Stephen King called 'The Ruins' (and I'm going by memory here) "the best horror novel of the new century". High praise indeed, even if I think he overshot the mark a bit (Stephen - your son Joe called. Heart Shaped Box says hello).
It is a swell horror novel. Not an extraneous word in sight and not a page that doesn't drip with doom and gloom. From the first word on the first page of the first chapter you know it's all going to end poorly, and you wouldn't have it any other way.
Having read the book when it came out I was excited to rent the movie, although knowing it didn't do great in the theaters my hopes weren't high. My verdict?
Not bad.
It didn't make me scream, squirm, or bite my nails, as predicted on the box cover, but it did indeed make me cringe at parts. Scott Smith wrote both the book and the screenplay, so I'm a little unsure of why there were so many alterations to the characters (although the Eric - Stacy switcheroo worked much better for the screen).
The story remains the same. While on vacation in Mexico two young college couples wander off the beaten path to explore an ancient Mayan Ruin. While there they come in contact with a vine growing on the temple and in a panic the local villagers refuse to let them leave. Trapped and running out of water, it soon becomes apparent that they are not alone in the ruins.
The major drawback of the movie, as opposed to the book, is the age of the characters. The college age protagonists 'work' in print. On the page they are young enough to gleefully set off for parts unknown but old enough to improvise their way through obstacles. They are old enough to be prisoners to the personality traits they've developed (Jeff, in particular, is defined by his role of 'thinker/fixer') but young enough to rebel against them in their fight for survival.
Yet on screen, all you notice is that it's another horror movie about college kids.
And the 'bad guy' - much scarier in your imagination than in Technicolor.
Book 3.25 out of 4, 80 out of 100.
Movie 2.75 out of 4, 65 out of 100
books transitioning into movies always seem to lose something. I have found that if I see the movie first and then read the book (which doesn't happen too often), I enjoy the movie much more than if I read first. :) Estela
ReplyDeleteI think I must have read *The Ruins* because that sounds so familiar.
ReplyDeleteAt least they used a novel to create the movie. One of my pet peeves is when they try to turn a short story (e.g. King's "Trucks" made into *Maximum Overdrive*) into a full-length--90 min or longer--movie. The only movies-from-short-stories I can think of that work well are (unfortunately, as I dislike Disney productions) fairy tales made into musicals.
;^) Jan the Gryphon
Welllll...if I ever find this book on sale...lol...I'd get it! Thanks!
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