The Ruins (2008) Dir: Carter Smith
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As a fan of the horror genre, I often find myself inclined to watch films that perhaps I wouldn't usually bother with, such as was the case with this Carter Smith directed horror film from 2008. It didn't have great ratings, so I kept my expectations low, but it looked like the kind of film I could find some enjoyment in regardless.
I wasn't expecting the film to be as explicit as it was, but it very much was. It featured a lot of injury detail and some really gruesome, potentially triggering, violence, including some which was self-inflicted. It was certainly shocking, and, to an extent, harrowing, so I guess it was effective, but I don't know how necessary some of it was.
A lot of the horror, the aforementioned violence aside, was kind of silly, and not all that scary. I get what the film was trying to do, but it failed to create the notions of fear that it could've if it was done more effectively. A lot of this wasn't helped by the film's poor pacing, which meant everything dragged so much.
The story wasn't all that good either, and seemed to run out of ideas of how to progress itself almost immediately. It had potential, but failed to capitalise. The ending was kind of an anti-climax, to be honest. It happened kind of randomly, and it's frustrating because so much of what happened before feels pointless.
Jena Malone gave a pretty good performance, which was a welcome sight in what was a fairly mediocre film. She was a believable presence, and her reactions were really strong. She felt the most authentic of anyone by a mile.
Jonathon Tucker was the best of the rest, and while his acting wasn't exactly excellent, he was pretty consistent, and gave something a little different from the rest of the actors in the film with his fairly composed performance.
I'll also give mentions to the trio of Shawn Ashmore, Laura Ramsey and Joe Anderson, who each gave fine enough performances in their supporting roles. I wouldn't say any of them were great, but they did their jobs, and their reactions felt real enough.
Overall, this was a film that had some interesting features to it, but failed to build on those enough for me to be truly entertained. I don't regret checking it out, bit I doubt I'll watch it again. It had its positives, but not enough to make it a genuinely good horror.
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