tucker), girlfriend Amy (Jena Malone), and their friends/couple Eric (Shawn Ashmore) and Stacy (Laura Ramsey). Just as they're getting a little bit bored of the same-old they're approached by fellow traveller Mathias (Joe Anderson) who eventually offers to let them tag along on an expedition into the nearby Mexican wilderness to find an ancient Mayan temple.

After a long trek they eventually arrive at their destination only to be met by resistance from some locals who are sporting various weapons (mostly bows and guns) and aren't happy they've decided to come check out the ruins. Well, it turns out their anger isn't unfounded as we soon learn the run-down, vegetation covered pyramid is the home for some extremely deadly plant life. Upon accidentally stepping into some, Amy finds herself being threatened and, after their guide is brutally gunned down, the group ends-up trapped on top of the ruins surrounded by the killer flora with minimal supplies and no escape in sight.

If you're expecting some form of blood-soaked monster movie from The Ruins, be prepared to be disappointed. Honestly, the fact that the main "villain" of this piece are essentially murderous vines, is sure to turn off more than a few viewers. They really don't play a huge part in the proceedings, merely being on hand to offer up a few mild moments of suspense when our girls are lowered into the darkness of the pyramid to look for a ringing cell phone and as lead-up to the movie's couple of grisly, somewhat gory, moments. They're never really the main focus in Smith's script and, in the end, this is a smart decision because if you were to tell the average person it's a movie about "killer plants" they'd probably chortle and watch something else.

It's actually surprising how much is going on underneath the surface, as things are more psychologically punishing than anything on screen. Our characters are dragged through the dirt here and we're forced to watch, as their situation gets more and more grim. The things they do to each other, or themselves, are much more horrifying than anything the plants do. This is especially true for Ramsey's character who's put through the wringer so much that, by the end of things, it's difficult to remember she was once just a fun-loving vacationer.

This is one solid little flick that works better than expected thanks to being different than expected. It doesn't rely much on special effects to do its job and it gets decent performances across the board. Ramsey is definitely the best thing here, perhaps because her character goes through the most trauma, but Malone and Ashmore handle themselves just fine and Tucker nails Jeff's transformation from stick-in-the-mud to arrogant jerk. I've read elsewhere that the novel surpasses the movie version but, given that it runs a mere 91 minutes, Smith has done a decent job translating his work in my eyes. Debuting director Carter Smith (no relation to the author) also keeps things going at a brisk enough pace and doesn't go too overboard with his camera.

What it all boils down to is that The Ruins delivers enough of what long-time horror fans are looking for (or at least ones who are tired of the normal plethora of pointless violence and gore) and, like last year's The Mist, hopefully will be able to garner a larger audience when it comes out on DVD since distributor Dreamworks didn't even have enough faith in it to screen it for critics or give it much of a push. (Chris Hartley, 4/15/08)

Directed By: Carter Smith.
Written By: Scott Smith.

Starring: Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Shawn Ashmore, Laura Ramsey.