CHERNOBYL DIARIES (2012)

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Brad Parker
Cast: Devin Kelley, Jonathan Sadowski, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Jesse McCartney, Nathan Philips, Dimitri Diatchenko
RunTime: 1 hr 29 mins
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Rating: NC-16 (Horror & Coarse Language)
Official Website: http://chernobyldiaries.warnerbros.com/index.html

Opening Day: 12 July 2012

Synopsis:  "Chernobyl Diaries" is an original story from Oren Peli, who first terrified audiences with his groundbreaking thriller, "Paranormal Activity." The film follows a group of six young tourists who, looking to go off the beaten path, hire an "extreme tour" guide. Ignoring warnings, he takes them into the city of Pripyat, the former home to the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, but a deserted town since the disaster more than 25 years ago. After a brief exploration of the abandoned city, however, the group soon finds themselves stranded, only to discover that they are not alone...

Movie Review:

For better or worse, filmmaker Oren Peli has made the handheld shaky-cam visual style the lynchpin of his works. Those who find this medium nauseous would be thankful that he has surrendered to a more conventional shooting style for Chernobyl Diaries. Yet he borrows many of the storytelling tropes from his earlier days with the Paranormal Activity series, deftly weaving an omnipresent sense of fear into a tale that feels more intriguing than it should. Unfortunately, much of what the film could do with this premise is limited by the shoestring budget. The result is a movie that falls flat under the weight of its huge potential.

At the start of the movie, we are quickly introduced to our posse of 6 young and adventurous tourists whose idea of extreme tourism is perhaps more preposterous than that of everybody else’s. Unfazed by the presence of the military at the entrance and several warning signs, our protagonists venture into the abandoned town of Pripyat, presumably to take photos that they could later upload on Facebook and boast about. Their trip goes awry when their van refuses to restart, leaving them enmeshed in a blanket of darkness – and weird noises.

Chernobyl Diaries mostly succeeds in capturing the resulting tension because of the smart choice of location. Not to withdraw any credit from the production team but it’s definitely easier to create a horror story around a setting that is already surrounded by numerous mythologies than to build something from scratch on a soundstage and try to convince the audience that the house is really haunted. The payoff is a location that lends itself to an atmosphere of helplessness in ways that feel real and effective.

While this larger than life setting might have you believe that there is a juicy, unfettered plot spanning multiple perspectives simmering underneath, Chernobyl Diaries is quick to put an end to that notion with a scope that feels increasingly limited as the movie chugs along. For most parts, the camera follows the backs of our protagonists as they push hurriedly through tight doorways and lose themselves in the sepulchral gloom of underground bunkers. It’s a directorial flair that I suspect would appeal to those who are familiar with shaky-cam movies. I am not saying that it’s perfect but there’s a certain rustic charm to it that allows it to convey the intensity of a horror flick at its finer points. Despite the clear advantages, this shooting style feels like a poor translation of the benefits of the setting.

At this stage, I’d prefer not to belabour the point of a lost opportunity with the film’s setting but this reviewer would be doing you a disservice if he doesn’t mention the consequences of the scanty budget. I say this with a caveat because the lack of any special effect of any sort should not come away as alarming as the limp conclusion. By now, it should be obvious that the reason the camera shifts around nervously whenever its creatures are near is because it doesn’t really want you to stare at them and study their features. It can’t avoid its big revelation, however, and when you finally do get the chance to have a proper look at the antagonists, there’ll be a feeling that you’ve just been robbed of a huge chunk of believability to the movie.

Make no mistake. Chernobyl Diaries is made up of genuinely believable spooks but beyond that, it promises more but delivers little.  

(Great if you want to scare yourself but not if you’re looking for more satisfying fare)

Review by Loh Yong Jian