Film

The Ruins

Cert: 18

Description: Medical student Jeff, his girlfriend Amy and their good friends Eric and Stacy, who are also a couple, soak up the sun on a well earned summer break. By the poolside, they meet friendly holidaymaker Mathias, whose brother has ventured into the jungle on an archaeological dig at a remote temple. The friends agree to visit the temple with Mathias but the sightseeing expedition quickly becomes a nightmare when locals chase the interlopers up the steps of the temple and refuse to let them leave. The bloodthirsty mob down below is nothing, however, compared to the horrors that lurk inside the temple.

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Dir: Carter Smith.

Cast: Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Laura Ramsey, Shawn Ashmore, Joe Anderson

Country: US.

Year: 2008.

Duration: 90mins

The Ruins

By Derek Malcolm
19 Jun 2008

In this horror from Carter Smith, a group of students on holiday in Mexico climb an ancient Mayan mound only to find a deadly plant creeping up on them and depositing its spores into various parts of their bodies. They can't get down because a posse of locals, frightened of being infected by the same fate, train their guns on them.

Good special effects, very moderate acting and a screenplay which includes the line "It's just so not OK!" add to the fun of watching a good idea fall foul of a general dottiness.