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Chernobyl Diaries Review

Release Date: May 25, 2012
Rated: Some Bloody Images, Pervasive Language and Violence
Runtime: 1 hr. 26 min.
Genres: Horror, Suspense/Thriller
Director:Brad Parker
Cast:Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Jesse McCartney, Nathan Phillips, Jonathan Sadowski, Milos Timotijevic. Full cast + crew

Movies.com Critics

0.5

Dave White Profile <h3>Dave White</h3> <p><strong>Your Movies.com Man at the Multiplex</strong></p> <br /> <p>Dave White's first movie review was of the animated feature Snoopy Come Home. He was seven years old...<a href="http://www.movies.com/movie-reviews/dave-white">Read full profile</a></p>

Rooting for the radioactive wolves. Read full review

2.0

Grae Drake Profile <h3>Grae Drake</h3> <p><strong>Movie maven about town</strong></p> <br /> <p>Grae Drake began her love affair with cinema as a wee bairn, as she spent every weekend corralling her friends over to the local...<a href="http://www.movies.com/movie-reviews/grae-drake">Read full profile</a></p>

Don't sneak a peek at this diary. Read full review

Other Critics provided by Metacritic.com

Critics scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

2.0

32

out of 100

Metascore^®
Generally unfavorable reviews
based on a weighted average of all
critic review scores.
38

out of 100

USA Today Claudia Puig
Despite an unlikely setting and a moderately intriguing premise, Chernobyl Diaries proves to be a generic horror flick where young tourists are systematically victimized in unoriginal and not terribly scary ways.

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50

out of 100

ReelViews James Berardinelli
Chernobyl Diaries is afflicted with a fatal flaw that damages many horror films: after a better-than-average setup and a promising first half, everything falls apart.

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60

out of 100

The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck
The novelty of the setting ultimately proves highly effective. Shot mainly in Eastern European locations that effectively stand in for Prypiat, which is now actually a tourist site, the film is highly convincing in its verisimilitude.

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67

out of 100

Entertainment Weekly
If nowhere near as scary as the original Paranormal, the result is superior to many of the low-budget terror flicks that have arrived since (yes, The Devil Inside, we're talking about you) and benefits hugely from Dimitri Diatchenko's performance as moviedom's Worst. Tour. Guide. Ever.

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See all Chernobyl Diaries reviews at Metacritic.com

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For Families provided by Common Sense Media

Pause for kids 16 & under

Radioactive mutants attack in waste-of-time horror movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Chernobyl Diaries is a horror movie about young people who decide to tour the abandoned towns near the infamous nuclear power plant. Some of the violence, including attacks by wolves and radioactive mutants, is more suggested than shown, but the movie still has plenty of blood, gore, and dead bodies. A gun is also fired many times. Language is strong, with frequent uses of "f--k" and "s--t" throughout. There's some sexual innuendo and kissing in the beginning, as well as some drinking (and hangovers). Chernobyl Diaries comes from the creator of Paranormal Activity, but it isn't anywhere near as creative as that film or its sequels.

Families can talk about the movie's violence. What's shown, and what's suggested? Which is scarier? Why? Is the movie scary? Or is it more suspenseful? What's the difference?
What do you think about the choice to set a horror movie in a place where a real-life disaster took so many lives?
Do the characters make reasonable decisions throughout the story? What are some choices they could have made differently?

The good stuff

Messages: Aside from warning viewers not to enter an abandoned area contaminated by nuclear fallout, the movie has very little to say.
Role models: Characters argue and make poor decisions while failing to work together. Characters occasionally try to act heroically, but often these aren't the right decisions.

What to watch for

Violence: Dead bodies, both humans and animals, are shown. A character has a gory leg wound with a bone sticking out. Guns are fired, and one character is shot. Wolves and radioactive mutants attack. Characters get radiation burns on their skin.
Sex: Some sexual innuendo during the movie's first 20 minutes. Characters kiss, and one man plans to propose to his girlfriend.
Language: "F--k" and "s--t" are used frequently throughout. Other language includes "p---y," "ass," "hell," "Jesus" (as an exclamation), etc.
Consumerism: Not applicable
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters are shown drinking (beer, vodka) during a night on the town. Some of the characters are shown with hangovers the next morning.

Common Sense Media

An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology.