Chernobyl Diaries (2012)

Six tourists hire an extreme tour guide who takes them to the abandoned city Pripyat, the former home to the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. During their exploration, they soon discover they are not alone.

Director:

Bradley Parker (as Brad Parker)

Writers:

Oren Peli (screenplay), Carey Van Dyke (screenplay)

Stars:

Jesse McCartney, Jonathan Sadowski, Olivia Taylor Dudley

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ingrid Bolsø Berdal	...	Zoe
Dimitri Diatchenko	...	Uri
Olivia Taylor Dudley	...	Natalie
Devin Kelley	...	Amanda
Jesse McCartney	...	Chris
Nathan Phillips	...	Michael
Jonathan Sadowski	...	Paul
Milos Timotijevic	...	Russian Check Point Guard
Milutin Milosevic	...	Ukrainian Thug
Ivan Djordjevic	...	Ukrainian Thug
Ivan Jovic	...	Ukrainian Thug
Zinaida Dedakin	...	Restaurant Owner
Ivana Milutinovic	...	Little Girl
Alex Feldman	...	Medic Goldshimdt
Kristof Konrad	...	Medic Grotzky

Storyline

Americans Chris, his girlfriend Natalie and their friend Amanda travel to Europe on vacation. They meet up with Chris' brother Paul living in Kiev, Ukraine. Chris wants to travel to Moscow to propose to Natalie, but Paul convinces the group to first visit Chernobyl with an extreme tourism guide. They meet the guide Uri and another couple who are also going on the tour. Uri explains that because of the radiation levels he can only take them to Pripyat, a deserted city very near Chernobyl. They travel by van, but are stopped by a military checkpoint that makes them turn back. Not giving up, Uri finds an alternative route to the town. The group spends the day taking photographs and exploring abandoned buildings. Uri becomes nervous and decides it's time to head home. However, the van won't start and they discover the engine was sabotaged. Soon they discover that they are stranded, no one knows they are there and that they are definitely not alone.

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Plot Keywords:

abandoned city | abandoned building | chernobyl disaster | chernobyl ukraine | city name in title | 

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Taglines:

Ten years ago, the Ukrainian government let tourists visit the area around Chernobyl. They said it was safe... It wasn't.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, some bloody images and pervasive language

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is the result of a collaboration between Oren Peli and Shane Van Dyke. Peli worked on Paranormal Activity (2007) while Van Dyke worked on the knockoff film Paranormal Entity (2009), released to capitalize on the success of the franchise.

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Goofs

When the group enters one of buildings, the red light on the crew camera reflects in glass doors.

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Quotes

Chris: I swear to God, Paul, it's a fucking hazard having you as a brother.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Plutonium Baby (2013)

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Soundtracks

Alright
Written by Gaz Coombes, Danny Goffey and Michael Quinn
Performed by Supergrass
Courtesy of EMI Records Ltd.
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Generic flick

The set up of going to an abandoned city was cool and up until the CGI bear appearing the film was at least engaging. But in the end this film is a collection of cliches, tropes and jump scares all trying to hide the script's emptiness. A bad horror film would have been more entertaining than this flavorless offering.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Ukrainian Russian

Release Date:

25 May 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chernobyl Diaries

Filming Locations:

WWII Army Bunker, Belgrade, Serbia

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,955,307, 27 May 2012

Gross USA:

$18,119,640

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$38,390,020

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alcon Entertainment, FilmNation Entertainment, Oren Peli / Brian Witten Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1