Chernobyl Diaries

Movie review by Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media
Chernobyl Diaries Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 17+

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

R 2012 90 minutes
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Parents say

age 17+

Based on 3 reviews

Kids say

age 15+

Based on 11 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this 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.

Community Reviews

Keegs M.
Keegs M. Adult
December 21, 2016
age 15+

I Thought It Was Pretty Scary

It's disappointing to see some disagreeable reviews. I thought this was actually scary. The feeling throughout the film was definitely ominous and I had absolutely no idea what would happen next. Several of the scenes also kept my eyes wide and my palms sweating. The whole film kept me jumping and yelling at the characters to run. The film had some good scares and some genuine suspense. I enjoyed it and would recommend to viewers who would like to try something new in horror.
rafael medina
rafael medina Adult
November 1, 2015
age 18+

A sexual intercourse at the beggining of the movie

When I watched the movie at the beggining I could see the actor who is on the floor with two woman in a sexual position . He moves back and forth with the two woman behind him. The man's buttocks touch the genitalia of the woman that is in the middle, both wear clothes. Look at the gestures of her mouth of this middle woman.

This title has:

Too much sex
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Chris (Jesse McCartney); his girlfriend, Natalie (Olivia Taylor Dudley); and their friend Amanda (Devin Kelley) travel to Kiev to visit Chris' brother, Paul (Jonathan Sadowski). After a night of partying, Paul proposes they take an "extreme tour" and visit Pripyat, the city where the workers and families of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant once lived before the infamous 1986 meltdown. After the tour, the group discovers that the van won't start, and they're forced to spend the night in the spooky old place. Hungry wolves are about, and there's something even worse lurking in the shadows, not to mention the threat of radiation poisoning. Can the friends make it out alive?

Is It Any Good?

Oren Peli, the creator of Paranormal Activity, co-wrote and co-produced this high-concept horror movie, but he forgot to write reasonable characters or situations after the concept. CHERNOBYL DIARIES is basically a generic "cabin in the woods" movie, in which the characters are not-very-bright young people who constantly make the wrong decisions. The dunderheaded plot doesn't particularly help, as when -- for some reason -- night falls after only a few hours, or things jump out practically on cue.

Making his directorial debut, Bradley Parker chooses a hand-held camera look, as if an invisible friend were filming nearby. This allows for some money-saving long shots, but the camera also ends up shaking and lurching, causing more upset stomachs than the subject matter. Nearly every scary moment is either right out of the horror textbook, or else it subverts logic for an easy shortcut. Finally, there's the bad-taste factor of using the actual site of a real-life disaster for an exploitation movie. Avoid this one.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • 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?

Movie Details

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    age 18+

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