The Ruins
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: April 4, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
44
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
9
Negative:
2
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
In order to appreciate The Ruins, one has to be a die-hard fan of horror or bloody thrillers. Those in that category will discover that The Ruins delivers the goods. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
A surprisingly effective little horror nightmare. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyJim Ridley
First-time feature director Carter Smith, working with resourceful cinematographer Darius Khondji, pulls off the neat trick of using the wide screen to claustrophobic effect. And the actors give such a convincing display of starvation-fueled fear that they deserve their own private craft-service table. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
The Ruins is, with one major caveat, about as good an adaptation of Scott Smith's bestselling novel as Hollywood was ever going to make. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesMark Olsen
The characters never evolve past mere functionality, and the adherence to certain tried-and-true horror tropes -- the good girl who doesn't want to go but does, the generic naughty kids who get it first -- feels workmanlike, robbing the story of any real suspense or surprise. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
In the end, the gimmick is too risible and its effects on the characters too forced to sustain either suspense or horror. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Director Carter Smith suffers from another, more common problem: In trying to squeeze every plot point from the book into a 90-minute movie, he failed to capture its chilling essence. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Smith has changed a few plot points around to keep readers who already know the secret of the ruins guessing, and to some extent the strategy works. There was, however, no reason whatsoever to change the book's perfect endings. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The Ruins is lumpish, static, and obvious. It's a gringos-go-home cautionary fright flick done in the spirit of a cheap '50s horror movie, except that it leaves you longing for the competence of grade-Z studio-system trash. Read full review
40
VarietyDennis Harvey
Ultimately less dependent on suspense or even scares than on squirm-inducing grossouts, this tale of Yank hardbodies vs. carnivorous creepers should flower briefly in hardtops, then spread like an invasive weed in ancillary. Read full review
40
The New York TimesMatt Zoller Seitz
More disgusting than scary, The Ruins is the latest in a long line of horror films about upper-middle-class travelers being terrorized in unfamiliar environments. Read full review
40
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
There are a handful of intense sequences and a few scenes of squirm-inducing gore in The Ruins, but not much else. Read full review
40
EmpireStaff (Not credited)
Slick, sick stuff, but save the odd squirm, a killer-plant horror that doesn’t grow anywhere. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle Smith
The movie doesn't do anything with these viney bastards. There's no back story, no satire, no allegory, no implications beyond what's happening on the pyramid. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
As it stands, The Ruins is about as interesting as a pile of old stones and a monkey-dumb yanqui falling prey to the horrors of globalization. And that's pretty dumb. Read full review
More From This Movie

44 Critic Reviews

7.0 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL