CHERNOBYL DIARIES

Brothers Chris and Paul are on a trip through Europe with their respective girlfriends. Upon arriving in Ukraine, Paul proposes dedicating themselves to extreme tourism, a practice popular among young tourists that involves exploring particularly inhospitable areas. Despite Chris's resistance, the guys trust the guide Uri, who proposes they visit Pripyat, a town bordering Chernobyl, the site of the tragically famous nuclear disaster that occurred in 1986. Pripyat is completely uninhabited due to the radiation that still infests the area, but when the guys decide to leave the town to return to the hotel, they find the van tampered with and realize that Pripyat is actually not uninhabited... There are films about which one has no particular expectations, stories that seem telegraphed already by reading the synopsis or watching the trailer and "Chernobyl Diaries" could easily fit into this category. Sometimes these films manage to positively surprise, turning out to be much smarter than one could think, thanks to a series of factors that can involve the construction of the story, plot twists or tension... and "Chernobyl Diaries" fits, precisely, into this category! Main characteristic of Oren Peli's cinema, who in "Chernobyl Diaries" appears as producer, subject writer and co-author of the script together with Shane and Carey Van Dyke, is the reworking of the horrific imagery in a minimalist key. "Paranormal Activity", a loved/hated title that made Peli's fortune, bet everything on the extreme sustainability of a concept that smells of déjà-vu, but the beauty lies in managing to maneuver with an apparently amateur style that is no longer a novelty but rather favors the total identification of the viewer. With "Paranormal Activity" Peli hit the mark and since then he has dedicated himself to production presenting that gem of "Insidious" (which reworked an imagery familiar to the viewer like that of haunted houses and demonic possessions) and now this "Chernobyl Diaries", which in Italy acquires the almost spoiler subtitle "La mutazione". The film directed by the debutant Bradley Parker travels on already trodden territories, hooking up to the vacation theme (even more so in Eastern Europe, like the first two "Hostel" and "Train") and heading towards shores that echo "Doomwatch - The Monsters of 2001" rather than "The Hills Have Eyes". Friends on vacation, an inhospitable place and a barely tangible threat that little by little takes on a deadly and very precise form linked to the ominous history of the place... in short, the high concept smells of déjà-vu. Bradley Parker, who up to this point had dealt with visual effects (among the many films "Blood Story" and "Red Planet"), bets everything on the atmosphere and manages to create a constant tension that in some scenes leads to very successful lessons in fear. To the advantage of the exasperating mechanism of suspense that envelops the entire film are the suggestive locations that reproduce the ghost town of Pripyat: deserted streets, dilapidated and abandoned buildings, large parking lots full of car wrecks, basements and ruined factories, all enhanced by an autumnal atmosphere that admirably conveys the idea of death and desolation that hangs in the air. Furthermore "Chernobyl Diaries", in line with the other films that bear Peli's name, manages to scare by showing as little as possible. Do not expect splatter and exhibited violence because this film does not aim at the stomach and the threats that infest Pripyat are undefined silhouettes with a Carpenterian flavor that only reveal themselves in the epilogue, still leaving a taste of mystery even at the end of the film, perhaps in anticipation of a possible sequel. There are also ravenous packs of stray dogs, mutant fish and even a brown bear in a guaranteed jump-on-the-couch scene. In short, "Chernobyl Diaries" works, the formula is simple but effective, the atmosphere is spot-on and it manages to gloss over some typical horror clichés that get the characters into trouble too often. If you are looking for a fast, fun and scary movie, "Chernobyl Diaries" is for you!