The Ruins

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Just goes to show you that too many folks in the critical establishment don't like horror movies. This is a good one, tense and grim, with a dab of dark humor and some very effective gore. It looks good, builds tension and has a decent cast, so I don't know what everyone else was looking for, but apparently it wasn't enough.

I bitched the other day about how The Birds had a silly plot that didn't fit the tone of the movie... but I realize now that my complaints aren't quite right. Because The Ruins has a pretty ridiculous plot too, and is equally self serious, and yet I found it to be far more effective. So really it's a matter of execution, not a matter of subject. Of course, whoever directed The Ruins is clearly no Hitchcock, but in this case makes a far more suspenseful, interesting movie.

This movie is dark, graphic and treats the material seriously, and even throws in some nudity to boot. God, it feels so good to see horror movies being made for adults again.

Also, Jonathan Tucker is in this one, and he's becoming something of a scream king now, always showing up in horror flicks and giving strong, fleshed out performances. For all I know, he hates these kinds of movies and feels that he's squandering his talents, but whatever, I always like seeing a good actor working frequently in the genre. He's the new Jeremy Sisto.