The New Oren Peli, "Chernobyl Diaries"

This is NOT a found footage film, but seeing as it relates to Oren Peli, I'm going to review it regardless.

Mr. Oren Peli has had a highly uneven career thus far. He proved himself to be a brilliant visionary with 2007's Paranormal Activity, a subtle and effective horror movie that nearly reinvented the found footage genre; the first blockbuster in that genre since The Blair Witch Project shocked the world. However.... most, if not all, of what he's done outside of the Paranormal Activity franchise (i.e. doing pretty much everything for the first film, and helping to write the second) has been mediocre at best. The found footage TV series The River (created with fellow Paranormal Activity 2 writer Michael R. Perry) was an unfortunate, resounding failure. His genre follow-up to Paranormal Activity, the mysterious Area 51, has been sent through the developmental hell gauntlet for three years and may or may not ever see the light of day. It remains to be seen if Area 51 is simply so awful the studio thinks even the success of Paranormal Activity can't carry it, or it's another case of a masterpiece cluelessly shelved by fickle executives (or my random third theory, that they don't want it to compete against or detract from Paranormal Activity and are holding it back until the franchise dwindles).

As someone who will forever respect and admire Mr. Peli, I am proud to report that Chernobyl Diaries, which Peli wrote, is a fantastic and well-made horror film. It's not amazing or visionary, it's certainly not without flaws, but it is was an excellent watch and is an impressive, effective film.

I wonder if Russia has any disturbing Chernobyl-themed horror films, because in the US our tragic nuclear past has been well-probed for horror. Chernobyl Diaries could easily pass as a particularly inventive remake of The Hills Have Eyes. Both film revolve around tourists trapped inside a car amidst a desolate locale where they are accosted by radioactive cannibals. But where the films differ vastly is in setting. In Chernobyl Diaries, a barren, empty desert is exchanged for an abandoned industrial city. The starkly contrasting setting gives way to a viciously different atmosphere. I haven't seen the original Hills Have Eyes, but Chernobyl Diaries categorically outclasses the 2006 remake. It's scarier, more interesting, and better-shot.

The setting was truly gorgeous and harrowingly spooky. The filming was lusciously dark and claustrophobic, reminiscent of REC with pitch black corridors, plus the disheartening unease of an abandoned city in the dead of night. The plotline is merely so-so, and fairly predictable. But the cinematography makes up for it. If you're anything like me, you will find the scenery chilling to the bone, with deep, complex underground passageways that just go deeper and deeper and deeper. Naturally I would have preferred a bit of a more subtle approach, but coming from me that goes without saying. If you had given this amazing setting to the low-key experts who made The Wicksboro Incident, and they made an equally subtle found footage film out if it, it would probably be the creepiest thing ever made.