The Ruins

A nasty little film, Carter Smith's The Ruins has several similarities to David Cronenburg's early body horror titles.  Two young American couples are taking a holiday in Mexico when, on their final day, they meet a German tourist, Mathius, who posseses a map that will lead them to a Mayan temple where his brother, an architect, is working.   When the group arrives at the temple they find it covered in vines and surrounded by Mayan villagers who won't let them leave.  It soon becomes apparent that the reason for this is that they are scared of the vines themselves, underneath which Mathius finds the remains of his brother.

The concept sounds silly but, wisely, it's played completely straight.  It's a deft mixture of survival and body horror, mostly playing on the fear of penetration (the vines enters mouths and open wounds, insiduating themselves into their hosts' bodies).  The first half of the movie is concerned with the group's dynamics, as they bicker amongst each other, trying to think up an escape plan.  Like most horror films, the eventual fate of the protagonists is as much decided by their own mistakes as by the more obvious threat.  A little bit more time spent focusing on the dynamics of the friendship group before they entered the ruins would've been welcome, as this would have created a better pay-off later on.  However, the performances (led by the willowy Jena Malone) are strong and the gorey bits are sufficiently stomach-churning.