Carriers

Directed by: Alex and David Pastor

Starring: Chris Pine, Piper Perabo, Lou Taylor Pucci, Emily VanCamp, Christopher Meloni

Synopsis:

Following a massive, deadly pandemic of an unnamed disease, four people travel through the desolate backroads of Texas. Danny and his brother Brian used to holiday at a small beach resort and are heading there with their girlfriends, Bobby and Kate. They try to avoid contact with anyone to reduce the chance of infection – once you have the disease, you are as good as dead already. In their quest to reconnect with the happier times of their youth at the beach, Brian and Danny have to sacrifice nearly everything that makes them human.

Review:

By the time I watched Carriers at last week’s Frightfest all-nighter, I, like the rest of the audience, had already sat through five very good, entertaining horror films. Carriers isn’t exactly entertaining. It is a harrowing experience.

The world has gone to hell. The Disease has taken over. There is no cure. No hope. Brian and Danny hold onto this ideal picture of them with their parents on their annual vacation and try to reach that place, to reconnect to happier times. Every person they meet, however friendly and well intentioned, could be the death of them.

The group are forced by circumstance to help a man and his infected daughter, taking them to a town which was broadcasting they might have a cure. When they get there, the find the town deserted except for a doctor and a small bunch of children, all infected. Any parents in the audience will be very distressed by this scene. It is heartbreaking.

Danny and the group have grown hardened to their situation. When one of them becomes infected, they instantly turn their back on them. Sentimentality is a killer.

At the heart of the movie is the relationship between Danny and Brian. Danny is the elder brother, not as bright as Brian but more worldly wise and takes it upon himself to make the hard decisions so his brother can keep a clear conscience. Brian is more conscientious but is weak willed and won’t stand up to his brother.

Piper Perabo and Emily Van Camp play the respective girlfriends, Bobby and Kate. Bobby is the most humanistic of the group – which also means she is the most vulnerable. Kate is a complete passive-aggressive bitch who makes small mutterings of dissent while always seeming placid.

Chris Pine retains the cocky attitude of his Captain Kirk, but without the moral compass. There’s a moment when he gets injured in a shootout when I found myself thinking “good!”. Danny is a horrible, self-serving jerk who hides behind a bunch of rules he made up for himself and the group.

Verdict:

Despite the PG-13 rating, Carriers is an almost unrelentingly bleak look at the end of the world, as man is beset by a disease it can find no cure for. Civilisation is dead – it’s every man for himself. It’s a very well-made film, packed full of scenes which make you wonder how or if you’d act differently. If you watch this on DVD/Blu-ray, make sure you have something “fluffy” to watch afterwards, such as one of the SAW movies...

7 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)