The Ruins (2008)

Featured Audience Ratings

• John M

  
  This was better than i expected. Decent ride. Some gorey parts on the unrated version may be a bit too much for some.

• Jeff "

  
  The Ruins is an interesting little horror flick. The premise is very good, unfortunately it ends up being a decent horror flick. Throughout the years, there has been many horror films dealing with nature, The Ruins is yet another film in this genre of horror and instead of killer… More
  The Ruins is an interesting little horror flick. The premise is very good, unfortunately it ends up being a decent horror flick. Throughout the years, there has been many horror films dealing with nature, The Ruins is yet another film in this genre of horror and instead of killer animals, we have plants that mutilate their victims. The film is decent, and though is lacking in some areas, manages to deliver intense moments of gross out horror. Carter Smith direction is good, somewhat unfocused; which makes this film not as good as it could be. Overall The Ruins is decent, but I felt it lacked anything to really make it a memorable horror flick. Gore fans will probably find this film appealing because there is plenty of good gore elements in this film. I found myself to cringe a few times here and there. Acting wise, there's nothing really remarkable. There's some good horror here, however The Ruins will not be seen as a memorable film in the genre. This is a different type of nature goes wild film, and it's quite interesting, but it could have been much better than this. The film has a decent plot with good gore effects, and it has the potential in being much better, unfortunately the film has limitations and it doesn't really take off. Entertaining, but flawed; The Ruins is a decent but imperfect attempt at horror. Still worth watching, just don't expect a film that delivers terrific scares.

• moon r

  
  A tropical Mexican vacation goes horribly wrong ... okay, maybe not exactly horror-bly, as tourists visit an isolated spot only to be hunted by ... a killer plant. You can wait for it, though some moments of tension are achieved.

• Carlos M

  
  A tense horror film that is well-paced and relies on a good cast, turning a rather silly premise into something surprisingly terrifying. It is only a shame that it ends on such an unsatisfying conclusion (I prefer the alternative ending).

• Matt G

  
  Scary film with gross out moments.

• Anthony L

  
  I thought the Ruins was pretty good to be honest. The actors ain't great but in their defence a couple of them stepped up to the challenge when the films conclusion got going. I think it's casting is probably the only problem I had with it though - The idea itself is both… More
  I thought the Ruins was pretty good to be honest. The actors ain't great but in their defence a couple of them stepped up to the challenge when the films conclusion got going. I think it's casting is probably the only problem I had with it though - The idea itself is both original and fairly terrifying, I just didn't care to much about the characters and that is its downfall, although using unknown actors was a good idea. I certainly wouldn't mind a sequel! Good fun.

• Ken S

  
  Now the Ruins doesn't have it's fair share of flaws, but what it does it does well. Darius Khondji's is beautiful and the film makes a smart choice by making it about what the characters do to each other rather than about scary plants.

• J P

  
  Super, super gory. I liked it, but it did have a stupid plot. Killer plants.....really? The acting was good, characters were stupid and annoying, even before they were stuck on the ruins. It was a pretty good movie, I guess. I don't really have much to say about it.

• Stuart B

  
  Another one I own but not watched yet.

• Richard C

  
  i actually really liked this movie. it was really scary and violent and had a good story. I actually cared about the characters and wanted them to live which isn't the case for most horror movies. there are several scenes that are really intense and disturbing. this is how you… More
  i actually really liked this movie. it was really scary and violent and had a good story. I actually cared about the characters and wanted them to live which isn't the case for most horror movies. there are several scenes that are really intense and disturbing. this is how you make a horror movie. B+

• Dead A

  
  First scene fooled me. I thought it was some kind of a monster which was attacking that girl (better start reading the description a little bit before watching any movie). But I was so wrong. The idea was okay. Overall the movie was watchable. I must admit that I was in pain while… More
  First scene fooled me. I thought it was some kind of a monster which was attacking that girl (better start reading the description a little bit before watching any movie). But I was so wrong. The idea was okay. Overall the movie was watchable. I must admit that I was in pain while watching this. It seemed so real. The ending was great. Comparing to the whole movie I liked the ending. It looked like "Sorry to say but you ain't gonna live anyway". One thing that I didn't like is... Why would those plants imitate a person's voice/mobile ring tone? I was like "COME ON YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!". But sadly, they were.

• Jason S

  
  I liked it. It had a good premise and a good mood that carried out through the whole movie. I think the actors did a good job portraying the various amounts of crazy they have to go through as well. I would like to see more.

• Jason O

  
  I rather liked this movie. The idea of a killer plant was cool, and how it could mimic sounds was just plain awesome. My favorite part of the movie is how it has them trying to find a cell phone cause they keep hearing it ring, just to find out it's the plant itself! And for it… More
  I rather liked this movie. The idea of a killer plant was cool, and how it could mimic sounds was just plain awesome. My favorite part of the movie is how it has them trying to find a cell phone cause they keep hearing it ring, just to find out it's the plant itself! And for it to only have B-movie/no-name actors, I thought they did a good job! The only thing really that I didn't like about the movie was how short it was; I wanted more cool, memorable scenes with the plant! Rather disturbing...that a plant can get inside your body and live/thrive, so cool.

• Wahida K

  
  <i>Fav bit</i> The next morning, Stacy finds that a tendril of the vine has crept into her wound. Even worse, the vines have wrapped themselves around Mathias's lower legs and have eaten into them, down to the bone. The cellphone is heard again, and Stacy and Amy are… More
  <i>Fav bit</i> The next morning, Stacy finds that a tendril of the vine has crept into her wound. Even worse, the vines have wrapped themselves around Mathias's lower legs and have eaten into them, down to the bone. The cellphone is heard again, and Stacy and Amy are lowered down the shaft to find it. In a small, vine-covered room they find the body of the young woman and her phone, which is broken. The flowers are vibrating and screeching, reproducing the ring of the cell phone. The vines attack them but they manage to escape. Stacy is convinced the vines are alive, and that they are growing inside her. The group realizes that the vines are predatory and that the Mayans are actually trying to keep them quarantined and have salted the earth all around the hill.

• Aaron N

  
  Jeff: They don't want us to spread it. That's why they won't let us leave. They're salting the soil to keep it contained. It's old. It has to be really old because the birds and insects and animals have learned not to land here. A surprisingly awesome… More
  Jeff: They don't want us to spread it. That's why they won't let us leave. They're salting the soil to keep it contained. It's old. It has to be really old because the birds and insects and animals have learned not to land here. A surprisingly awesome horror/thriller. Along with Touristas, another film about Americans having the worst South American vacation ever, this film defied my expectations and turned out to be very well handled, given its premise and the feeling one would have from its trailer. Genuine tension, quality bloodshed, solid all the way. A group of friends, two couples to be exact, on a vacation in Mexico have things take a turn for the worse when they, along with a fellow tourist embark on a remote archaeological dig in the jungle, which would seem like a fun idea, until they discover hostile natives as well as something evil that lives among the ruins. Between the natives who will not let them leave the temple and the evil that is slowly tormenting them, the vacationing friends are gonna have a tough time uploading the pics to their Facebook profile. Jeff: Four Americans on vacation don't just disappear! This movie rocks, if I haven't emphasized that enough already. The characters are well handled, which is important, because this isn't a movie that relies on how an unknown kills young people, instead, the film very much relies on the tension and growing separation between the characters. That being said, there are a few reveals involving the evil that lurks within the ruins that are handled with quality. This is a great looking movie as well. The Mayan temple setting, the sweeping jungle backgrounds, the film benefits from its setting. The film also benefits from its R rating. When the violence happens, the film isn't shy about showing it to you, and in fairly creative ways. A few hiccups here or there involving some character actions or CG didn't take me out of this film. I was very absorbed, found the film incredibly well handled, with quality amounts of tension and scares. I was with these characters, who are basically trapped in an impossible situation, all the way. Good flick. Jeff: He won't last much longer like this. We're gonna have to cut them off. Amy: Cut what off?

• Dean !

  
  Fairly average horror film set deep in the jungle. Just not that scary or suspenseful. Shame missed opportunity for a decent location for a horror film. Quite gory at times, with good effects.

• Lewis C

  
  Gory enough for fans of this kind of movie, buy what's the deal with the stupid talking flowers? I loved how often they mentioned THE GREEKS!

• Cherry D

  
  What....the....holy....hell?! o_O Viiiiiiiiiiiiiiiines, they just needed a good weed killer that's all, if you go to visit any archaeological sites in Mexico, bring Round-Up. They should of stood at the top of that pyramid throwing the plants down at the locals like there was… More
  What....the....holy....hell?! o_O Viiiiiiiiiiiiiiiines, they just needed a good weed killer that's all, if you go to visit any archaeological sites in Mexico, bring Round-Up. They should of stood at the top of that pyramid throwing the plants down at the locals like there was no tomorrow, then.....wallah, freedom, that would of solved a lot of problems =]

• Derek A

  
  Too LAME for words! I don't even want to waste my time, so I'll make it quick: They're attacked by plants. That's right. Plants. Decent gore, and surprisingly decent acting by most the cast save this crapfest from being a 1/2 star.

• Nicki M

  
  This was good for it's genre. I thought I was watching a Wolf Creek type of film, with the questionable German tourist, so I was really surprised by how it panned out. Creepy and something a bit different. Jena Malone is great in this too, I haven't seen her in a horror… More
  This was good for it's genre. I thought I was watching a Wolf Creek type of film, with the questionable German tourist, so I was really surprised by how it panned out. Creepy and something a bit different. Jena Malone is great in this too, I haven't seen her in a horror before.

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