The Ruins ***
Cast: Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Shawn Ashmore, Laura Ramsey, Joe Anderson
Director: Carter Smith
Running Length: 1:31
MPAA Classification: R

Four friends on spring break in Mexico,; Jeff (Tucker), Amy (Malone), Stacy (Ramsey), and Eric (Ashmore); meet Mathias (Anderson) while lounging around the hotel pool. Mathias tells them of a pyramid that has just been discovered, and they all decide to go exploring. In the middle of nowhere, cut off from civilization, they find the temple. Once there, they are surrounded by the locals wo make it clear that they will kill them if they try to leave. They head up to the top of the pyramid with their meager supplies to figure out what to do, but soon find that the villagers below are the least of their problems.

“The Ruins” is a great horror story of survival. Death lurks on top of the pyramid for the characters, and is very much a character itself. The sense of having no way out permeates the film. Adapted by the author himself from the great novel, Scott Smith has rearranged the kills and story elements to keep everything fresh for the readers of the book. Despite that, the film is faithful to the spirit of his book. The cast effectively handles the mental deterioration that their characters endure. The film is tense and suspenseful and one of the better horror movies to come out in the last few years. I recommend this film.