‘Chernobyl Diaries’ Was Filmed in Nazi Tunnels

Oren Peli’s newest horror release, “Chernobyl Diaries” takes place in- you guessed it- Chernobyl. Unfortunately, Chernobyl is still deemed unfit for humans due to still-present nuclear dust from the disaster, so the filmmakers had to be inventive in choosing a replacement location.

The crew selected an abandoned Soviet Air Force Base and a series of tunnels under Belgrade, Serbia.

“There were bunkers where they had the Nazi headquarters and that place was very, very creepy. It was very narrow and wasn't built with safety lights, so, at one point or another, we bumped our head on the door jambs,” Peli tells WENN.

"It was very dark and very musty with a bizarre negative energy there," he continues.

“Chernobyl Diaries” director, Brad Parker, discussed how the location aided in frightening the cast.

"It was a lot of fun for me and to a certain extent they enjoyed it too. They didn't have to push the acting boat out too far because they were just responding to what was going on. We would leave them in the dark or have them walk down a scary tunnel and not tell them what was around the corner,” Parker began.

"There was really a sense of tension in their voices that's really palpable. We would literally have our humanoid-like creatures waiting in a cavern or a tunnel out of sight so the actor would not know about the actual scare and where it was coming from. They were totally taken off guard and our locations were really scary... There were bad vibes in the walls. It was really creepy and being in these cold, dark, dank, scary places was terrifying enough."