Chernobyl Diaries
| release date | May 25 2012 |
| studio | Warner Bros. / Alcon / FilmNation |
| director | Brad Parker |
| writer | Oren Peli |
| starring | Jonathan Sadowski, Devin Kelley, Jesse McCartney, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Nathan Phillips, Ingrid Bolso Berdal, Dimitry Diatchenko |
| rating | R |
| tagline | Experience the Fallout |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
3 Comments
I am extremely happy to report that Chernobyl Diaries is a very fun thrill ride from start to finish and I found myself on the edge of my seat during several segments. I was not expecting this film to be good at all but I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, there are definitely some flaws with some of the characters’ stupidity but hey its a horror movie, what do you expect. Overall, Chernobyl Diaries is a creepy film that could be referred to as a less gory and more atmospheric and creepy version of The Hills Have Eyes. Definitely check this one out.
Chernobyl Diaries had so much potential with its intriguing premise and a fantastic location for a horror movie. The possibilities where endless on what direction they were going to take it to, but the weak and corny start, the effective and very spooky middle section and the disappointing ending with no payoff just didn’t mesh well together. Chernobyl Diaries is a very uneven film.
The acting was good in some parts but bad in other scenes. The dialogue is incredibly silly with several unintentional funny moments. The script and inconsistent story that wasn’t focused and made several plot holes in the process, was the movie’s downfall. The middle section and finale though is where the actors shine the most in and gave it there all, which made up for the amateurish beginning. The script just didn’t give them or show off their strengths well enough if they had any. No one really stood out here because of that.
Director, Bradley Parker picked the absolute perfect location for this film and mostly took advantage of it. He still could of done a better job with it but the direction of the story just didn’t let him. Judging that this is his very first full length, feature film in the director’s chair, he definitely has a good eye for this genre and this is not an amazing start but nowhere near a bad start.
One of the writers Oren Peli, from the Paranormal Activity fame and the underrated and cancelled that it didn’t deserve, The River, who shows here that he is one of the new master of suspense and restraint. Oren’s handprints are all over this and you can tell, but just not enough to save the film. Probably their main mistake is deciding to collaborate with writers Shane Van Dyke and Carey Van Dyke, who wrote horrible movies before like Titanic 2 and A Haunting in Salem to name a few. Shane’s only decent one is Paranormal Entity. I mean come on you guys could of picked two better people to collaborate with or just stuck with Oren Peli to do the whole thing. Instead you have a lazy script and story.
For an R rated horror movie Chernobyl Diaries wasn’t that graphic. This time though that wasn’t a bad thing and it has this refreshing restraint about it of showing less and focusing more on suspense and creeping you out, that it was mostly an effective success at that. My complaint is that it didn’t focus on the creepy scenarios long enough for them to make a terrifying impact, but I appreciate their efforts at crawling under your skin even if they sometimes recycle old formulas.
Overall, Chernobyl Diaries could of been far more dreadful than the film ended up being and it’s far more decent than it has any right to. The beginning and ending were lazy but thanks to a much better middle half and its very spooky location and premise, its several faults doesn’t destroy it completely. I say give it a try for a cheap spook, you could do far worse. See it now or wait for DVD, it’s up to you.
A bloodless and cliche ridden bore. You’ve seen this movie before and done wayyyyyy better. Not a totally inept movie but it totally lacks any soul. Don’t feel bad about skipping this one.
I was sorely disappointed with this film. While the setting and general plot could have made for an awesome little horror flick, the actual content of the movie falls completely flat. There are no onscreen deaths in the film and barely any gore (the highest points being a broken leg and a mangled corpse, both shown after the fact). This lead me to question why this movie is actually even rated R. The “mutants” are shown onscreen for about 3 seconds and there is are no intense of shocking moments- albeit a hilarious jump scare involving Russian wildlife. Don’t waste your time. Unless you’re seriously itching to see a couple of run down buildings in Serbia, look elsewhere for actual scares.
If you gave this piece of shit more than 2 skulls you’re easily entertained. The acting was Razzie-worthy, the direction is so misguided, and the entire film is a chore to sit through. I didn’t know a horror film set in an abandoned setting could be this boring. Awful, awful movie and one of the worst this year has to offer. I would KILL to get those 80 minutes back.
very cool IDEA for a movie. spinning off a real tragedy and casting seemed very good.
The acting itself was sub par, and the “delivery” of the scairs were VERY predictable.
overall it was an ok experience i saw it in theatres for $5 and got my moneys worth.
i’d advise waiting to rent this one.
I love the Paranormal Activity films. Say what you will but they are creative, suspenseful, and something that has brought the horror genre back to life and would you rather Hollywood create new things like those or keep trying to remake films and having them ruined. As for Chernobyl Diaries I was very disappointed, the only good thing about this film is the suspense that builds up but utterly goes nowhere. After that I was pretty much bored and ready for Paranormal Activity 4 or a new series like The River. As a huge fan of Found-Footage genre films, this was a let down and hopefully better ones are a coming.
This film was everything I thought it would be, but the only thing that dissapointed me was the lack of blood and gore. I know you don’t need that to make a good horror film but a horror film with this premise you do. Also the way people were just snatched away without having any idea how they met their end, that just kind of annoyed me. Besides that it had some good scares along the way and I liked the camera work.I would recommend you give it at least one watch.I would give it four skulls but cause of the lack of blood, I have to give it three. Sorry I’m a gorehound what can I say?
A FUN, SCARY, THRILL RIDE! This movie is like a roller coaster you have to go along with the ride. Some people are upset that the movie didn’t answer some questions it raised. But the great and unique thing about this movie is that you have to go into it thinking as if you where on the tour with the group (which is quite easy to do because of how its shot) You go on the ride with the characters. Trying to figure out whats happening. But you only know as much as the characters do through the whole movie. Its a fun way to do a horror film. It makes you feel as if you are their watching these people you have just met die and wondering if you will survive. Just go with the movie and enjoy the ride, and you’ll LOVE IT!
While not a snoozefest, other than a great location there’s nothing to this movie. Almost nothing happens on scene, and even when there’s the potential for something “creepy” (ie. the little girl standing in the courtyard) nothing comes of it. The cutaways were too quick to get a really good look at anything so there never was any punch to the build up. The fact that you never really got to see what was chasing them, and sure as hell never figured out what exactly they were (radiated zombies???) again, just left me feeling flat. I felt like it was a bunch of lifeless running around in the dark. I honestly believe this could have been something special, but in the end wasn’t.
Was holding out for this one, but alas, it was not meant to be. There is *some* good stuff, though. The physical location, as well as the limited portrayal of the non-mutant locals, was spot on. Having spent some time in various former soviet republics, I was surprised at how well the film did in this area. Now, the bad. This film did not scare me at all. We never get a satisfying reveal of the antagonists. I was disappointed that the two stronger actors (dude from Wolf Creek and the excellent actress from the Cold Prey films) were underutilized. The kills were uninspiring. The last half was basically just confused running.
The Ultimate Movie Review! – http://tss5078.blogspot.com – @tss5078 – Chernobyl Diaries is the Directorial debut from Bradley Parker and Written by the man who brought us four installments of Paranormal Activity, Oren Peli, but the only thing original about this film is it’s location. A group of friends are traveling through Europe in what looks like a shot for shot remake of Hostel, when they meet a man who gives tours of the abandon city near Chernobyl. After being rejected entry into the city, the group sneaks in and runs into a whole mess of trouble. This is your very basic zombie film, with nothing extraordinary about it. You’ve seen this story a hundred times, but what makes Chernobyl Diaries different is that it takes place in Russia and features a talent cast. What’s interesting about this cast is that none of them have any background in horror. Jesse McCartney is a singer who does mostly voice over work, and Devin Kelley is almost strictly a TV actress. Taking these role was something new for them and they really put all they had into it. I feel like it was wasted effort though, as this film really is nothing different. Friends on vacation go to a unique location and run into something supernatural that tries to kill them, it’s been done over and over again. The unique location made for a great start to something, unfortunately the writers didn’t know what to do with that, and the result is another ordinary film that gets an average rating.