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 | nuclear power plant | 

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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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Ukrainian Russian

Release Date:

25 May 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Terror en Chernobyl

Filming Locations:

WWII Army Bunker, Belgrade, Serbia

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,955,307, 27 May 2012, Wide Release

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer/Producer Oren Peli - who also created Paranormal Activity - strongly defends this movie against claims it was insensitive to a devastating disaster, saying "I found it very sad and fascinating and eerie and creepy... I thought it would be a great setting for a scary horror film. It was never our intention to offend anyone."

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Goofs

When the subtitles indicate Uri is speaking Russian, he is actually speaking Ukranian.

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Quotes

Paul: Have you heard of extreme tourism?

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Men in Black 3 (2012)

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Soundtracks

Black Russian
Composed & Performed by Chris Haigh
Published by JW Media Music
Courtesy of 5 Alarm Music

User Reviews

They Are not Alone

The Americans Chris (Jesse McCartney), his girlfriend Natalie (Olivia Taylor Dudley) and their friend Amanda (Devin Kelley) leave Los Angeles on vacation and they travel to Europe. They go to Ukraine to meet Chris' brother Paul (Jonathan Sadowski) that lives in Kiev. Chris wants to travel to Moskow to propose Natalie, but Paul convinces the girls to visit Chernobyl instead in extreme tourism

They go to the agency of the guide Uri (Dimitri Diatchenko) and he explains that he can only go to Pripyat, a derelict city near to Chernobyl, due to the level of radiation. The couple "Viking" Zoe (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal) and Michael (Nathan Phillips) join the group and they travel by van. On the arrival, they find a military barrier that asks them to return. However, Uri uses an alternative way through the woods to reach the town. The group spends the day visiting the area and the abandoned buildings and Uri is worried and decides to return to the van. However, the car does not start and Uri realizes that the wires were chewed. Soon they discover that they are stranded in the town and that they are not alone.

"Chernobyl" is a horror movie with an interesting storyline: a group of Americans go on extreme tourism to Chernobyl and discover a dreadful secret about a place that was supposed to be inhabited. The first half is scary and very realistic, and I believe that most of the youths has one day made something crazy by impulse that he or she will recall for the rest of his or her life. Even in Rio de Janeiro, there is extreme tourism through the slums.

The problem is that there are stupid decisions that almost ruin the movie. For example, Paul insists in shouting the name of Chris in a dangerous location. Or leave traumatized Natalie alone while they go to his a boy. Anyway, the story and the performances are not bad. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Chernobyl"