Studs Among The Ruins
While there hasn’t been any shortage of horror flicks in recent years, god knows finding one that’s actually good is another story altogether. Often they are remakes and almost just as often they are remakes of films that don’t deserve the remake treatment. So when something comes along that is an original, I’m more inclined to check it out.
Such was the case a week ago when I ventured into a darkened theater with a friend for a screening of the film, The Ruins. Based on the novel by Scott Smith (who also adapted the film to screen; always a promising sign when the same person is responsible for both versions, if you ask me), the flick “follows a group of friends who become entangled in a brutal struggle for survival after visiting a remote archaeological dig in the Mexican jungle where they discover something deadly living among the ruins.”
A nice, simple storyline is the kind of thing that works very well in the horror genre. And that holds true here. Apart from the final scene—which I found to be a bit of a letdown and am curious if the absolute ending of the novel is the same–The Ruins is a suspenseful, effective and often brutal thriller with enough bone-chilling scenes to get your adrenaline going; the friend I saw it with shrieked like a frightened school girl in all the right places. (I found myself gasping more than shrieking, for the record.) And in case you’re wondering, there are plenty of blood-soaked, squirm-in-your-seat moments, too.
What I also discovered—for the first half an hour or so, at least, and quite unexpectedly, I might add—was just how attractive the young cast was, ESPECIALLY the male characters (of course).
The biggest stud surprise to me was actor Jonathan Tucker, who with his boyish good looks was a familiar face from such films as The Deep End (with recent Oscar winner Tilda Swinton) and The Virgin Suicides; he also appeared in the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and In the Valley of Elah (neither of which I’ve seen). But what I don’t remember from those films was just how hot this guy’s body is. Seriously. In The Ruins, there’s a scene where he gets out of the shower and is towel-drying himself off. It’s abundantly clear that this dude has a gym membership somewhere. I only wish I knew where exactly and what days of the week he works out there. Damn!
Shawn Ashmore, best known for his role as Bobby Drake/The Iceman in the X-Men films, also looks mighty fine here but in way that’s different from the god-like physique of Tucker. He’s in admirable shape, has wavy blond hair, a beard and body hair. And the scene when he’s trying to persuade his girlfriend to give him a morning blow job prior to them meeting up with the rest of the group is enough to make any fag want to lend a helping hand, etc…
And then there’s sexy Joe Anderson, again a familiar face—with these unbelievably incredible blues eyes–but while watching the film, I couldn’t figure out in what else I had seen him; however, when I Googled the actor on-line, I experienced instant (and lusty) recall of him in two of his most recent films, Across the Universe, and Control (which is about the forming of Joy Division).
The final on-screen stud is yummy 19 year old Australian actor, Dimitri Baveas; and although he doesn’t benefit from having a lot of screen time, the audience certainly benefits from him being shirtless almost every time he’s in front of the camera.
So I guess it’s safe to say that for me The Ruins was successful on two levels: one as a horror film, and the other as a fantasy flick, what with all of those sexy studs among the ruins. Gets my imagination wanking–er, I mean working overtime!
Cheerio!
S.R.
