“Chernobyl Diaries” is a chilling original story from Oren Peli, who first terrified audiences with his groundbreaking thriller, “Paranormal Activity”.
The film follows a group of six young vacationers who, looking to go off the beaten path, hire an “extreme” tour guide.
Ignoring warnings, he takes them into the city of Pripyat, the former home to the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, but a deserted town since the disaster more than 25 years ago.
After a brief exploration of the abandoned city, however, the group soon finds themselves stranded, only to discover that they are not alone…
To celebrate the release of Oren Peli’s latest horror offering Chernobyl Diaries on June 22nd, we look back at a few of his other great achievments.
Paranormal Activity
Oren Peli is probably best known for the writing, directing and editing his debut film Paranormal Activity. Using the tiny budget of $15,000 and a crew of just 3 members (his girlfriend his best friend and himself!), Peli’s film sky rocketed to unpredictable fame, making $194 million worldwide which places it as the most profitable film ever. Peli’s attention to detail and commitment to making the film as real life and relatable as possible made it a runaway hit. His ‘could happen to anybody’ approach is what drives chills into the audience, with such easy to relate to terror making the Paranormal Activity franchise so successful.
Insidious
Peli was one of the Producers on this terrifying horror released in 2010 starring Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson. The film follows a family haunted by evil spirits and has been described as “shock-a-minute fright fest”. It had the same feel as Paranormal Activity with its low budget but delivered maximum scares and is unnvervingly creepy, leaving a lasting impression with the audience and making it one of the scariest films of recent time.
Chernobyl Diaries
The attraction of Chernobyl as a setting for a horror film for Peli lays in the sheer abandonment and uniqueness of the town, ‘They all just vanished overnight, and there’s not a place like that on Earth. It’s so creepy and eerie and fascinating.’ Unlike the slow burn scares of Paranormal Activity though, Chernobyl Diaries, goes for a more constant terror, where you stand alone and there is an invisible threat that can get you at any time. It is all about starting in a very everyday situation, which anyone can place them self in and from there the situation gets worse and worse.
The Chernobyl Diaries hits cinemas on June 22nd.
