It really is an art to try and get filmmakers to talk about interesting stuff when you get some time with them, which is why I'm pretty happy with the following interview with Carter Smith, the director of Paramount's The Ruins. Inside you can read about the blood, the difficulty of keeping it real and making the plant believable. RUINS arrives in theaters April 4.
Arriving in theaters April 4 is Carter Smith's adaptation of THE RUINS, which features a group of kids who are trapped and being attacked by a monster plant. With movies like CLOVERFIELD hitting theaters, we asked Smith if he ever thought about showing the entire plant monster. "It's not what movie is about," he explains, "The book wasn't about a giant plant and the movie isn't about a giant plant. It's not a monster movie, it's about what this vine does to these kids and what happens when it gets inside their bodies and inside their heads." Having a giant plant monster was never a thought, "There was never any question about showing any giant plant monster." But there was something that Smith did want to change when having the book adapted to film. "One of the things that was in the book that I didn't think would work for the film was this whole - when the vine is really, really sticking in a way - calling her a Nazi and such," he continues, "it would really push the boundaries of believability. So that was a conscious decision to pull back on what the vine could do."
When I saw the film it was extremely bloody and gory and thank God there was never talk of making it PG-13. "Everyone knew the movie that we were making... when you have a screenplay that has a double amputation sequence done with rock, no one is in denial that this is a hardcore and brutal film." He continues, "I'm a big fan of things being done realistically and being done in real time - and making it very confrontational. It's cool to watch it with audiences, because they're really responding to that stuff." At the screening I went to we saw multiple people exit the theater during the amputation scene!
Something that most people don't know is that RUINS is Very different than HOSTEL, TURISTAS. "I think anyone that sees the movie will know it's very different than those films. It's hard getting the word out there and getting people to know it's a very different type of film. Once people see it they'll realize... it really is different."
When the film hits theaters you will see the vines from the giant plant, which is a mix of practical and CG elements. "The idea was to make the combination seamless as it can easily take someone out of the film. We tried to be smart with how we used the CG stuff to make in blend seamlessly." He continues, "The hardest part was designing the plant. For months we were playing botanists/scientists, designing what these vines look like. It was a huge task because we wanted it to be as realistic as possible."
The film is a stunning horror thriller, that follows four American friends on vacation in Cancún, Mexico—Jeff, Amy, Eric and Stacy—who meet a German tourist, Mathias, and persuades them to join his hunt for his younger brother, Henrich, last seen headed off with a new girlfriend toward some ruins. The four soon regret their impulsive decision after they find themselves lost in the jungle and freaked out by signs that they’re headed for danger.
Good move not having the vines mimic voices, as in the book. it worked beautifully for the book but would for-sure take away from the movie.
Awsome Awsome Awsome book and im HIGHLY looking forward to this flick.
If you're referring to Pablo, then yes. He is in the movie, although his part has been definitely cut shorter. I don't seem to recall the red plants sucking on people in the novel (unless you mean the fact that the vines wrap themselves around and strip meat off).
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Arriving in theaters April 4 is Carter Smith's adaptation of THE RUINS, which features a group of kids who are trapped and being attacked by a monster plant. With movies like CLOVERFIELD hitting theaters, we asked Smith if he ever thought about showing the entire plant monster. "It's not what movie is about," he explains, "The book wasn't about a giant plant and the movie isn't about a giant plant. It's not a monster movie, it's about what this vine does to these kids and what happens when it gets inside their bodies and inside their heads." Having a giant plant monster was never a thought, "There was never any question about showing any giant plant monster." But there was something that Smith did want to change when having the book adapted to film. "One of the things that was in the book that I didn't think would work for the film was this whole - when the vine is really, really sticking in a way - calling her a Nazi and such," he continues, "it would really push the boundaries of believability. So that was a conscious decision to pull back on what the vine could do." 
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