Carriers (2009)

Four friends fleeing a viral pandemic soon learn they are more dangerous than any virus.

Directors:

David Pastor, Àlex Pastor (as Alex Pastor)

Writers:

Àlex Pastor, David Pastor

Stars:

Chris Pine, Piper Perabo, Lou Taylor Pucci

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Lou Taylor Pucci	...	Danny
Chris Pine	...	Brian
Piper Perabo	...	Bobby
Emily VanCamp	...	Kate
Christopher Meloni	...	Frank
Kiernan Shipka	...	Jodie
Ron McClary	...	Preacher (voice)
Mark Moses	...	Doctor
Josh Berry	...	Survivalist
Tim D. Janis	...	Survivalist (as Tim Janis)
Dale Malley	...	Survivalist
Dylan Kenin	...	Tom
LeAnne Lynch	...	Rose
Jan Cunningham	...	Passenger
Mary Peterson	...	Laura Merkin (voice)

Storyline

In a world devastated by an outbreak, Brian, his girlfriend Bobby, his brother Danny and their friend, Kate, are heading to a beach where the brothers spent their childhood vacations expecting it to be a sanctuary. When their car breaks down on the road in the desert, they negotiate with a man called Frank, who is also stranded but without gas. He is trying to get his daughter Jodie to the hospital (she is infected with a disease of some kind), they all decide to travel together. During the journey, massive moral dilemmas arise, as events head into a downward spiral.

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Plot Keywords:

disease | beach | virus | pandemic | latex gloves | 

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Taglines:

The rules are simple. You break them, you die...

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing content and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Spain]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 September 2009 (Indonesia)

Also Known As:

The Untitled Pastor Brothers Project

Filming Locations:

Zia Pueblo, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$90,820, 6 September 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$90,820, 6 September 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Vantage, Likely Story, This Is That Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Carriers of any disease are not affected by the disease themselves. They just transmit it to others and do not suffer from the effects.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Danny Green: Twenty questions. Go...

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Connections

References Jurassic Park (1993)

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Soundtracks

Moon Dawg 65
Written by Derry J.Weaver
Performed by Davie Allan & The Arrows
Courtesy of Curb Records Inc

User Reviews

Just as it begins to 'carry' you away, the credits roll...

The key, unequivocal problem with the Pastor Brothers film 'Carriers' is that it just doesn't go anywhere: it begins, eighty minutes go by, and then the credits roll. The narrative just trudges along from start to finish without further challenging the audience or without placing further emphasis on the dramatic choices at hand. Which is disappointing as this film had a lot of unearthed potential that would have certainly set it apart from simply being 'just another zombie/pandemic' film. Instead, it is unfortunately, just another viral pandemic flick.

Brian (Chris Pine), his brother Danny (Lou Pucci) and their two female friends Bobby (Piper Perabo) and Kate (Emily VanCamp) are your four typical just-out-of-college kids who are on the road to nowhere, literally. After a viral outbreak incapacitates almost the entire population of the United States and potentially the world, they decide to hit the road and hopefully find somewhere to stay or somebody to engage with who is free of the virus.

'Carriers' would be more aptly placed in the drama genre than the horror or thriller section of the local video store as nothing as note actually takes place in regards to the latter genres. There are maybe two or three scenes ranging from two to three minutes in length which contain some suspenseful elements, however the rest of the film is rather conventional. Even regarding the lack of blood and on screen violence, after all, the central on screen element is the deteriorating relationships between the characters.

When the teens encounter Frank (Christopher Meloni) and his infected, young daughter Jodie (Kiernan Shipka) in the middle of a desolate stretch of road just waiting for somebody to "lend them some fuel," the first of a few moralistic situations are shoved towards the audience. Would you leave them? Would you help them? The crux of 'Carriers' is based around one simple principle; don't help anybody infected, not matter how young or how vulnerable they are and YOU will stay alive. And it's how the characters engage with these various situations which they encounter along their journey, and this manages to breathe a little life into this heavily deflated film.

Chris Pine, pre Star Trek, gives a brilliant performance as the brother who has had the emotional consciousness beaten out of him throughout the pandemic to the point the where the survival of himself and his younger brother is the only objective. While Lou Pucci, who portrays Brian's younger brother Danny, also pulls out an equally inspiring performance as the younger brother who is constantly fighting with his conscience with regards to the tough decisions that Brian has to make.

If Alex and David Pastor were given the opportunity to go back and shoot around thirty-to-forty minutes worth of extra footage, then 'Carriers' would have the potential to be a very good film. Instead, however, we are left with a film so short in length that once we have just connected and engaged with the characters and their desperate situations the credits begin to roll and the lights come up leaving you feeling incredibly empty inside and asking one brief question; "Is that it?"