The Ruins

The premise seems like standard horror-movie fare for this generation - college students, foreign locale, picked off one by one in gruesome fashion.

But this movie IS a little different, in that the horror comes from the sense of impending doom. Yes, there is definitely a lot of flesh-cutting and buckets of blood to go around, and yes, tehre are some scenes that definitely make you cringe, and say "EWWW!" but it's strongest aspect is in the simple need to stay alive long enough to get help.

In fact, the scenes in which they're dividing the last sandwich between the four of them is perhaps as chilling as the one where the severed legs get eaten by the . . .

well, that's just giving it away.

But what I can tell you is this: this movie has been touted as being about Mayan ruins, but truly there is nothing Mayan about this movie, so you're not going to be subjected to any supernatural pre-Columbian voodoo . . .

nothing that believable.


And to be honest, I saw this movie on my own first time - didn't think that much of it. Then my wife wanted to watch it with me, and it was actually better second time around. Which made me pause and consider this whole "movie-review" thing: perhaps first impressions truly are not sufficient with this medium. Perhaps film requires repeated viewings in order truly to get a grasp of the actual construct.

Too bad we're all so busy to watch things over and over again. Maybe that's why everything's become so simple - to get the point across first time.


Food for thought.

(and for anybody who's seen The Ruins, you know the inside joke embedded in that last phrase!)

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