Runtime:
86 minutes
Directed
by: Bradley Parker
Starring:
Jesse McCartney, Jonathan Sadowski, Devin Kelley, Olivia Dudley,
Dimitri Diatchenko
From:
Alcon Entertainment/FilmNation
Here
is another movie I've seen that hasn't been so well received in
general; I know, I've been on a string of those as of late but I've
just been in that mood, you know. I decided to see this as I know
that most people really don't like it but from some spots I've seen
praise, so I figured it was worth a watch. I was interested in seeing
it until I heard the negative reviews. Thankfully, this was better
than The Darkest Hour, not that this is a high bar to leap over.
The
plot: A trio of young Americans go on a European vacation (which
isn't like the one that the Griswolds went on) and end up in Kiev,
where the brother of one of them is now living. That brother decides
to convince them to go on an Urban Exploration trip (those sorts of
trips are legt) of Pripyat, the town by the Chernobyl Nuclear Power
Plant that was abandoned after the disaster of 1986 happened. In real
life you actually can take tours of Pripyat so that part is true.
It's led by Uri (Diatchenko), an old military guy who definitely
looks the part, and is a pretty cool character. Well, the group
drives there
in an old Soviet van and they are denied entry for mysterious
reasons. Old Uri knows a secret entrance so they go in illegally;
things seem fine but then suddenly they are stuck in the city and
they then discover that there are wild animals running about... and
maybe something else too.
I've
heard all the negative attacks against this and I personally thought
it was a fine watch. Sure, it could have been better but it isn't the
nuclear disaster that I have heard in general. I understand that
visiting that area isn't as dangerous as the movie makes it out to
be, there's some goofiness throughout and the ending can raise a
number of questions but these things did not ruin the movie for me.
Like I said it's fine overall. There's good mood and atmosphere and
it was interesting seeing them explore the area (this was actually
filmed in Serbia and Hungary, as I imagine it's cheap there. Yet it
does look the part.
What
makes it work is that I was not annoyed or angered by the characters.
They do some dopey things but that's a horror film and it's not so
egregious it turns you off. They also aren't asstagonists, which is a
relief. You actually at least somewhat care about them. With that and
how I felt there were chills and scares throughout (what's causing
the issue, it's more of a threat you don't get a great look at, but
that is OK in this instance) in a setting that I enjoyed and thought
was interesting, this is something that I feel gets too much hate.
You
can read about what happened in the area on the Wikipedia page of thedisaster, and this video from last year shows you what the town
actually looks like.
I'll be back Thursday afternoon.
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