Just about anyone who follows horror has bemoaned the sorry state of the genre these days. Nearly everything is a remake, either of some 1970s or 1980s classic or of some recent Asian hit. The rare films that aren't remakes are simply lazy copies of whatever worked a year earlier, the current "torture porn" subgenre, for example. And hardly anything screens for the press, which means that even the studios now understand how low things have sunk.

The new film The Ruins likewise isn't screening for the press, but it is based -- of all things -- on an actual book! With pages! It's by Scott B. Smith, who many years ago wrote both the book and screenplay for the excellent A Simple Plan. The new movie inspired me to look up other literary-based horror movies (whether inspired by novels or short stories). Sadly, aside from Stephen King and the upcoming Midnight Meat Train (based on Clive Barker's short story), I couldn't find much good recent work, but there is plenty to choose from ...

That kid who loved those suicidal virgins is really starting to make a name for himself. Jonathan Tucker, who played Tim Weiner in The Virgin Suicides, has been farting around for a while, finding both starring horror roles like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and supporting bits like John C. Reilly's indie flick, Criminal. Now things are starting to spin for the actor, who just had a stint as a Black Donnelly, and he just might make a more mainstream name for himself. He's already wrapped up his role as the disappeared son in Paul Haggis' upcoming In the Valley of Elah, and now he has signed on to star in the upcoming horror-thriller, The Ruins.

In February, I brought you word of the adaptation of Scott Smith's novel (the man who also wrote and adapted A Simple Plan). With Smith confirmed as the screenwriter, this should have more promise than Tucker's Chainsaw stint, since Plan earned the writer an Oscar nomination. If you haven't read Ruins, it's about two couples who head to Mexico on vacation -- Jeff/Amy and Eric/Stacy. They meet a German traveler who is desperate to find his brother, who has disappeared on some archaeological dig with a girl. Tucker will be playing Jeff, who The Hollywood Reporter says convinces the rest of his group to join this stranger on the remote dig in the middle of a jungle they're not familiar with. Of course, in typical horror fashion, something evil lurks in the jungle, and the scary horror commences. With one star tied down and principal photography to begin next month in Australia, we should have more casting news soon.

It's been almost a decade since Sam Raimi brought Scott B. Smith's debut novel and screenplay, A Simple Plan, to the big screen. You remember it, right? Billy Bob Thornton, Bill Paxton and Bridget Fonda starred in it. The film nabbed an Oscar nomination for the author and his screenplay, as well as a supporting actor nod for Billy Bob. After the best-selling success of his first piece, Smith took his time crafting his follow-up, The Ruins, which was published last year. Now, the novel has been picked up for feature treatment, and the only thing that's surprising about this is how long it took.

Production Weekly has reported that the thriller will be heading into production in the coming months (tentatively scheduled for May), but there's no word on whether Smith is once again penning the adaptation, or if someone else will be giving it a shot. Honestly, I can't see why he wouldn't, since he's proven to be skilled at changing his prose into dialogue. Carter Smith, filmmaker and photographer, has also signed on to direct the adaptation.

Similar to Plan, Ruins deals with a group of well-meaning people who find themselves embroiled in dangerous drama. Two couples, Jeff/Amy and Eric/Stacy head to Mexico after Jeff finds a great deal. While in Cozumel, they meet Mathias, a German traveller who is distressed about the disappearance of his brother, Henrich, who ran off to be with some girl on an archaeological dig. He convinces the couples to help find his missing brother, and the group, along with a Greek named Pablo, find themselves face-to-face with a horror in the jungle -- one that Stephen King has described as "suffocating, terrifying, claustrophobic." Not too bad, eh? If you're hungry for more, follow the PW link to read an excerpt that gives a lot of backstory to the characters.

* Thanks to JF for pointing out that there are two Carter Smith filmmaker/photographers. The correction has been made. MB