The Chernobyl Diaries - Review
The first big summer horror release of the year, The Chernobyl Diaries is a fun and very eerie flick that will please many genre fans. I caught the midnight show last night, and the energy in the theater was overly enthusiastic. For the most part, it adheres to the cliches of horror, but many surprises are littered throughout in this disturbing take on “extreme tourism.”
In the film (directed by first-timer Bradley Parker, with a screenplay by Paranormal Activity writer Oren Peli as well as Shane & Carey Van Dyke), six tourists pay a guide to take them on a tour through the abandoned city of Pripyat. All the workers of Chernobyl and their families lived in this city when it had to be left overnight when one of the Chernobyl reactors exploded. While exploring Pripyat, they slowly realize that they are certainly not alone.
One of the things that surprised me most was the amount of character development in this film. It doesn’t just jump right into the killing or the action, there is a nice slow burn to it that really builds up tension well. Once it kicks into third gear, it becomes very fast-paced and creepy as hell.
Thanks in large part to the slow build-up, we really get to know most of these characters. My favorite was Jesse McCartney’s Chris, who seems to be sensible and not a complete moron, unlike his brother, Paul (played by Jonathan Sadowski). It was pretty cool to see McCartney in a big screen production and I particularly loved his acting once the proverbial shit hits the fan. Devin Kelley, who plays Amanda, was quite good as the artistic-girl-with-a-camera type. I thought every character contributed much to the movie’s success, and a large part of this is owed to Oren Peli’s script, I’m certain.
As far as blood and gore is concerned, there isn’t too much of it in the movie, which actually works. Sometimes it just isn’t necessary to see every character butchered beyond recognition, and the few nasty bits that are actually shown are really quite nasty. The makeup effects team really did their job here, that’s for sure. This also continues over into the “monsters” in the movie. Without spoiling anything, there are at least four different creatures you see in this flick. A small twist at the end gives you the slightest idea of their origins, but for the most part everything goes unexplained. In horror, sometimes the most terrifying thing is the unexplained, and the filmmakers sure take advantage of this trope by just giving the audience a small sample of answers. The ending is one of the strongest suits, which wasn’t exactly what I saw coming. There are more than a few surprises along the way, including too many jump scares to count and some creepy heart-in-your-chest scenes of suspense.
Personally, I loved this movie and it seemed as if the majority of the audience I saw it with did too. After Cabin in the Woods, Chernobyl is the best horror movie to hit theaters all year. It may not be overly graphic or violent, but the Chernobyl Diaries is a finely crafted and competently acted and directed horror film that any fan should check out. / Rating: A+
