Tag Archives: radioactivity

“Chernobyl Diaries” (2012) – People Shouldn’t Play with Radioactive Things

I am divided on this movie. It has a cool premise: a group of kids decides to charter a guide to take them to the restricted site of Chernobyl, Ukraine, where a nuclear reactor plant experienced a meltdown and rendered the surrounding countryside exposed to high levels of radiation. Definitely a place that the local government has made unavailable to public access because of health concerns. Well, our group gets through the blockaded area and explores the abandoned ruins of the town left behind. The guide notices that there is evidence of activity in the supposedly dead place and urges the group to return to their Jeep and exit the premises before night falls. Surprise, surprise! The Jeep conks out with darkness descending. Before long, strange sounds are heard and the apprehensive tour guide goes to investigate. You should all know that nothing good can come of all this and sure enough, the guide doesn’t return to the vehicle and it is decided to go find out where he ended up. Suffice it to say that radiation has played a very nasty trick on the animals and humans who have been exposed to it. It appears that a league of zombies inhabit the surrounding area.

The movie soon devolves into a story we have seen many times before. The group numbers dwindle as they are systematically picked off by the radiation mutants and die in various horrible ways. This may sound like your cup of tea but I can say I have seen it done much more effectively elsewhere.

“The Horror Of Party Beach (1964) – The Mayhem Mash

I have mixed emotions about this twisted little horror film. I remember watching it as a kid and being terrified of many parts of it. There is a lingering memory of the mutated bullfrog chants of the human/aquatic monstrosities created from a ruptured barrel of hazardous radiation waste. The warped soundtrack music careening between creepily plodding to crazed, primitive synthesizer driven fury. Meanwhile, you’ve got a bunch of blood thirsty, shabbily costumed creatures marauding around in the dark looking for unsuspecting human victims.

I think I covered my eyes more than once during this mayhem. I probably covered my ears as well. This is a movie that was created for the teenage movie going crowd so there is a surf band performing on Party Beach thrown in for good measure. Surf music was very much in vogue at the time. This band isn’t very good.

It’s all a very low budget affair but very entertaining! Watching it these days, it still holds some of its charms. But new fears arise: leaking, cannisters of radioactive waste dumped in the ocean really don’t benefit anyone except the movies’ producers.

THEM – (1954) – Regular Ants Are Bad Enough!

A real creepy premise in this flick:  giant, mutated ants are on the loose and stalking victims in isolated areas of the God forsaken desert!

I bring you this cinematic, sci-fi gem because of a recent summer time invasion of the small variety of ants in our house in pursuit of the cat’s food.  These little beasts are annoying enough in their present miniature state as they scamper in all directions as you try to eradicate their presence inside your home.  In addition to the trouble of getting them picked up and removed, you get the sinister feeling that the insects are crawling all over you!  Imagine how you’d feel if the ants in question were 10 or more feet in length?

This is a classic science fiction film from the 1950’s that postulates that exposure to radiation could mutate a small ant into a formidable, potentially man destroying monster.  And what if there were a nest of these giants?

You get the idea.  Arm your self with a flame thrower and an automatic weapon and you may stand a chance of survival against these denizens from some unnamed Hell!  Give it a look and drink up the lovely desert studio set ups!  Some definitely scary set pieces crop up in this engaging science fiction thriller.