The Ruins - on DVD and in Paperback
Anyone here read this one -- or see the movie?
Friends on vacation decide to have a brief day's adventure -- away from the fun and sun of the beach -- and wander into the jungle to find a nearby archaeological dig where more fun might be had.
That's the basic set up of Scott Smith's novel and the script he drew from it, for The Ruins.
Something lurks in that heart of darkness, and it truly is the horror, the horror, and nothing I tell you here is going to bring to vivid life this page-turning novel -- or the carefully done movie from this same story. Experience it - read it, watch it.
I enjoyed them both -- but if I were to recommend one over the other, I'd recommend the novel. It is a good old-fashioned horror story retooled as a way to get to know a handful of people -- inside and out - and feel as if they are vital and fascinating even in the smallest of their details. Also, with the movie, I felt very grim and sad; with the novel, novelist Smith got my heart-pounding. I couldn't wait -- each day -- to get back to that book to find out what would happen next.
I feel as if the basic skeleton of the plot is a well-worn area of horror short fiction -- particularly reminding me of Stephen King's "The Float," but in a good way. Scott Smith is a fascinating and even maddening writer: he is experimental in many ways while being wholly traditional in his approach to storytelling. I loved this novel -- it's a genuine page turner. Yet it is not dialogue-heavy, nor does it even have chapter breaks. It's an unraveling of the story and character through a world of overgrown horror.
The movie is beautiful, grim, creepy, well-acted, and nearly-perfect as a horror movie. Jena Malone may be the single most appealing actress of her generation, and also makes her roles seem as if she is that character and not an actress stepping into a character. But the entire cast is wonderful, even the minor characters only briefly-glimpsed.
The only commercial drawback to it -- for the popcorn-oriented audience -- is that there's no genuine humor or satire in it. It's a seriously-done horror movie that is the kind that's usually full of corny one-liners and/or young actresses taking their tops off. But The Ruins has none of that. It's played as if it's really happening, and to augment this, much of it takes place in completely bright sunshine. This ups the horror itself -- the heart of darkness beating during the well-lit day.
My advice is: read the novel first for the richness of it and the fun of it (there's more fun in the novel than in the movie.) Then, rent the movie.
Friends on vacation decide to have a brief day's adventure -- away from the fun and sun of the beach -- and wander into the jungle to find a nearby archaeological dig where more fun might be had.
That's the basic set up of Scott Smith's novel and the script he drew from it, for The Ruins.
Something lurks in that heart of darkness, and it truly is the horror, the horror, and nothing I tell you here is going to bring to vivid life this page-turning novel -- or the carefully done movie from this same story. Experience it - read it, watch it.
I enjoyed them both -- but if I were to recommend one over the other, I'd recommend the novel. It is a good old-fashioned horror story retooled as a way to get to know a handful of people -- inside and out - and feel as if they are vital and fascinating even in the smallest of their details. Also, with the movie, I felt very grim and sad; with the novel, novelist Smith got my heart-pounding. I couldn't wait -- each day -- to get back to that book to find out what would happen next.
I feel as if the basic skeleton of the plot is a well-worn area of horror short fiction -- particularly reminding me of Stephen King's "The Float," but in a good way. Scott Smith is a fascinating and even maddening writer: he is experimental in many ways while being wholly traditional in his approach to storytelling. I loved this novel -- it's a genuine page turner. Yet it is not dialogue-heavy, nor does it even have chapter breaks. It's an unraveling of the story and character through a world of overgrown horror.
The movie is beautiful, grim, creepy, well-acted, and nearly-perfect as a horror movie. Jena Malone may be the single most appealing actress of her generation, and also makes her roles seem as if she is that character and not an actress stepping into a character. But the entire cast is wonderful, even the minor characters only briefly-glimpsed.
The only commercial drawback to it -- for the popcorn-oriented audience -- is that there's no genuine humor or satire in it. It's a seriously-done horror movie that is the kind that's usually full of corny one-liners and/or young actresses taking their tops off. But The Ruins has none of that. It's played as if it's really happening, and to augment this, much of it takes place in completely bright sunshine. This ups the horror itself -- the heart of darkness beating during the well-lit day.
My advice is: read the novel first for the richness of it and the fun of it (there's more fun in the novel than in the movie.) Then, rent the movie.