MADISON, Wis. — Flesh-eating plants induce more images of a cheesy 1980s musical (”Little Shop of Horrors”) than those of blood-soaked psychological thrillers.

Yet cast members of the upcoming horror flick “The Ruins” seem to think otherwise. The film, directed by Carter Smith and based on Scott B. Smith’s novel bearing the same title, chronicles six 20-something friends quarantined in a Mexican jungle with a mystery involving killer plants that wriggle their way under the skin, literally.

“It’s really a survival story,” “Ruins” co-star Shawn Ashmore said of the film. “The thing that’s really scary and really terrifying is watching these characters break down … and get to a point where they will harm each other for survival.”

Ashmore’s co-star Jena Malone agreed.

“It wasn’t really about who these people were, but who they were going to turn into,” she said.

Malone and Ashmore, as well as co-star Laura Ramsey, said that “The Ruins” defies the conventions of the typical horror movie.

“You see a lot of horror films where it’s just teenagers, and one is going to be killed off and you know it,” Ashmore said. “[In ‘The Ruins’], you really sort of live with these characters and get to know them before anything awful happens.”