Chernobyl Diaries (2012)
2012
R
88 Minutes
A group of six tourists who, looking to go off the beaten path, hire an "extreme tour guide." Ignoring warnings, he takes them into the city of Pripyat, the former home to the workers of the Cherno...
User Review
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Chernobyl Diaries is a nuclear disaster of a horror film. It just goes to show that a lower budget does not necessarily result in an excellent film, particularly of this genre. The scares were non-existent, consistent shaky cam and one-dimensional characters. I expected nothing more to be honest. A group of tourists have been travelling around Europe, during their stop at Kiev they come across an extreme-tour to Pripyat. Yet, the desolate ghost town may not actually be so abandoned after all. Everyone and their pet dog knows about the Chernobyl disaster, which is why it makes such an interesting location for a horror. Early one morning an entire town had to evacuate immediately before succumbing to the leaking nuclear radiation. The problem with this film is, in my opinion, it's insensitive. This was a horrible accident to which innocent lives were lost, to then exploit that with such mediocrity felt wrong. Personal views aside, this film was boring, predictable and tame. The setting of Pripyat and Chernobyl did create a chilling atmosphere, and the first fifteen minutes genuinely had good character development. Then when our characters arrive, they just become expendable. The "scares" are simply loud noises, literally. There's a scene where an irradiated bear suddenly charges through a hallway...midway up an apartment complex. Oren Peli lost me at that point. Then Brad Parker's directing style, whilst bold with various long takes, lacks confidence and slowly succumbs to shaky cam. A horrendous scene that perfectly illustrates this is when the van is mysteriously attacked. Filmed through the perspective of a phone, the camera is tossed around like a rag doll. I physically could not see anything! How is that scary!? Heck if I wanted to be scared of the unknown, I would've taken a stroll at midnight without a torch instead of watching this. The ending was rushed, I'm talking "concluded" within thirty seconds. It also ends on a jump scare...yep, pretty much sums this up. Chernobyl Diaries? Hardly a diary, more like a note. A post-it note. Chernobyl Post-It Notes.1 member likes this review.
