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

The group cancels a trip to Moscow in order to go to Pripyat, and treat the change casually, as if Moscow were also just a day trip. But Moscow is a 10 hour drive from Kiev, and they would certainly either fly or take a train there. If so they would have tickets purchased in advance; and also given the distance, they likely booked a hotel for one or more nights. This change of plan could majorly throw off the rest of the trip, and cause cancellations of non-refundable bookings, which no one even considers when deciding on Pripyat. In addition, Americans require visas to visit Russia, which must be applied for in advance. Of course the group may still have Russia on their itinerary and therefore wouldn't waste a costly visa, but changing their travel plans and entering on a different date and potentially in a different city may compromise those visas.

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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

Magic
Performed by Vika
Written by Vika Vasilevich
Courtesy of Crucial Music Corporation

User Reviews

Not ghost flick....A complete thriller one....Got lots of scenes that makes you sit on the edge of your seat...

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.

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