Chernobyl Diaries

It’s never a good sign when a film isn’t screened in advance and perhaps this has skewed opinion when it’s come to reviewing Bradley Parker’s Chernobyl Diaries. Not many positive notices out there, but I’m always inclined to give first time director’s the benefit of the doubt and, whilst this may cover all the standard trope’s of a basic horror film, at least Parker gets them right, i.e. take a group of good looking unheard of (usually) American actors, dump them in a remote location and the let the carnage begin. In this instance the template revolves around a group of tourists who take an “extreme” tour to the abandoned city of Pripyat, the former home of the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. Suffice to say it doesn’t turn out to be one for the photo album. There’s a few decent jump scares here (the screenplay was partly written by Oren Peli) and Parker has fun utilising the darkness of the night whenever he can. Plus, a few scenes have the tension impressively stretched out to an almost unbearable level. There’s scant characterisation, but that’s no surprise. Perhaps what is, is that the special effects are somewhat disappointing, especially when you consider that Parker has a healthy CV in that area. Having said that, and if you can believe what you read, the budget for this film was just over $1 million and Parker and the producers have got a lot out of such a relatively small amount. Acting wise there’s nothing to write home about apart from the performance of Dimitri Diatchenko as the tour guide. Who, he? Despite that name Diatchenko is a born and bred Californian who for many years has been the go to man in the US when a flawless Russian accent is needed. Catch him here to hear it in its full glory (and to check out his overall impressive acting performance) and to then win £5 off your mates when you tell them he’s actually a Yankee. Some charities have expressed their reservations saying the plot is insensitive to those who died and were injured in the Chernobyl disaster, but I’ve no truck with that argument as you could apply it to any film that’s made money from a grim subject matter (every war film ever made for starters). Overall there’s nothing new here and the ending is a bit of a mis-step, but it’s a decent effort from minimal resources and, at only 86 minutes in length, can you really go wrong?

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Ticks all the boxes marked “Routine”, but the premise should pique the interest of horror / non-horror fans alike. Rating: 6/10.