Chernobyl Diaries
Tags: violence, dark, cruelty, murder

Plot synopsis:
A group of young American adults, Chris (Jesse McCartney), his girlfriend Natalie (Olivia Taylor Dudley), and their mutual friend Amanda (Devin Kelley), are traveling across Europe. They stop in Kiev, Ukraine to visit Chris's brother, Paul (Jonathan Sadowski) before heading on to Moscow where Chris intends to propose to Natalie.After a night on the town, Paul suggests that they go on an "extreme tour" and "off the beaten path" of the abandoned town of Prypiat which sits in the shadow of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, site of the infamous nuclear disaster. Paul briefly explains that on April 26, 1986, Reactor #4 at the plant exploded after suffering a massive meltdown. The explosion took place at 1:23 am while the neighboring town of Pripyat slept. Two workers were killed instantly. The fires were put out a few hours later, but the damage was done as radiation from the destroyed reactor swept across the plant and the entire countryside. Nearly all of the workers and the firemen who put out the fire died from radiation poisoning within a few hours to a few days. 40 hours later, the residents of Pripyat were ordered to evacuate by the Soviet government, and most never returned; by that time, many of the residents had suffered varying degrees of radiation poisoning. (All true)The group is joined by backpacking couple, a Norwegian named Zoe (Ingrid Bolso Berdal) and her Australian boyfriend named Michael (Nathan Phillips).The six-person group is initially denied access to Prypiat by the Ukrainian military because of the lingering radiation emiting from the closed down plant, but their Ukrain tour guide, Uri (Dimitri Diatchenko) takes them by van in through an unmanned, forested check point. On the way, they stop at a river where they discover a large, mutated fish with large teeth dead at the side of the river. As the group returns to the van, a number of similar fish are seen below the murky water attacking a piece of beef jerky Uri threw earlier on.They spend a few hours exploring the abandoned city, which was home to Chernobyl workers and their families before they were forced to evacuate overnight. When Uri takes them into an apartment building, he hears a noise. When he slowly goes to investigate, a bear comes out from an adjacent room and runs away. Frightened, the group leaves the building. Uri comments on the incident, telling the group he has been coming to Chernobyl for five years to give private tours and has always seen a dog or wolves but never a bear.As the group prepares to leave, Uri finds the wires in his van have been chewed through and tries to radio for help to no avail. As night falls, the group begins arguing and affixing blame. Noises are heard outside and Uri goes out with a flashlight and a gun, accompanied by Chris. Shots are heard and Paul runs out to investigate, only to return with Chris whose leg has been severely mauled, seemingly by dogs who attack the van. The groups stays in the van the whole night.The next morning, Paul, Michael, and Amanda go out looking for Uri whom, according to Chris, was taken by "them" while Paul and Zoe stay behind in the van to look after the wounded Chris. They follow a trail of blood to find Uri's mutilated body in an underground complex. They take his gun and radiation Geiger counter and barely escape a group of mutant creatures (semi-human looking nomads whom are scarred by radiation poisining). They return to the van, planning to hike to the nearest checkpoint but Chris cannot move his leg. Chris and Natalie stay behind in the van while the others go to get help.The group comes across a group of modern abandoned vehicles in a parking lot and find a bus with bullet holes exiting from inside it. In the bus they also find broken guns and a bloody guard uniform. Michael finds replacement wires for the van, so they head back toward their vehicle. After being chased by mutant dogs, they reach the van by nightfall and find it ripped apart and flipped over. Natalie's camera video reveals she and Chris were taken by the mutants.They go in search of the two but end up being chased by more mutants. During their escape they find a traumatized Natalie and rescue her. When the group are out in the open, they begin to work out where another checkpoint nearby is by using a map Michael obtained during their previous escape. The group is distracted by a little girl in the distance. As they try to communicate with her Natalie is once again taken by the mutants. Paul, Michael, Amanda, and Zoe attempt to find her, but in the process are swarmed by a horde of mutants. They run to a fallout shelter, but Michael is captured. The three continue on, finding Chris's engagement ring for Natalie but no sign of Chris himself. They are again attacked by mutants and as they begin to climb a ladder to the way out a congregation of mutants pull Zoe back down, forcing Amanda and Paul to leave her behind as they escape.Paul and Amanda continue on through the fallout shelter which comes out in Chernobyl power plant itself. As they navigate around the #4 reactor, they find Natalie dead. They continue on, only to also become poisoned with radiation as their skin begins to blister. They exit the reactor and are confronted by Ukrainian military personnel. Blinded from radiation poisoning, Paul is shot dead when he approaches the soldiers. Amanda is taken away as the rest of the Ukrainian soldiers begin to sweep the area shooting and killing various mutants.Amanda passes out and awakens on a gurney in an unknown location where several Russian and Ukrain doctors, clad in protective hazmat suits, inform her that she is in a hospital. The doctors talk amongst themselves (in Russian, so Amanda cannot understand them) and reveal that the "creatures" were escaped patients from a nearby asylum whom they have placed around Chernobyl for the past 10 years by the Russian, Ukraine and Bellarussian authorities as test subjects to test the levels of radiation effects on them. They doctors note that after conducting the sweep, all of the mutants have been killed or re-captured and the other Americans are dead. They decide Amanda, having seen the escapees, must not be allowed to leave, so they throw her into a dark isolated room. Amanda is immediately alerted as she begins to hear noises. She calls out and a group of mutants attack her.

Review: Chernobyl Diaries a hollow shell of a movie: It has a good premise and the perfect backdrop for a horror flick, but with absolutely no substance.
It just makes no sense because we know someone's holding the camera and it acts as a person, but the group of people are oblivious to it so it's like an invisible, mute character that allows us to see through its point-of-view.
I don't know why they thought it was a good idea to film it that way because it gets noticeably worse as the movie goes on: The more stressed the characters are, the worst the camera work gets.
Also I recommend him to make an accent on computer game "S.T.A.L.K.E.R." in filming.I want to add that when I was in area which is near Nuclaer station an both cities (Chernobyl, Prypyat) it is really scary, even if you know that radiation only kill and don't effect mutation.
I know it's disappointing, but the truth is Chernobyl diaries like most horror movies are losing their edge.
If I was forced to say one good thing about the movie I would admit that the concept is really good and the Chernobyl accident is the perfect backdrop for a great horror story, I really wish they would have pulled it off.I am really glad I went to the matinée and only paid 5 bucks to get in.
I'm not Dr. Phil so won't comment on the characters relationships with their families and I'm not a linguistic expert so can't comment on the languages spoke but I am a horror fan so I can tell you that I found it jumpy :)There ye go!Chernobyl diaries is just a good film to be enjoyed for what it is.
There's a good one on Wikipedia that is at least pretty similar looking as the location in the movie.The whole concept of going on an extreme tour in a town that was abandoned after a nuclear disaster like Chernobyl is pretty cool.
As an old school horror fan I had reserved expectations for this movie.The trailer made the film look promising, or at least like it had some potential due to the location and sinister attributes one would expect and link with the location.The first few minutes looked like it was going to be another let down, it presented very clichéd and predictable dialogue, storyline, characters and acting.However I gave it the fair chance it deserved, and within the first 15 minutes I was persuaded to continue watching.The story goes as planned, I'm not going to go into it as I assume you already roughly know what the plot is!
I disagree with a lot of the statements in previous reviews about the viewer not being able to connect or feel any empathy or sympathy for the characters, I personally really liked them.Overall if you're used to, and experienced with horror, you'll find some parts predictable, however there is almost a system or a syllabus for any film of a specific genre to follow, it can either take this path, or that path, or that path etc etc.
That's just life, real life is predictable, there are only so many ways things can go.As a lover of all kinds of film like comedy, horror, drama, action, new and old, serious and silly, I personally recommend any passionate film lover to give it watch, especially if you like horror.Yes it could have been more disturbing or grotesque, or longer or have more twists, but generally speaking this film isn't too bad.
Still, without dumb tourists willing to take unnecessary risks while on vacation, there'd be a lot less horror films, so I shouldn't complain...In Chernobyl Diaries, six such adrenaline junkies sign up for a tour of Pripyat, the city that was abandoned a quarter of a century earlier during the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster.
Assured by their guide Uri (Dimitri Diatchenko) that radiation levels are no longer dangerous, Chris (Jesse McCartney), Paul (Jonathan Sadowski), Michael (Nathan Phillips), Natalie (Olivia Dudley), Zoe (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal) and Amanda (Devin Kelley) explore the deserted buildings, unaware that they are being watched by crazed killer mutants.When I began to watch this, I was under the impression that it was to be another found footage film in the same vein as The Blair Witch Project; thankfully this was not the case, but Chernobyl Diaries does share a similar look and feel to that film, with its shaky hand-held camera-work and largely unseen enemy.
However, for my money, this is the better of the two movies, featuring an impressive location with an interesting history, better scares, and a far more likable cast (you can probably tell that I'm not much of a BWP fan).Director Bradley Parker handles the mounting tension well, using both the exposed countryside and the claustrophobic, shadowy man-made structures to maximum effect, building the film up to a satisfyingly frantic finale in which the number of characters rapidly dwindles.While Chernobyl Diaries is unlikely to become your favourite new horror, exploring themes covered in many other films, it's still a fun way to spend an hour and a half in a radioactive, mutant filled environment without having to risk your own life in the process.7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for Olivia Dudley and her very impressive chest..
They location they went to was a beautiful place, and they could have really worked with it to get a better storyline.I feel they could have done it well with a silent hill approach, i would like to see the director of that take that on, but sadly they have Oren Peli writing it so you just know instantly that this is going to have a poor storyline and a waste of time.
It did have its good sides, it was pretty jumpy, but they made you expect it SO much, the beauty of Woman In Black was that you didn't know where she was going to come from, but with this it was like there was a flashing billboard saying "MONSTERS HERE!"if you want a scare with your friends, its not bad, but if you're looking for entertainment, well I'm just glad i had a BAFTA card and didn't have to waste my money seeing it..
Chernobyl, Pripyat, the whole area in real life is tailor made for delivering really good horror/suspense, like STALKER game did and Stalker movie years before the game.Instead of coming up with something new and actually scary, Chernobyl Diaries (CD) instead tries to mix Descent with The Hills Have Eyes (except with comically bad monster masks from Halloween store) and fails to give you horror and thrills of either of the movies it is trying to rip-off.While the movie started out fine, with tourists stuck in the hell-hole of Pripyat, the moment it actually starts delivering the "scares", you can kiss all atmosphere goodbye.The director first throws a bear at you for a cheap jump scare, then dogs, yes DOGS, simple dogs which are just hungry..
Other than a decently interesting setting, Chernobyl Diaries is an embarrassingly awful movie that uses all the worst horror tropes..
As a matter of fact, Chernobyl Diaries is another rather generic horror movie with only a few truly shocking scenes and a quite predictable ending.The only thing that makes this release a little bit more special than other horror movies of the same kind are the exotic locations in the ghost cities Prypiat and Chernobyl, the intriguing historic background and the constantly solid dark atmosphere of the movie.
In the end, I would recommend you to watch this flick at your local movie theatre if you show some interest for the history of Chernobyl and its nuclear disaster and if you are a fan of horror movies.
Although I wasn't expecting much from this movie given the average to scathing reviews from people - I wanted to watch it because of the atmospheric setting of Pripyat.
Chernobyl Diaries is one of the better horror/scare movies of this year.
It's written by Oren Peli, who created the Paranormal Activity series, and is directed by Bradley Parker.A group comprising four Americans, a Norwegian and an Australian hire a thuggish-looking tour guide, Uri (Dimitri Diatchenko), who specialises in extreme tours, to take them to visit the abandoned town of Pripyat, which used to house workers of the nuclear plant.The first sign that there's trouble up ahead is the presence of an army blockade, but the shrewd guide takes a back road, stopping to take in the scenery and admire a deformed fish.The Pripyat in the movie is desolate, but I think it'd make interesting abstract photography, as did one of the four Americans in the tour.Their stroll through the empty blocks of flats is broken by a bear attack.
I presume the vehicles have been abandoned for some time, so it's a surprise when one of them finds a torchlight in perfectly good condition.The four Americans are played by Olivia Dudley, Devin Kelley, Jesse McCartney and Jonathan Sadowski.Dudley is pretty and bosomy in an unbuttoned blouse, so it's a shame the filmmakers didn't keep her character alive for a longer period.The zombies come out at night, so there's a lot of running by the remaining tourists.And in one scene that probably derived from watching Will Smith's I Am Legend (2007), the zombies even set a trap using a girl to draw attention away from their intended human victim.The movie's secret, that the town is inhabited by humans affected by the radioactive fallout, is illogical.How did they survive for so long without attracting attention?
The cast is quite lame, but Dimitri Diatchenko (the guy playing Uri) is an exception - he does a good job.The plot is predictable, but fast enough to keep you entertained and without massive holes that spoil so many films these days.The scenery is what I enjoyed the most - I'm a fan of abandoned places like old factories, forgotten amusement parks etc.
After seeing Chernobyl Diaries Pripyat is definitely the next stop on my must-see list.Of course there are quite a lot of flaws too (like annoying camera work) but they're not very disturbing.Chernobyl Diaries is a simple, yet enjoyable old-fashioned horror film.
American tourists Chris(Jesse McCartney),Natalie(Olivia Taylor Dudley) and Amanda(Devin Kelley)are traveling across Europe on their way to Kiev,where they hook up with Chris' annoying brother Paul(Jonathan Sadowski).Before visiting Moscow they decide to see Pripyat,an abandoned gamma radiation city close to Chernobyl nuclear facility.Local guide Uri((Dimitri Diatchenko)takes them there along with a couple of young Norwegians.Wrong decision.During the night the entire group is stranded in the city of Pripyat and slowly butchered by radioactive cannibals...Pretty suspenseful and mysterious first half of "Chernobyl Diaries" is worth checking out.Unfortunately the second half quickly becomes clichéd and idiotic with obvious influence of "The Hills Have Eyes","Hostel","Night of the Living Dead" and "The Blair Witch Project".I expected more from "Chernobyl Diaries" because the location sets are amazing.To clear the confusion the film was actually shot in abandoned Soviet Air Force Base and tunnels under Belgrade,Serbia,NOT in Pripyat..
Many think this movie is similar to Paranormal activity and get a wrong idea that this movie will be a ghost flick and stuff.But Chernobyl Diaries is completely different from other horror movies.If you expect "biting your nails" scene,then this movie has got a lot of it.The director Bradley Parker has taken the movie so good that it doesn't makes us move from our seats.I have clearly said that if you expect a movie with great thrill scenes, then this movie is full of it.But what you expect at the end when you watch this movie will not be satisfied because the movie turns out to be conspiracy one.But i wont say its bad ending, its good but i expected a lot when i watched the beginning parts.So, if you want a movie to frighten you without any ghost and stuff,then this has got it..
But if you are a bit familiar with the Chernobyl area and its history, you know that everything in this movie is basically being a bunch of nonsense and the movie doesn't exactly do a good job at making it all remotely believable.Basically all this movie features is a bunch of people walking around in the abandoned city of Pripyat.
The acting wasn't so bad and the tour guide was probably the best out of the lot, albeit his short role.The movie definitely had good potential but at times, it seemed too rushed.
They did a good job at making you believe that they were scared.The movie is similar too The hills have eyes, but a lot more scarier and detailed.From the beginning the movie dives right into it, which is something i like in a movie.The ending.........
You know you're probably not enjoying a horror film like this too much when it gets down to a couple survivors and you just want them to get killed off so the movie will end!.
'CHERNOBYL DIARIES': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five) Oren Peli (the creator of the original 'PRANORMAL ACTIVITY') produced and co-wrote (with Carey and Shane Van Dyke) this low budget horror film about six vacationers touring the site of a nuclear reactor disaster in a deserted town near Chernobyl.
Horror fans might find a few nice shocks but that's about it.The film tells the story of six young tourists in Moscow who decide to take an 'extreme tour' of a deserted town near Chernobyl, where there was a nuclear power plant disaster years earlier.
They then learn that the city is not so abandoned after all and they soon find themselves being hunted.You know you're probably not enjoying a horror film like this too much when it gets down to a couple survivors and you just want them to get killed off so the movie will end.
The resident zombies/monsters/mutants or whatever you want to call them, were used sparingly as well, and you never really get a good full view of them which worked quite well to build a little tension and give you that jump factor once in awhile, something that is lacking in movies like this many times.
If there's a safe and/or logical way to get things done, expect them to do the exact opposite in the name of our entertainment, and expect them to bring along a cheap video camera to record all the happy memories.That's the misleading bit though – with "Diaries" in the title, a cast of relative unknowns and Oren Peli of Paranormal Activity fame co-writing and co-producing, you'd think this was the latest in a string of mediocre "found footage" horror movies.
It's hard to imagine this movie going up against something like Prometheus at the box office, given that movie's superior scares and much more interesting monsters.Of course, Chernobyl Diaries was made for a fraction of the cost, and the saving grace is that location filming in Hungary and Serbia does provide the movie with a convincingly eerie, desolate setting.
I feel it could have been maybe thoroughly thought out more on the plot of the film, and at the very end, I was confused as to why the victim didn't in fact communicate with the authorities in their language as he was able to do so, but nevertheless, I would recommend viewers who are interested in history and like nail-biting, thrilling experiences, then look no further.
surly not a brilliant movie but also not a boring one if your expectations are not too high..the actors are bearable also Just the chance to tour Chernobyl for it self worth for me the watching.it could have being made much better since the idea itself is good.but sometimes directors only look for the money and not the art.the uri (dimitri diatchenko) guy is actually a very interesting character in the real world.
Chernobyl DiariesThe good thing about vacationing near the Ukrainian nuclear meltdown is that only your insides get sunburned.Unfortunately, the tourists in this horror movie haven't ingested any Coppertone.While visiting Kiev, a group of Americans, Paul (Jonathan Sadowski), his brother (Jesse McCartney), his brother's girlfriend (Olivia Taylor Dudley), and their friend (Devin Kelley) embark on an extreme tour to a ghost city on the outskirts of Chernobyl.Along with another couple (Nathan Phillips, Ingrid Bolso Berdal) and their guide (Dimitri Diatchenko), the friends explore the eerie site.But when the sun sinks and their engine won't start, they find the metropolis is not so abandoned.An inconsiderate pile of pointlessness, Chernobyl Diaries' turns tragedy into tawdry mutant tale, with bad acting and little explanation as to the survivors' bloodlust.
were do i begin well this movie could have been an all time great horror the cast 100% brilliant great acting cast Jesse McCartney what a surprise turning into a good actor i normally hate singers who turn it around into acting but he has done well director Bradley Parker i mean he could have turned this into pure amazing but i mean the idea of getting the viewers more scared from what you don't see 50/50 payed off i mean he should have added a few more scares that your eyes do see i feel the plot was bit all over the place near the end the story of this movie is incredibly does give you a chill but as i said when you watch this you will feel a lot more could have been done with this i advise you to watch this as my partner was to scared to watch it all but thats women :P.
But seeing this with critical eyes, and knowing how the director wants to scare his audience I couldn't feel anything but anger.First of, the movie portrait the Ukraine as a country with bad perople.Second, Its not nice for the director to implement that something is still going on post sovjet time around chernobyl and the nuclear disaster.Third, just as paranormal activity, the movie ends blunt and you get no explanation to what just happened or why.