Chernobyl Diaries

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1991245/

Watched the trailer... thought, "Oh boy, they'll use any excuse they find to re-tell the same old boring Ten Little Murder Victims! Again, again, again." It even has the infamous My Car Hates Me.

Also, and this might be the only reason for me to watch this, it's kind of unsettling. I still remember the panic back then, how we stayed indoors as much as possible and didn't eat mushrooms that season because it was said that they were contaminated. Brrrrrrrrr.

So it's basically STALKER: The Movie? except that they're not nearly as well armed and equipped.

I admit, I was disappointed when it turned out this wasn't about the actual Chernobyl meltdown.

Want to know something Ironic? I saw the trailer for this immediately BEFORE Cabin in the Woods. Brings a whole new meaning to that "ten idiots out to die thing" doesn't?

Also I must say this trailer made me laugh.

Worst. Trailer. Ever.

I too saw it right before Cabin in the Woods. The whole audience laughed at how ridiculous this film looks.

I don't see any problem with the trailer.

It's the premise.

Yeah, isn't Chernobyl like completely off limits to everyone?

Nope

http://chernobylwel.com/index.php?language=en&content=trip

http://www.tourkiev.com/chernobyltour/

It got actually turned into more-or-less average tourist destination.

Yeah this crap looks like The Hills Have Eyes but in Ukraine.

So the film's actually unrealistic because in reality people would be turning up every thirty minutes to go "Dude, it's the Ferris wheel from Call of Duty!". Hell, they might even run into a film crew.

In fact, I'm betting my cookies on the twist ending being that the shadowy beings are just security guards grabbing them and saying "Hey, you can't be here, film crew only!" and then kicking the stragglers out.

That would almost certainly be better then any other ending.

Hell that would almost make it worth seeing.

Diaries? Blech. Zone of Alienation would have made for a better title.

I was told this was basically The Hills Have Eyes without cool makeup F/X...amongst other appealing things.

I was actually looking forward to this seeing as Chernobyl looks tailor made for a horror movie.

Since I have no interest in seeing this film, I spoiled myself on the ending on IM Db. Can't say I'm surprised in any way, and the reviews (limited though they are, critics weren't shown the film - always a bad sign) don't tell otherwise.

I heard this isn't a found footage movie. In fact, I heard none of the characters are actually filming this. Therefore, this film has no excuse to be filmed on an amateur level with a handheld other than it being cheap.

edited 25th May '12 7:30:27 PM by DS9guy

Read the plot. My god...... '-_-

I liked it up until the end. The ending was bad. But other than that, I liked it as a horror film. The atmosphere was creepy and there were some genuinely frightening moments.

The Good: Very low on the annoyance levels from Twenty Minutes with Jerks and Genre Blind factors. Good atmosphere, really good cinematography, and amazing use of the existing architecture. This movie really made me feel that even under Communism these places were alive and people had a sense of aesthetics. It's a bit weird in that the camera feels a little like a Jitter Cam / Found Footage Film, but 99% of it is an unseen 8th person / cameraman. It does make you feel like you're there without imposing that faceless voice problem that a lot of these films like Cloverfield had.

The Bad: There's really not any characterization except for the trip planner really regretting repeatedly making his brother suffer. What little plot there was was kind of weak. Not bad, and there's interesting hints of a bigger coverup, but over all it seemed not too thought out. I could have lived with a Leave The Plot Threads Hanging scenario where we never found out why some things happen, but the things that do come to light, and the ending especially, underwhelmed.

Spoilers! The mutant Ukranians weren't living there continously, they were all previously captured by the authorities for study, and then they somehow broke out and went back to Pripyat and killed a few guards who tried to round them up. What's plot holey about it is that Yuri, the tour guide, hides smoldering cinders from a fire that these people made so as not to scare the tourists. If the mutants weren't there in the many trips he'd made before, why wasn't he freaked out? If they were, then why wasn't he better prepared?

I was actually expecting a more mind-breaking twist ending like the tour guide's family was at Pripyat and he's herding tourists there to feed them, or that at the end the Ukranian authorities force the tourists to stay since they've been too heavily exposed and turn into mutants. No such luck.

On a less spoilery rant, the mutants vary unexplainedly between Zombie Gait and demonstrating super speed with Offscreen Teleportation. Likewise, they're able to tip over and gut a van, but are weak enough that they can be batted off by a determined woman. Our Zombies Are Different... inside the same movie?

edited 7th Jun '12 4:32:44 PM by Earnest

Awww, I wanted a STALKER-esque movie

You could watch Stalker.

edited 19th Jun '12 4:15:57 AM by joeyjojo