Chernobyl Diaries

Chernobyl diaries documents the travels of four American tourists including Chris (played by Jessee McCartney) who stop in Kyiv to visit Chris's brother Paul before recommencing their travels across Europe. After a night out, they propose to explore the abandoned town of Prypiat, the home of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant that previously hosted an infamous disaster. Of course, the horrors that surrounded the Plant have't quite dissipated and therefore something conspicuously sinister awaits these tourists.

Whilst the film doesn't offer anything particularly new to the horror genre, it does offer some genuinely horrifying moments which will serve to sustain the audiences' attention throughout. Though the characters aren't particularly interesting, they do form a likable group throughout the duration of the film and really authenticate the moments of horror. At times, the film verges on resembling a slasher - let's just see what's around the corner - kind of moments which prevent the film from constructing its own narrative based on this unique situation.

Stylistically the film is interesting as it utilises the shaky camera aesthetic in the first half and then seems to divulge into a more traditional way of filming. It's almost as if director Bradley Parker is creating two films concurrently; a shaky-cam experience of Americans stranded in Europe and a film about a group who are terrorised by zombie-like creatures. Producer Oren Peli has definitely made his presence aware, with the film's Paranormal Activity style "gotcha" moments which are often scary but also predictable and unimaginative.

The film could have focused on the origins of the Chernobyl disaster in some detail to provide a context for these creatures, though their behaviour would still have remained an enigma even with this explanation in place. Are they hungry for human flesh or are they merely crazy? These questions are also evoked in the Wrong Turn films which this film is indebted with its depiction of mutants as the result of a radiation catastrophe. Are the mutants the real victims here?

As well as paying homage to Wrong Turn, the film has a very Hostel-like feel with its commentary on Eastern Europe as a space of corruption and danger. The overall creepy, inauspicious atmosphere constructed in the film really lends credence to the horror depicted which compensates for what lacks in terms of the film's antagonists, whatever they are.

If anything is to be learnt from this film, stay the other side of the pond.

Interesting premise that starts really well with a sort of fly on the wall docudrama feel but steadily declines into sub prime territory.

Six American/Australian tourists on the 'Grand Tour" find themselves in Kiev and go on an extreme tourism trip to Chernobyl and of course it all goes wrong.

The initial set up is creepy and highly credible but when the horror starts the credibility goes out the window.

Each and every horror trope gets an outing and every bad decision (i.e. don't go into the basement) plays out, one by one.

The end result is a bit of a shambles. Disappointing.

*DISCLAIMER: This review is by an average-Joe guy who has a certain set of tastes pertaining to entertainment and movies, and in no way should directly influence your viewing decision without prior extensive personal research regarding the topic.

SHORT AND SWEET: Good "cheap-thrill" movie, enjoy with a couple buddies (or girls), beer, chips, and salsa.

LONG AND BITTER: Don't expect much, this movie is good for a cheap fun thrill-ride that will keep you almost on the edge of your seat until the fun suspense is over and you are revealed the quite obvious and (dull) antagonist(s) is/are in the movie. Ample concept and ample execution however terribly and I mean TERRIBLY reminiscent of the popular "horror-gore" movie "The Hills Have Eyes" RATING: I feel 6/10 is just right, this movie isn't quite the caliber to be in the upper tier of movies but is too good to toss into the pedestrian or worse category.

PERFECT FOR: Normal movie-goers who don't mind a little predictability and in-authenticity

Saying a movie is predictable is like saying a movie has a beginning, middle and end. Most movies, no matter the genre are predictable these days. Very few are super unique. I DO NOT think Chernobyl Diaries is predictable. With that being said; I enjoyed the movie a lot, I jumped, I wasn't bored at all! At one point I actually had to sit at the edge of the couch. Sometimes it felt like I was there with them. I feel that the director definitely executed the idea that the writers seen in their mind. I'm disappointed that the average rating is 5.0 because MANY people come to IMDb to check a rating before they watch a movie and the 5.0 will most likely deter them and they will miss out. I strongly recommend it to people that want to sit back and have a good scare.

This movie honestly isn't as bad as everyone's rating it. Sure, it had some predictable scenes and bad acting, but this isn't supposed to be a serious movie. If you going to see it with the mindset of it being deep and intellectual, you are more than likely not going to enjoy it. It uses tension to scare you more than anything else. Not very much gore and violence. It's worth seeing, despite everyone's reviews. I didn't know what was going to happen next for the majority of the movie. If you have to choose between this and "Cabin In The Woods" you should definitely see cabin. This, however, is worth seeing as well. I hope people who go to see this won't be expecting a intriguing movie with a deep story, and just go for the sheer excitement of the film.