The Book

The Ruins by Scott Smith, hailed by the maestro Stephen King as the best horror novel of the century is engrossing and macabre and creepy. I found it thoroughly enjoyable.

Two couples on holiday in Cancun, Mexico. A chance encounter with a few Greeks and a German and the appearance of mysterious map leads them to ‘;the ruins’. The foursome and some of their new found friends find themselves held hostage by seemingly hostile Mayans brandishing weapons.

The couples soon discover that their worst problems are not from the Mayans and find themselves ‘entwined’ in an unbelievable nightmare.

I loved Smith’s narrative as he first presents the reader with a faint picture of the couples vacationing in Mexico and their surroundings and gradually builds the plot. Then as the plot evolves, so does the growing terror sucking in the reader into the story like a magical spell.

There are flashbacks to past happenings of the individuals, reminiscent of ABC’s ‘Lost’, the mounting tension and the inevitable breakdown of spirit of the victims(reminiscent of the ‘Blair Witch Project’ ) and the expected end. I honestly felt Smith could have downplayed some descriptions of bodily functions, if not the gore that is taken to extremes in some places.

Nevertheless, Smith’s lucid narrative makes this an enjoyable read.

The Movie

This is a forgettable movie from a decent book. Not that it is bad, but it is simply not big screen material and simply belongs to the HBO/Showtime category. The screenplay is a fairly good adaptation of the book and includes almost all the major events of a book, a few less characters and a few switched roles.

The fear element is present but the movie does not have the theatrical elements to deserve the big screen. Having covered the synopsis of the plot, I’ll spare you the agony of going over it again. I just wanted to make a point about the title here.

When one says Ruins, my mind drifts to buried cities, palaces, forts, temples antiques extracted from the earth, mummies and the like. The site of the terror in the movie is a hill with a huge pit/well. My expectations on the situation and the fear factor were a bit dashed by how this story unfolds. This movie is not worth the price of a rental. Rent something else if you can.