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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worth a watch for viral zombie film fans, December 15, 2009
Brian and Danny grew up as two brothers who were relatively close to one another. They cherish the memories they have of Turtle Beach, a beach their family vacationed to every summer. The abandoned motel in Turtle Beach may be their best bet of surviving the highly contagious disease that now plagues the entire country and possibly the world. Not much is known about the virus other than the victims coughing up blood and bleeding from the ears as their condition worsens. Brian actually came up with a few rules that will hopefully get him, his girlfriend Bobby, his brother Danny, and Danny's friend Kate through this disease ridden world to Turtle Beach clean. The rules include avoiding the infected at all costs, disinfecting anything they've touched in the past 24 hours, and that the infected are already dead as there is no cure. You may survive if you stick to the rules, but actually abiding by them is an entirely different story.
Right off the bat, people are probably going to compare Carriers to Zombieland because of the rules. Carriers was released a full month before Zombieland, but Paramount Vantage folded upon its initial release causing its wide release to be an extremely limited one at the last minute (I think it wound up playing at only two theaters in the country). Expectations rise unintentionally in situations such as this. "This is that horror film that was practically shelved earlier this year and is finally being released." The result is a horror film that is well worth watching, but may not be entirely what you're expecting.
Carriers is more about establishing an atmosphere than anything else. Everything is abandoned and rightfully so as most people were picked off handfuls at a time by this pandemic. The entire film is more like the first half hour of 28 Days Later where Jim wakes up in an abandoned hospital and realizes how empty the streets of London are. There aren't masses of the infected running around lusting for brains or wanting to tear humans apart in Carriers. The story follows these four friends as they journey across the country to this supposed sanctuary where they hope to tough it out until this disease runs its course. Carriers is more of a slow burn as things turn from bad to worse very slowly and snowball as the film goes on.
Chris Pine is really the drawing factor of the film. His role as Brian is kind of like a more intense version of his role as Kirk in Star Trek from earlier this year. Brian comes off as an inconsiderate prick the first half of the film and seems to only do things that benefit himself. The second half is where his character gets interesting though. The speech he gives Danny about their parents and telling Danny that he only told him what he wanted to hear is the turning point for Brian. Chris Pine shines as things begin to roll downhill for Brian as his emotions take center stage and his true demeanor is revealed.
Everything else in the film pretty much feels like routine manuevers when it comes to films revolving around viral outbreaks as some main characters contract the disease, they resort to drastic measures to survive, and begin to question their humanity along the way. The most disappointing part of the film is the ending as things just seem to kind of stop without much of a resolution. It seems like films like this either end this way or have a really depressing ending and that's its biggest flaw. Movie buffs who have seen films concerning pandemics already have a rough idea of how the film is going to end and it's about time to mix that up a bit. There's got to be a decent way to end the film that offers something a bit different that could wrap everything up until that point, but also leave enough room open for a sequel if need be.
Carriers may be a bit slow at first and doesn't really offer anything you probably haven't seen before in a film like this, but is still worth seeing for Chris Pine's performance. It's kind of a more serious take on Zombieland without actual zombies running or stumbling around with an atmosphere similar to the one established in Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later. If you're a fan of films involving a virus that has wiped out most of the human population, then this is still worth a watch.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intense the entire way through, February 1, 2010
This review is from: Carriers (Amazon Instant Video)
I just heard about this movie and since I'm a fan of viral movies and/or Chris Pine, I checked it out! Basic premise is that four travelers are attempting to hit a possibly safe/tucked away location from the lead character's childhood - all the while trying to steer clear of infected people. Naturally, this proves hard to do.
One of the things you notice about this film is that the cast is very strong and very believeable. These are just regular people who are just trying to survive as society completely disintegrates and the rules change. The director made smart choices in my opinion with no few special effects - and thus making the film simply more realistic, barren, and terrifying. The film raises the question of what would you do if faced with the same situation? And it does make you think.
Choices and rules are difficult and they have to be. Chris Pine is very strong in the lead role and it's a great change from his role as Jim Kirk. He still is very charming at times but also reveals he can go the distance emotionally.
This is one of the better movies I've seen of this genre in a long time and it's completely worth your time. Seriously.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The end of the road, December 24, 2009
Trouble in paradise: Two young couples in a car on the way to the beach, in jolly mood and all seems shipshape.
Then you realize, they are just whistling in the dark. Humanity is being eradicated by a deadly virus. The 4 people are running away through the desert to an empty beach on the West Coast in the futile hope to escape it...
Of course they run into logistical trouble: gasoline runs out and can be had only through complicated social acts like carjacking and murder. They have defined rules: if one falls ill, he will be left behind. The sick are dead.
Of course this will be one of the drivers of the conflicts.
This film is unusually smart for the genre. It stays on the small scale and shies away from murderous zombie hordes. It ends in a dead end, predictably, and no answers are given.
For the 'end of the world' and 'zombie' genre fans: an outstanding contribution to the available stock of movies.
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