EPTSo first for anyone unfamiliar with the film, the story is set mainly in and around Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station and the nearby town, Prypiat. It's a horror film from the writer behind Paranormal Activity and is about some clueless tourists visitting the town for...err...photos I think...
Either way, all they had to do was make a horror film based on a ghost town from a period of history draped in secrets and fear set around a famous nuclear accident. How hard could it be?
![[image loading]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lubfufkQJ61qcbo9lo1_500.jpg)
How hard *could* it be?
So to start with the writing, Oren Peli provides an uplifting tale of hope overcoming adversity with a story that shows aspiring writers that it doesn't matter how terrible your piece, no matter how cliched and uninspired, you can still have your crap inexplicably end up in cinema. Beyond that there is no merit to his writing with regards to this film. Everything is poorly concieved, completely obvious or otherwise just stupid. Without giving spoilers it's difficult to go in to detail but there is maybe one point near the start of the film that isn't described as such.
It reached the point that it was actually annoying and were it not that I was with other people this would be the first film I've seen I'd have actually walked out of.
![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Pripyat01.jpg/640px-Pripyat01.jpg)
Unfortunately no evacuation notice reached the cinema's showing 'Chernobyl Diaries'.
The horror aspect of the film is also exagerated. I admit, I did have worries going to see a 15 rated horror film, but I'm not hard to satisfy. I'm pretty good at allowing myself to become immersed in a film and follow the story where it wants to take me, but this film does everything it can to prevent that. Whether it's the terrible writing, the worst group acting of all time or maybe even just the young girls behind us (who were clearly not 15) laughing at how bad it was, I just couldn't see past the faults of this film to let what very few potential shocks actually build up to anything.
Another problem with the film is that the characters are completely unlikable in their stupidity, and within the confines of the terrible story. I don't think it would be possible to want any of them to live, and so the suspense of watching them struggle against the horror aspects of the film is replaced with the tedium of hoping they die soon to get the film over with. Whenever there is a choice available, they pick the wrong one as if the people behind it were unsure if they were producing a parody or a horror film. The whole thing ends up as an exercise in putting up with someone making a sudden loud noise in your ear every 10 minutes to remind you you're meant to be scared.
What's worse than all of that is the amount of absurd elements added purely to try to create a scary film and make the trailer look better than it would otherwise. For instance, there is a young child in the trailer standing still for some unknown reason who exists only to say "Look, a child being weird. That's still scary right? OOooooOOOooh." It's also entirely misleading of the creators to show it in the advert as it makes no sense even by the standards of this abomination and it is also a completely stand alone event that doesn't even fit with the rest of the story.
![[image loading]](http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a137/cmhallock/ChernobylDiaries2kid.jpg)
OOooooOOOooh.
Finally the ending. Yes I promised no spoilers so I won't actually give specifics but it was just stupid. The one redeeming feature it has though, is that it actually ends the film and you can leave.
Don't watch this film.
