Just when you think you know what your about to watch, the following changes all the rules.
Brought to you by OBS Staff Member Rose
Name: Carriers
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 84 minutes
Directors: Alex and David Paster
Synopsis: Post viral pandemic outbreak, four friends set out for the beach, deemed to be a safe zone. What they don’t expect is that there is something worse in store for all of them, far worse than the pandemic itself.
Review:
Initially shelved after filming had wrapped in 2006, Carriers was given a limited release after Chris Pine shot to stardom in ‘Star Trek’. This was smart, since having Chris Pine more recognizable now than he was in 06’, gave this film a nice shot in the arm.
It starts out seemingly predictable and normal enough for the type of movie it is. The standard four-young-friends-on-a-road-trip-trying-to-stay-alive-through-a-viral-pandemic-crisis type movie. The leader of group, Brian (played by Chris Pine) and his girlfriend Bobby (Piper Perabo) along with Brian’s brother (Lou Taylor Pucci) and friend Kate (Emily Van Camp), have all survived thus far, by following a set of rules. Upon hearing these rules, told to us in voiceover reminiscent of the ‘Zombieland’ rules, you automatically think this is a movie about zombies. But it’s not.
It is more about how humans turn into selfish, kill or be killed, survival seeking animals in times of crisis. The movie has some slight suspenseful moments, but overall, it tells a story, one that is shocking as it is believable because we can all imagine some, if not most, of the human population acting this way, given no other choice. It breaks your heart.
Carriers is by no means a ‘great’ film, but it is surprisingly good in that it is not at all what you expected when you sat down to view it. So it gets points for originality.
Chris Pine gave a solid performance, quite a different turn than his portrayal of Danny in ‘Blind Dating’, which was fun to see, while Perabo and her fellow actors held their own. However, I felt the ending was a bit too neat and it was unfinished, as if the writers simply said “Okay, let’s stop here”.
Overall, it’s worth a watch, at least once.
Rating: 6.5/10 stars
