Chernobyl Diaries (2012) review

Director: Bradley Parker

Starring: Olivia Dudley, Devin Kelley, Jonathon Sadowski and Dimitri Diatchenko
Rating: 15

A few years back I found some images of the place Chernobyl and I was fascinated by it. I told my parents I wanted to go there, not only for the amazing experience but also for the kind of creepy atmosphere that must dwell there. So, when I saw they’d made a film, I immediately knew I needed to see it.

Six young travellers, including Natalie (Olivia Dudley), Amanda (Devin Kelley) and Paul (Jonathon Sadowski), decide it’s a good idea to let an extreme tour guide, Uri (Dimitri Diatchenko) take them to the desolate city of Pripyat. Once there, the group begin to sense that something is not quite right. After their van happens to “lose” important wires, the group realise that Chernobyl might not be quite as abandoned as they thought.

When you first see the place of Chernobyl, you instantly get a feeling that the place would have an eerie and creepy feeling to it. A place where you wouldn’t want to stay more than a couple of hours. As the group walk around, you get the feeling that although it’s a once in a lifetime experience, it’s something you want to keep as a once.

Events start to turn very horrific quite quickly after they get to Chernobyl, which is good, as I hate waiting around for the drama to happen. I found that not being able to see what was attacking them made it extremely terrifying and gut wrenching. It meant that whatever was attacking them was completely left up to the imagination, which can often be worse than knowing.

Once I saw what they were being attacked by, it wasn’t quite the adrenaline spiking film it originally seemed to be. If you like spine chilling scenery, then I’d say give this film a watch as you do get to see what it’s like there.

Verdict: 2/5