Ouch, Beware the Carriers
Just recently watched the movie Carriers and all I have to say is OUCH. With capital letters and everything. Originally I had stayed away from the thing altogether, mainly because the reviews for it were less than glowing (it was described as slow, boring, dark, bad acting, etc.), which I can understand having now seen it. Not that I agree with them, just that I can see where they're coming from. At the time, I had thought it'd be another one of those "you've seen one end of the world horror movies, you've seen them all" type movies.
This isn't true at all. As I said before, I can see where the other reviews are coming from - this is not a fast paced movie in the least. There are no zombies running around waving their hands or jumping from corners and there's no big, bad government shadow issuing a world-wide quarantine that the protagonists have to avoid or else. Basically, this movie is about four people who have survived a possibly worldwide epidemic of a virus that kills its victims slowly. Because of this, everyone is gone - dead, infected or otherwise. The ones remaining are paranoid as hell in a suddenly dog-eat-dog world. As for the virus, this IS NOT - I'm seriously stressing this - IS NOT a zombie virus that leaves it's victims undead. The people infected with this are still alive and there's even a point where one of the characters even says "don't even know if they're alive or dead," which is really a cool take on zombies. Especially considering it never veers into the realm of supernatural or sci-fi by bringing in the concept of reanimation. Instead, this virus just kills these people so slowly that the people honestly and truthfully look dead, which is part of the scare tactic.
IN ANY CASE. The movie itself is about these four people - two brothers and two of their female friends - who are escaping the horror of this virus by attempting to get to the beach where the two brothers always used to go to as kids. Because of how they feel about the beach, the place is almost a paradise for them and they consider it a Safe Zone - though none of them really have any basis for thinking that. Along the way, the four of them have to survive by following the three rules the eldest brother, Brian, made to ensure none of them get infected and, most importantly, they have to survive themselves.
And by "themselves", I don't mean they start turning on one another, which is another popular trope in end of the world films. No, by this I mean they have to survive their own morals, their own consciences and all the decisions they make regarding who lives and who dies.
THIS IS WHY I LIKE THIS MOVIE. As much as I like zombie/apocalyptic/dystopian-themed films, this movie wasn't focused on that. That was the cause of what the movie was about, the movie itself was about these four people (Brian, Danny, Bobby and Kate) and the selfish things they had to do in order to make it out alive. And funnily enough, "alive" doesn't always mean they've won.
"Sometimes choosing life is just choosing a more painful form of death."
So yeah, despite the fact that I complete agree with the assessment that the actresses for Kate and Bobby were like watching a pair of cardboard cut-outs recite lines - I completely recommend this film to fans of the dark, apocalyptic and morally analytical themed films.
Just beware, the film is dark and nothing in this ever ends happy. There's rays of sunshine here and there with humor and moments of glee, but none of it lasts long. If you want something happy, maybe stick to Zombieland or Shaun of the Dead.
This isn't true at all. As I said before, I can see where the other reviews are coming from - this is not a fast paced movie in the least. There are no zombies running around waving their hands or jumping from corners and there's no big, bad government shadow issuing a world-wide quarantine that the protagonists have to avoid or else. Basically, this movie is about four people who have survived a possibly worldwide epidemic of a virus that kills its victims slowly. Because of this, everyone is gone - dead, infected or otherwise. The ones remaining are paranoid as hell in a suddenly dog-eat-dog world. As for the virus, this IS NOT - I'm seriously stressing this - IS NOT a zombie virus that leaves it's victims undead. The people infected with this are still alive and there's even a point where one of the characters even says "don't even know if they're alive or dead," which is really a cool take on zombies. Especially considering it never veers into the realm of supernatural or sci-fi by bringing in the concept of reanimation. Instead, this virus just kills these people so slowly that the people honestly and truthfully look dead, which is part of the scare tactic.
IN ANY CASE. The movie itself is about these four people - two brothers and two of their female friends - who are escaping the horror of this virus by attempting to get to the beach where the two brothers always used to go to as kids. Because of how they feel about the beach, the place is almost a paradise for them and they consider it a Safe Zone - though none of them really have any basis for thinking that. Along the way, the four of them have to survive by following the three rules the eldest brother, Brian, made to ensure none of them get infected and, most importantly, they have to survive themselves.
And by "themselves", I don't mean they start turning on one another, which is another popular trope in end of the world films. No, by this I mean they have to survive their own morals, their own consciences and all the decisions they make regarding who lives and who dies.
THIS IS WHY I LIKE THIS MOVIE. As much as I like zombie/apocalyptic/dystopian-themed films, this movie wasn't focused on that. That was the cause of what the movie was about, the movie itself was about these four people (Brian, Danny, Bobby and Kate) and the selfish things they had to do in order to make it out alive. And funnily enough, "alive" doesn't always mean they've won.
"Sometimes choosing life is just choosing a more painful form of death."
So yeah, despite the fact that I complete agree with the assessment that the actresses for Kate and Bobby were like watching a pair of cardboard cut-outs recite lines - I completely recommend this film to fans of the dark, apocalyptic and morally analytical themed films.
Just beware, the film is dark and nothing in this ever ends happy. There's rays of sunshine here and there with humor and moments of glee, but none of it lasts long. If you want something happy, maybe stick to Zombieland or Shaun of the Dead.