Chernobyl Diaries Takes a Scary Trip to a Familiar Place

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Chernobyl Diaries Takes a Scary Trip to a Familiar Place

Chernobyl Diaries, the new horror film from the creator of Paranormal Activity, is a very STALKER-like journey into the mutated hellhole of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

The "exclusion zone" created by the 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is not a happy place. It's made somewhat tolerable in the great STALKER [http://www.amazon.com/Viva-Media-V00574-S-T-A-L-K-E-R-Pripyat/dp/B003ZULWQI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332432967&sr=8-1] games by the tremendous number of guns at the player's disposal, but what would happen if, instead of tough, hard-bitten Ukrainians with automatic weapons, the interlopers were privileged American hipsters armed with nothing but pocket digital cameras?

Chernobly Diaries, the new movie from Paranormal Activity [http://www.amazon.com/Paranormal-Activity/dp/B003204MQS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332433069&sr=8-1] creator Orel Peli, is what. The film follows the unpleasant adventures of a half-dozen "extreme tourists" and their seedy-looking guide as they take in the sights of the ruined city of Pripyat. But things go predictably wrong when it's time to head home: car won't start, sun goes down and you can pretty much take it from there.

The film looks like it will have its fair share of frightening moments, at least based on this trailer, but it will probably also be very familiar to STALKER veterans. That apartment building? Been there. Those underground tunnels? Been there. That creepy doll thing? Yeah, I shot that dude, but take my advice: you're better off just leaving him alone. It's a trap!

Chernobyl Diaries [http://chernobyldiaries.warnerbros.com/index.html#] opens in the U.S. on May 25.

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Corporal Yakob

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Nov 28, 2009
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I've heard that the Paranormal Activity films were crap but this looks pretty cool. Also the guide looks like a fat Nikko Bellic.
 

Blind Sight

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May 16, 2010
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Nothing in this movie will be as scary as that village filled with bloodsuckers in Shadow of Chernobyl. Especially if you stumbled onto it like me when you were just exploring. The fact that the bastards love to flank you there doesn't help.
 

Tohuvabohu

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Mar 24, 2011
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"It sounds like a baby..."

I remember hearing that too in Call of Pripyat. What a nasty surprise that turned out to be...

Anyway. This looks alright. If only because of it's vague relations to STALKER. But this collection of random sexy youngsters whose sole purpose is to all die horrible deaths is a pretty meh premise.

I guess I say that because I'd rather see an actual film or something based on STALKER/Roadside Picnic instead. It's just, much more interesting than this... Wait, there's already a film about that? Time to watch it!
 

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Yeah, it's hardly the most original thing to be put on the big screen, it's pretty much Friday the 13th Part Ukraine, but I do like the STALKER connection. If nothing else, the trailer really drives home just how accurately GSC nailed the look and feel of Pripyat.
 

Li Mu

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Oct 17, 2011
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Tohuvabohu said:
"It sounds like a baby..."

I guess I say that because I'd rather see an actual film or something based on STALKER/Roadside Picnic instead. It's just, much more interesting than this... Wait, there's already a film about that? Time to watch it!
You could try that terrible looking Russian TV series based on the game.
Or just watch the amazing film Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky. It may not resemble the game but it's a fantastic film (well, at least I think so)


So, this movie...does it check all the boxes?
Soviet Stereotypes. Check.
Stupid Teens. Check.
Accepted racism towards anyone non-American. Not sure, but I'll go ahead and say Check.
Ghosts picking people off one by one. Check.

I think the main attraction for most of us is the setting.

I was planning on taking a Pripyat tour last summer, but my girlfriend refused to go with me. She grew up in the soviet union, so this kind of thing is boring for her and she couldn't understand why I would want to go to such a place.
Her refusal pretty much killed my plans since I needed her for translations and to avoid getting ripped off. Ahaha.
 

Rad Party God

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Feb 23, 2010
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Well, at least it's a nice break from "ghost hunting mockumentaries" and zombie movies. But if it follows on the heels of STALKER, then there's plenty of room for both ghosts and zombies, among other nasties.

Also, ever since the Pripyat part of Call of Duty 4 (the best part of the whole game IMHO), I've became more and more interested in that god-forsaken place, really nice to get yourself depressed for a moment and for some nice horror/haunting stories.
 

Farther than stars

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Those bastards stole my idea! 0.0 Just last week I decided I would go see Chernobyl some day. And just a couple of hours ago I summarized that a couple of places I still really want to see in my life are Zion National Park and the city of Pripyat. Huh... Maybe this trailer is some sort of divine warning sign... =/
 

redisforever

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Blind Sight said:
Nothing in this movie will be as scary as that village filled with bloodsuckers in Shadow of Chernobyl. Especially if you stumbled onto it like me when you were just exploring. The fact that the bastards love to flank you there doesn't help.
Worse. The sewer tunnel, with one. Just one, but it's terrifying, because I wasn't expecting it at all. And it was dark. I had never seen one before, and then BAM! I get hit, turn around, see nothing. Patch myself up, it hits me again, I still couldn't see it. I was toying with me. Scariest shit ever, man. Damn ultra-intelligent AI...

OT: Well, looks good, I saw this when the gscstalker twitter account mentioned it. I'd have preferred an actual S.T.A.L.K.E.R. movie though. Whatever became of that planned tv show?

I really do love the story of Chernobyl and Pripyat. Amazing, scary, and mysterious that place...

I won't watch this though. I really don't want to shriek like a little girl in a movie theatre. I may watch it at home with my friends who also love the games. At least we'll scream together.
 

Scabadus

Wrote Some Words
Jul 16, 2009
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Huh this looked pretty good.. until the shot of them wandering around reactor 4. I'm not an expert but is that realy something you'd want to do? Or... survive doing?

Maybe it's better explained in the film, or maybe the control room's shielded or something but... meh.
 

Togusa09

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Apr 4, 2010
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Things are coming full circle... STALKER was inspired by the movie Stalker, which was inspired by a book
 

EHKOS

Madness to my Methods
Feb 28, 2010
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This doesn't look to bad. I might go see-awww who am I kidding, I have no theater near me and no friends to go anyways.
 

Slayer_2

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Jul 28, 2008
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Was anyone else reminded of the end part to the Pripyat level in CoD4 when they were at the ferris wheel?
 

scar_47

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Sep 25, 2010
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Kinda interesting if only for the setting, the rest appears to be your average people being hunted by x horror but I'll probably end up seeing it.
 

Skops

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Mar 9, 2010
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Boring! Changing the setting in a typical teen-horror flick doesn't make it better.
 

Dfskelleton

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Apr 6, 2010
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I was interested until I saw "FROM THE DIRECTOR OF PARANORMAL ACTIVITY". If the trailer is an accurate representation of the film, then this is going to be one of those things with a brilliant setting for a horror film with a generic plotline that'll be incredibly easy to predict.
*sigh*, I can't remember the last time I saw a good horror movie. I honestly can't. I watch a lot of them, and they're all either complete crap or flatout mediocre. I love horror, it's just that nobody can get it right.