Carriers
What?
In a post apocalyptic America, where almost all of the population has been wiped out by a killer virus, one has to be on their guard in order to survive. So when two young couples, heading for the coast and hopefully safety, come across a father and his young daughter blocking their way, they drive straight past. Unfortunately, the off road excursion results in a torn fuel line, so as things are far too dangerous to proceed on foot they head back to the father and daughter, to take their vehicle. The daughter is infected, but the father seems healthy, they make the decision to take the man and his girl with them, albeit sealed off with plastic sheeting and gaffer tape and relegated to the rear of the 4x4. So off they head again, but when it looks as though another member of the party may be infected too, human nature becomes more deadly than the killer disease they fear.
The whole end of the world thing has been done and then done again, whether the catalyst is zombies, killer diseases, nuclear holocaust it all amounts to the same thing - a fight for survival amongst those that remain. With the set up being so familiar, the execution is the key to these movies, and Carriers has a spirited go at it and is in the main successful. Van Camp handles her character arc from the quiet one, to no nonsense, no mercy survivalist really well. In fact the young cast are all good, with Pine turning in a performance that grabbed the attention of some big players in Hollywood, (the movie was pre Captain Kirk). The deserted towns and desolate roads are effectively realised, and I really liked the scenes at the country club that was being used as a vacuum packed hideaway. What I was pleasantly surprised about was the way the plot chose to focus on the disintegration of the group when one of their own gets infected, rather than gory effects which would have undoubtedly been the easy option. That's not to say it doesn't have its gross out moments and jumps - it does, and Directors Alex and David Pastor set these up well and generally keep things moving along at a lightening pace. The movie does asks some 'what would you do in this situation' moral dilemma questions, but just falls short of really making a powerful impact, largely due to its running time and fast pace. It all seemed to be over a bit too quickly which for some reason robbed it of the gravitas the finale should have warranted
Optics:
The deserted roads and massive sky at the beginning look great, there is a little grain visible here and there, which I was surprised about, but colour reproduction was good, particularly in the scene at the town where they believe the vaccine to be located - the sunny vibrancy was a good juxtaposition to the bleak situation. Blacks don't fair quite as well, and during one or two of the dark scenes a washed out grey was what we got where an inky shadow should have been.
Sonics:
A clear clean and detailed mix sounded great across all speakers. Some nice directional and ambient effects added to the on screen action, but the soundtrack was most effective when silence was all that could be heard, and this wasn't just prior to a jump, but sometimes to punctuate an awkward moment. To be critical, the sub was slightly underused and could have added a little more punch to the action.
Extras:
None
Well?
A smart well executed movie, with some believable performances from a cast of relative unknowns, (at the time). I would love to see a longer cut that may add a bit more depth to the emotionally charged climax - but still well worth a look.
Kris Williams
In a post apocalyptic America, where almost all of the population has been wiped out by a killer virus, one has to be on their guard in order to survive. So when two young couples, heading for the coast and hopefully safety, come across a father and his young daughter blocking their way, they drive straight past. Unfortunately, the off road excursion results in a torn fuel line, so as things are far too dangerous to proceed on foot they head back to the father and daughter, to take their vehicle. The daughter is infected, but the father seems healthy, they make the decision to take the man and his girl with them, albeit sealed off with plastic sheeting and gaffer tape and relegated to the rear of the 4x4. So off they head again, but when it looks as though another member of the party may be infected too, human nature becomes more deadly than the killer disease they fear.
The whole end of the world thing has been done and then done again, whether the catalyst is zombies, killer diseases, nuclear holocaust it all amounts to the same thing - a fight for survival amongst those that remain. With the set up being so familiar, the execution is the key to these movies, and Carriers has a spirited go at it and is in the main successful. Van Camp handles her character arc from the quiet one, to no nonsense, no mercy survivalist really well. In fact the young cast are all good, with Pine turning in a performance that grabbed the attention of some big players in Hollywood, (the movie was pre Captain Kirk). The deserted towns and desolate roads are effectively realised, and I really liked the scenes at the country club that was being used as a vacuum packed hideaway. What I was pleasantly surprised about was the way the plot chose to focus on the disintegration of the group when one of their own gets infected, rather than gory effects which would have undoubtedly been the easy option. That's not to say it doesn't have its gross out moments and jumps - it does, and Directors Alex and David Pastor set these up well and generally keep things moving along at a lightening pace. The movie does asks some 'what would you do in this situation' moral dilemma questions, but just falls short of really making a powerful impact, largely due to its running time and fast pace. It all seemed to be over a bit too quickly which for some reason robbed it of the gravitas the finale should have warranted
Optics:
The deserted roads and massive sky at the beginning look great, there is a little grain visible here and there, which I was surprised about, but colour reproduction was good, particularly in the scene at the town where they believe the vaccine to be located - the sunny vibrancy was a good juxtaposition to the bleak situation. Blacks don't fair quite as well, and during one or two of the dark scenes a washed out grey was what we got where an inky shadow should have been.
Sonics:
A clear clean and detailed mix sounded great across all speakers. Some nice directional and ambient effects added to the on screen action, but the soundtrack was most effective when silence was all that could be heard, and this wasn't just prior to a jump, but sometimes to punctuate an awkward moment. To be critical, the sub was slightly underused and could have added a little more punch to the action.
Extras:
None
Well?
A smart well executed movie, with some believable performances from a cast of relative unknowns, (at the time). I would love to see a longer cut that may add a bit more depth to the emotionally charged climax - but still well worth a look.
Kris Williams
Director:
Alex and David Pastor
Starring:
Chris Pine
Lou Taylor
Piper Perabo
Emily Van Camp
Best line:
Tagline:
Description:
Paramount
Region 2
Rated 15
1Hr 18 Mins
2.25:1
(Anamorphic)
Dolby Digital 5.1
Ratings: (Out of 5)
Film 3.5
Optics 3.0
Sonics 3.0
Extras 0.0
Overall 3.0
