Chernobyl Diaries

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler

What a missed opportunity. Such a great concept but the execution is obvious and never really takes off. So much could have been explored, instead there's just a bunch of mutants stalking kids and no pay-off or explanation as to why.

No surprise Oren Peli, who created the first Paranormal Activity, came up with this one as the ending feels almost exactly the same except without the good scares proceeding to make it worthwhile. There's a lot of nice atmosphere and I really liked the production design, where they shot looks very authentic.

I presumed this was a found footage film and indeed it starts out that way for the first 3 minutes but immediately after the intro sequence it becomes just a documentary style film, which still works to sell the realism but allows for edits a bit more and they don't have to worry about explaining who is always filming and why.

The actors are all okay I guess. I think it's pretty much just there's just a set up and a few scares and nothing else on offer here.