Carriers

Second this is NOT a zombie film. So don't be fooled by the idiotic marketing of this fine little gem. What this is, is a deliberately paced drama about a group of survivors in a world plagued with a virus that's pretty much killed everyone and the hard decisions they have to make on their way. It could be a companion piece to The Road almost, a sort of prequel set a few years before.

While it is "slow" it only clocks in about 84 minutes which is far too short in my opinion and I wanted more really. Something tells me that the film was originally much longer but cut down by the producers to please the teens who all seem to hate it anyway.

Good film, crap marketing.

It's no zombie flick. Unlike most virus flicks, 'Carrier' focuses on the emotional and psychological aspect of the survivors especially their struggle when they have to leave one of their own behind (or even commit the act of taking their life) in order to ensure their own survival and the despair of the soon-to-be-deceased after they have been abandoned on their own to die a slow painful death. Yes, there are a few jump sequences and a few clichéd 'horror' scenes where the infected scare and chase the survivors. In my opinion, most of these sequences weren't even necessary. Yet, the writing is mostly good and the atmosphere is well-created (even though nothing outstanding). The cinematography too is adequate. The two female leads lacked character development. Even so, Piper Perabo manages to somewhat rise above, especially in her final sequences and Emily VanCamp fails to impress. Chris Pine is quite irritating while Lou Taylor Pucci carries the movie. Christopher Meloni does a brilliant job in a supporting role. 'Carriers' is quite a change from the traditional zombie flick and even though it doesn't match up to 'The Road', it's a decent effort.

The movie revolves around the fate of 4 unpleasant millennials mid-way through an apocalypse caused by a gruesome virus. They've instituted rules that are meant to keep them from getting infected. Some of these seem rational, like "disinfect stuff touched by decaying people."

Too bad they didn't include rules like "let's avoid acting like the cast of Jackass." I don't want to spoil their clever pranks, so I'll compare them to the geniuses who tried to drive blindfolded using only the GPS, like Sandra Bullock in Birdbox.

There are predictable lessons about karma, a few mild jump scares, and plenty of times to take bathroom breaks.

I just left the screening of "Carriers". It was the opening Movie on this years Fantasy Film Fest. At least here in Munich. Well, my first reaction to this film was something like "Wow... this where long 90 Minutes". Most of the other crowd thought the same and their comments where quite similar to mine. Meaning: Good, but a bit slow.

This Movie needs a little tightening to speed it up a little bit. It does a lot of things right! The characters are worked out properly, the camera-work is top notch and the acting is very good. But sometimes there are scenes, that last too long. You know where the Directors want to go, you know how the scene will play out in the end, but it still goes on and on and on... So again: a little trimming would do the film good!

Well, and then there is this whole "Wrong Marketing"-Thing. At least here in Germany they try to sell this movie as a Horror-Movie. That's just wrong. Sure, there are the classic Horror-Elements, but overall "Carriers" is a strong, heavy Drama. There is virtually NO Action and even less gore in it. Instead there are long dialogs, dramatic events and more dialogs. That's fine with me, but it makes the movie hard to find it's audience. The GoreHounds will be disappointed by the lack of blood and guts and the Drama-Fans will be pushed away by the apocalyptic Elements...

So. Once again: "Carriers" has great potential but is a little bit to slow and to heavy on the drama to pass as a great movie.

It's hard for me to precisely categorize this movie. Drama? Sure. Thriller? For sure. Horror? Mmm, I don't think so. It's funny, because it's hard not to label the movie horror, seeing as how it deals with a grotesque infection, that spreads worldwide terror and brings civilization to its knees. However, the infected aren't the antagonists here. Once you've been infected, you're basically already dead.

Ultimately I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. After reading other comments here, it seems the general consensus is that the pace is too sluggish. I'd have to agree that it was a long 90 minutes, but as someone who is prone to falling asleep during movies, especially after an 8 hour shift, my interest was effortlessly sustained throughout the movie.

The production values here are top notch. I was never bothered by bad acting (or at least too bad). The cast fit my tastes, maybe only falling short with Piper Perabo, but that would only be nit-picking. The photography wasn't jaw-dropping, or even slightly innovative, but it was still more than adequate.

What actually impressed me most was the writing. There are some real gems in there, but mentioning them would be spoiling some great scenes. I seemed to sense some anti-religious or religious undertones, however I honestly can't decide which. I suppose that's what I liked so much about it, the morality was left quite vague.

Anyway, a solid effort. It's possibly lacking some more gore, and action, but that also could have just made it tasteless. I would recommend this to anyone who's a fan of biological horror, but I'd say ultimately you should see it for the story, and not the action.