I Love Horror – A horror blog devoted to the critical, analytical, and cynical assessment of the horror industry and horror films.

Carriersposter

Director: Alex and David Pastor
Year: 2007 (2009 release date)
Country: United States

Carriers has been the topic of much discussion for many months. Completed in 2007, it took nearly two years for Paramount to release it to theaters. As the trailer circulated the internet and the release date loomed, much was said concerning its PG-13 rating and whether or not it would prove to be a hindrance. Given the subject matter, one would think an R-rating would be necessary to establish its credibility within the horror genre. But gore and foul language are not required ingredients for a solid horror film, and Carriers manages to prove this in spades.

Opening in media res, Carriers finds four individuals driving down a desolate highway. Fleeing a pandemic that has killed much of humanity, the four run into a father and his virus-stricken daughter. Initially refusing to help, a lack of gas forces them to work together, albeit with much hesitation. As they travel they desolate wasteland, they fight infected, survivors and worst of all, each other.

Carriers is clearly influenced by post-apocalyptic pandemic films before it, namely 28 Days Later, of which several key aspects of the film were eerily reminiscent. As a result, the film lost some of its credibility, yet managed to stay afloat, due on no small part to its humanistic approach. With nary a zombie or crazy infected human in sight, the weight of the film rests square upon the shoulders of our four protagonists.

And they supported it well. Despite being, on the surface, your run-of-the-mill “pretty” characters, all but one managed to possess wholly unique personalities that adapted and evolved with each mounting hardship they faced.The sore thumb, however, was particularly loathsome, possessing a conflicting demeanor that ranged from elf-righteous to selfish, carrying only for himself and his immediate party. The infected were the enemy, and when it came down to follow the “rules” he set forth for survival, his adamant approach toward them fell to the wayside in favor of a dramatic finish. Beyond the four Christopher Meloni brought an air of sympathy to the cast as the father who would do anything keep his daughter alive. Sadly, he departed halfway through the film in a gut-wrenching scene topped only by the bleak and depressing climax.

The film is competently shot, and the tension provided by the characters is provided by an excellent score that lapses into convention only very rarely, providing a few expected jump scares. The bleakness of the film reached its apex during the final five minutes, as out remaining survivors reached their intended destination, itself a bittersweet beginning to the end of their world. They may have survived, but what do they have to look forward to?

Bereft of what makes these films slide ever so easily into convention, Carriers brings to the scene a unique approach to survival horror. The virus, although the catalyst for our protagonists’ journey, is merely secondary to what makes the movie so fascinating: real people in real situations being pushed to the limit. Despite a number of flaws, Carriers is a solid entry into the horror canon, and it’s a damned shame Paramount took so long to release it.