Chernobyl Diaries
Cast: Jesse McCartney, Jonathan
Sadowski, Olivia Dudley
Director: Bradley Parker
Writers: Shane Van Dyke and Carey Van Dyke
Running time: 86 mins
Director: Bradley Parker
Writers: Shane Van Dyke and Carey Van Dyke
Running time: 86 mins
In utilising the Chernobyl nuclear disaster
as the backdrop for a horror film, then if nothing else Chernobyl Diaries at least provides an interesting, unique setting for the genre.
Unfortunately, while the setting is fresh, the plot is as stale as six week-old
scones. The film endlessly parades through the A-Z of contemporary horror
clichés – young Americans, enthusiastically naïve to just about everything, are
on holiday in Russia, and decide one day that it will be a ‘cool’ (yawn) idea
to visit Chernobyl (which patently isn’t even remotely cool) and go on a tour
with a shady thick bulky Russian guide into a former housing area surrounding
the power plant. In this case the area in question is the deserted city of
Pripyat, where the workers at the nuclear plant in the Ukraine lived, along
with their families, until the 1986 disaster in which one of the four reactors
exploded, requiring immediate evacuation of the area, which eventually was
completely sealed off due to radiation contamination. It became a wasteland of
abandoned buildings.
Back to the tale. After a couple of hours, guess what? That’s right! The van won’t start, and no one starts asking questions about what they should do next until the sun goes down. Thicko the tour guide discovers a small fire which had been set up in one of the abandoned buildings, hinting he knows something is going on, but won’t reveal exactly what.
Then he dies about ten minutes later, taking his secrets with him. This is one of the major problems with the film - it offers little or no explanation as to what’s going on or who knows the real facts. We’re left to assume that the strange creatures in the darkness are residents of the Chernobyl disaster who managed to have survived as mutated humans over the course of twenty-five years. It’s also not a particularly well researched piece – as a brief look at any contemporary picture of Chernobyl online will show you how radically different it looks. The film has a few intense moments, but with so little information into the disaster or what’s happened since (at least in the world of this nonsense), what could be an interesting ambiguity just seems like exceptionally lazy screenwriting. It’s not a complete disaster, but it is extremely disappointing.
Back to the tale. After a couple of hours, guess what? That’s right! The van won’t start, and no one starts asking questions about what they should do next until the sun goes down. Thicko the tour guide discovers a small fire which had been set up in one of the abandoned buildings, hinting he knows something is going on, but won’t reveal exactly what.
Then he dies about ten minutes later, taking his secrets with him. This is one of the major problems with the film - it offers little or no explanation as to what’s going on or who knows the real facts. We’re left to assume that the strange creatures in the darkness are residents of the Chernobyl disaster who managed to have survived as mutated humans over the course of twenty-five years. It’s also not a particularly well researched piece – as a brief look at any contemporary picture of Chernobyl online will show you how radically different it looks. The film has a few intense moments, but with so little information into the disaster or what’s happened since (at least in the world of this nonsense), what could be an interesting ambiguity just seems like exceptionally lazy screenwriting. It’s not a complete disaster, but it is extremely disappointing.
The Hunter
Cast: Willem Dafoe, Frances O'Connor, Sam Neill, Morgana Davies
Director: Daniel Nettheim
Running time: 102 mins
Willem Dafoe portrays the titular hunter, in his attempt to
find the last Tasmanian Tiger in existence. Martin David (Dafoe) is employed by
a mysterious company called Red Leaf to extract DNA samples from Tasmania's
favourite cryptid. However, upon arrival, he soon becomes aware of the ongoing
tensions between the resident loggers and eco-types, with his suspicion growing
that he may not be the only person trying to track down the elusive beast.
Complicating matters further, he finds himself drawn to the local family he's
staying with.
The Hunter is a visually stunning film. It doesn't fall into the trap of becoming a tourism commercial, but it beautifully captures the Australian bush. The cinematography in general, including the up close and personal character moments, is perfect. The score more than equals the visuals. The musical clues provided by Andrew Lancaster, Michael Lira and Matteo Zingales add to the overall tension and ensure that the pacing never becomes sluggish.
Dafoe is tremendous in the lead role, whilst Frances O'Connor and Sam Neill do equally well in supporting turns. Special mention should be made of child actors Morgana Davies and Finn Woodlock, who both put in pitch-perfect performances that belie their lack of experience.
The Hunter though doesn’t quite manage to remain ensconced in a particular genre. The film shifts between thriller and drama, and it might have been better if it had gone for one or the other, rather than straddling both with only a modicum of success. It shows potential as a straight thriller, but unfortunately, the one actioned-packed, high tension moment in the film falls flat, either due to poor editing or lack of consistent direction – and we don't really gain an understanding of the geography of the scene, which is a missed opportunity.
This encapsulates the entire film. The Hunter is a solid effort, but fails to be truly brilliant. The final act is frustratingly bleak and unsatisfying, and doesn't feel justified. Secondary characters are either forgotten or their absence is only casually referred to, which is also disappointing. If the prospect of seeing Dafoe set traps and lures in an attempt to capture a supposedly extinct species is enough to attract you, then by all means give The Hunter a go. It does succeed on that front. It just wasn't quite as strong a film as it needed to be.
The Hunter is a visually stunning film. It doesn't fall into the trap of becoming a tourism commercial, but it beautifully captures the Australian bush. The cinematography in general, including the up close and personal character moments, is perfect. The score more than equals the visuals. The musical clues provided by Andrew Lancaster, Michael Lira and Matteo Zingales add to the overall tension and ensure that the pacing never becomes sluggish.
Dafoe is tremendous in the lead role, whilst Frances O'Connor and Sam Neill do equally well in supporting turns. Special mention should be made of child actors Morgana Davies and Finn Woodlock, who both put in pitch-perfect performances that belie their lack of experience.
The Hunter though doesn’t quite manage to remain ensconced in a particular genre. The film shifts between thriller and drama, and it might have been better if it had gone for one or the other, rather than straddling both with only a modicum of success. It shows potential as a straight thriller, but unfortunately, the one actioned-packed, high tension moment in the film falls flat, either due to poor editing or lack of consistent direction – and we don't really gain an understanding of the geography of the scene, which is a missed opportunity.
This encapsulates the entire film. The Hunter is a solid effort, but fails to be truly brilliant. The final act is frustratingly bleak and unsatisfying, and doesn't feel justified. Secondary characters are either forgotten or their absence is only casually referred to, which is also disappointing. If the prospect of seeing Dafoe set traps and lures in an attempt to capture a supposedly extinct species is enough to attract you, then by all means give The Hunter a go. It does succeed on that front. It just wasn't quite as strong a film as it needed to be.
