‘Ruins’ is a ruin of a screenplay

When did they stop writing screenplays? That’s the only way to explain a disaster such as “The Ruins.” Even though the movie credits a screenwriter, Scott B. Smith – who supposedly adapted his own novel – you have to wonder just what he wrote.

Here’s the film’s plot, such as it is: Four young Americans, vacationing in an unnamed Latin American country, get invited to visit a remote, unknown archaeological site. They agree to go, along with a couple of Europeans – a Greek and a German – and, after uncovering an overgrown path, come upon this weird jungle temple.

They discover, though, that the area tribes aren’t particularly friendly. And they become especially mean to the tourists after one of them touches the plants that cling to the pyramid like ivy to the walls of Harvard. The natives make their point with bows, arrows and one large-caliber revolver.

From that point on, the film is basically a guessing game: Who’s going to die next? And is anyone going to make it?

There are no twists to the film. No clever dialogue, no interesting character development, no … nothing – except for a straightforward progression toward one death after the next.

Which is the problem. After a certain number of deaths, the film just … ends. But not without a clear sequel reference.

“The Ruins” could have been written by any freshman in high school. And something coming out of Hollywood should be just a tad bit more complicated.