Release Date: In Theaters Now.
Country: USA
Written by: Oren Peli.
Directed by: Bradley Parker.
Starring: Ingrid Bolso Berdal, Jesse McCartney, Devin Kelley, Jonathan Sadowski and Olivia Dudley.
Chernobyl Diaries is a movie that wasn't screened for critics in advance, and that's usually a bad sign. Maybe it wasn't screened because it looks and is shot like a Found Footage movie, but isn't. Maybe it's because the characters are unlikable caricatures and do moronic things, which makes this movie anything but endearing or gripping to the audience. Maybe it's because there's not really any sort of payoff to be had here.
In other words, maybe it's because the movie isn't very good at all.
Chernobyl Diaries is about a group of kids traveling across Europe who end up in The Ukraine, and then decide to head to Moscow. Once in Moscow, they decide to take an "extreme tour" of a town called Prypiat, which is in the shadow of Chernobyl; the site of one of the worst nuclear disasters the world has ever seen. I'm not sure why that makes it an "extreme" or even a "fun" destination for tourists, but maybe I'm just boring.
What an awesome tour. What's next, Auschwitz? |
"OMG we don't deserve this!" Yes, you do. |
That was creepy. |
It's also worth noting that a lot of people seemed offended by the filmmakers decision to exploit such a tragedy and turn it into the breeding ground for a story about evil, flesh hungry mutants. Let's face it, lots of things get exploited for the sake of entertainment and capitalism, so we aren't amongst the offended in this case. What's offensive to us is that such an interesting premise was executed so flatly and without much effort or care.
Meh. |
D
It was at least nice to see our favorite Norwegian Final Girl, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, in this. She even brought along a few cute friends too...
You cheeky prick!
ReplyDeleteWe here in the U.S. have been getting the big movies a week or two later than other parts of the world, which is cool for everyone but us. So you win, good sir.
I'm definitely curious to hear your take on it... although I'm pretty sure I already know your take on the movie via IMDB :)
You've got to give the morons who made this movie props for one thing: they managed to make Pripyat seem un-scary. Stalker (the movie) was scarier than this, and it a) wasn't a horror movie, and b) wasn't set in the Chernobyl exclusion zone because the Chernobyl disaster hadn't happened yet (perhaps the creepiest thing about it is how it prefigures said disaster), b) wasn't even even really trying to be scary in the traditional horror sense; and of course Stalker (the game) _was_ trying to be scary, and pulled it off superbly.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen Stalker, Purgatori, but it looks like I need to now.
ReplyDelete