chernobyl diaries

i am a sucker for found footage films.  those are the kind of movies that try to appear like they were filmed by the actual people in the movie, one of the first of these kinds of movies is 'blair witch project' and has recently become more popular through movies like 'cloverfield' and 'paranormal activity'.  in fact, the director of paranormal activity is the brains behind this movie as well, oren peli.  though he didnt direct it, he did write and produce it.  the story follows four college kids russia when they find themselves with an opportunity to sneak in, with a guide, to the abandoned city to do some urban exploring.  of course, things go terribly wrong and bad things happen- this is a horror movie, after all!  the style of the film is very much grounded in the found footage style, but whats kind of interesting is that as the film goes on it almost feels like that style isnt quite as important, and we seem to begin watching in other ways, its almost like the film is a found footage movie, but without the cameras.  the characters arent very interesting or fleshed out, but with these kind of movies it seems to be something that isnt necessary.  the definite highlight of the film is the amazing sets.  now, i'm sure that they didnt actually get permission to film in chernobyl, but the abandoned buildings and city certainly do feel real- there's no way they build those sets!  the build up in the middle of the film does a great job of capturing just how isolated and desolate the area is.  though i dont think the ending is very strong, the build up to it was certainly worth the ride!