DVD Review: The Ruins and Shutter
Ready to be freaked out and toss that bowl of popcorn into the air when something on screen goes bump in the night? Can plants really be scary? Oh yeah...! Can the ghost of an old love wreck your new relationship? Yes, bigtime! Check out this horror double feature DVD review for your summer fright fest pleasure.
From DreamWorks Home Entertainment
The Ruins: Unrated
[Warning: plenty of fake blood, gore and a little semi-explicit hanky panky in this DVD version of the film] Maybe you read the best-seller but whether you did or not, you'll really be creeped out watching a group of college BFFs on vacation in South America who get way more than they bargained for while visiting an ancient ruin. Shawn Ashmore, Jena Malone, Laura Ramsey, and Jonathan Tucker play at a resort and befriend German tourist (Across the Universe's Joe Anderson) who is headed for a lost Mayan temple to find his brother. Bro is overdue after following a pretty archeologist into the jungle. Once the friends reach the ruin, the group is trapped on top of the temple by vicious locals and discover that they are the victims of a killer plant that can drive them mad, turn them against each other and totally bring down their margarita high!
Video/Audio: This widescreen presentation is full of green jungle and white beach beauty. A lot of night or "cave" scenes are very "seeable" since the black levels are well-balanced. Really lookin' good. The 5.1 Dolby Digital sound mix is really great as you hear creepy bumps in the night (and evil voices) coming from different speakers. Dialogue is totally clean and hearable. Good job!
Special Features: You get a "Commentary" with director Carter Smith and editor Jeff Betancourt. It kind of seems like Betancourt is interviewing Smith with a lot of questions but you get cool answers like finding out that Mexico was really Australia and that the book author was cool with changes made to his novel to bring it to film. More interesting than some.
In "Making 'The Ruins'" you get the usual cast and crew interviews (even producer Ben Stiller puts in his two cents). You do get a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff however. Quite interesting. "Creeping Death" focuses on the plants. How do you make them frightening? You see several versions of the killer flora and learn how practical, on-set plants were beefed up with CGI. Again, interesting. In "Building the Ruins" the production designer talks about how the sets were constructed in real life (they really built the big pyramid) and then sweetened with CGI. Cool feature.
"Deleted Scenes" are really good since you see a couple of alternate endings that are subtle but quite different in tone. There is a rainstorm scene that is pretty interesting as well. You get to compare endings and decide which you would have chosen. Nice addition to the DVD.
Wrapping Up: The Ruins Unrated edition offers you more character development, more screenblood gore and a different ending. I'd say don't watch the alternate endings if you haven't seen the theatrical version of the film or the DVD film first! Although gore abounds, it seems less creepy when you watch the Extras and learn how they did it. However, it might be too much for younger, squeamish viewers. This DVD will certainly scare you and keep you from wandering out for an adventure while on a tropical vacation! Worth a rent for sure and a buy for hardcore horror fans.
From 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Shutter: Unrated Edition
Starring "Dawson's Creek"'s Joshua Jackson, Shutter is another re-make of an Asian horror film (like The Grudge and The Ring were). Ben (Joshua Jackson) is a professional photographer who has just married Jane (Rachael Taylor) and the new couple head to Japan for a honeymoon due to Ben's most recent job assignment. Driving to their new loft home across dark wilderness, Jane hits a mysterious woman standing in the middle of the road but, upon checking.. there is nothing there! Ben thinks either the person wasn't really hurt or Jane was just tired and seeing things. At work, Ben is reunited with old horndog buddies Bruno and Adam and we get hints of a trio of bachelors who used to party hearty!
When strange blurs show up in honeymoon and wedding photos, Jane gets creeped out and investigates "spirit photography". Maybe a ghost was on that road and is trying to contact her. Finally, Ben starts seeing a strange woman ghost and is more scared than he should be. Is this gal familiar to him? Did he once know her? The plot thickens as Jane learns exactly what kind of bachelor her hubby once was!
Video/Audio: We got a screener disc to review so aren't sure what the final DVD will look or sound like but the movie is shot with muted colors, probably for a creepy effect. Japanese locations look beautiful anyway. I didn't have a problem hearing the dialogue. The 5.1 Dolby sound is pretty wrap-around with creepy sounds coming from several speakers. Dialogue was pretty hearable with a few exceptions.
Special Features: You get quite a few extras. There is a "Commentary" with production executive Alex Sundell, lead actress Rachael Taylor and screenwriter Luke Dawson. A lot of talk about what's right in front of you and obvious. Rachel is the friendliest-sounding of the trio. You learn about location shooting, adapting the story for Western audiences etc.
The eleven "Alternate/Deleted" scenes aren't all that great and you see why they were cut. The Alternate Ending has a little bit of an added touch involving the Jane character etc. Kinda interesting though.
You get seven featurettes using some film clips. "A Ghost in the Lens" is some black and white interviews with actors Josh Jackson, Rachael Taylor and John Hensley, writer Luke Dawson, producer Roy Lee and a real spirit photography expert Hideyuki Kokuho. Okay and kinda interesting. In "A Cultural Divide: Shooting in Japan" you get Josh, Rachel and co-star David Denman with a stuntman. You see that Director Masayuki Ochiai doesn't speak English and needs translation on set. Josh is warm and funny as is the stuntman. A fun featurette.
"The Director: Masayuki Ochiai" offers a subtitled interview as the director explains why he liked the story, the original film, changes he made and he explains why creepy female ghosts with long black hair are prevalent in Asian culture and Japanese horror. Kinda interesting. In "A Conversation with Luke Dawson" the screenwriter chats about the script, differences in Japanese and Western horror. Again, interesting. "A History of Spirit Photography" gives you the actual history of seeing ghosts on film. You see how this started in the mid-1800's etc. I found this very involving and learned something I didn't know.
You learn how to "Create Your Own Phantom Photo" as you are guided step by step into putting ghost images into your own pictures. Kinda cool. "The Hunt for the Haunt: Tolls + Tips for Ghost Hunters" gives you all you need to know to do your own ghost hunt, the equipment you'll need, where to go, etc. Fun, especially if you are into that Ghosthunter series on TV etc.
Wrapping Up: This film might not be quite as scary as The Ring or The Grudge but it certainly creeped me out. Josh and Rachel do admirable acting jobs as does the young Asian actress playing the ghost. You won't get much gore here so don't worry. You do get some jump scares and creepy ghost stuff. Hey, it worked for me and the Japanese locations are beautiful. The extra features are also quite interesting. This is PG-13 as well if The Ruins is just too much for you. I'd say certainly good for a home entertainment frightfest rent!
***
Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.
