like do i care ? naur

like do i care ? naur

Mid

Mid

Less of a zombie movie and more of a human drama, this film focuses on the horrific choices people are forced to make in order to survive. It raises the question: are these characters truly terrible, or are they simply doing what they can to stay alive? I really appreciated that angle, and I liked that the film kept things intimate rather than going big-scale. I think we only see a fully infected person once, and another time in a dream sequence. Although I had some issues with the film, especially the ending, I still found it compelling enough and ultimately liked it.

Less of a zombie movie and more of a human drama, this film focuses on the horrific choices people are forced to make in order to survive. It raises the question: are these characters truly terrible, or are they simply doing what they can to stay alive? I really appreciated that angle, and I liked that the film kept things intimate rather than going big-scale. I think we only see a fully infected person once, and another time in a dream sequence. Although I had some issues with the film, especially the ending, I still found it compelling enough and ultimately liked it.

Pandemic-core! These characters really did not learn mask etiquette- why are their masks constantly around their necks instead of covering their faces?! Just throw it away at that point.

Pandemic-core! These characters really did not learn mask etiquette- why are their masks constantly around their necks instead of covering their faces?! Just throw it away at that point.

Hooptober 12
2/2 Post-Apocalyptic Horror 

"Sometimes choosing life is just choosing a more painful form of death."

This felt like it was doing everything it could to be a zombie film without ever actually going full zombie, which was certainly A Choice. I didn’t really mind it in the end, but I did find myself confused about what type of horror Carriers was trying to serve at a few different points throughout the runtime. 

I’m not sure how a movie about a highly lethal virus that dramatically altered the state of humanity hit back in 2009 when this was released, as I don’t even remember hearing or seeing anything about Carriers back then, and I was a teenager who spent pretty much every weekend at the local cineplex back then. Perhaps this project was just ahead of its time, because it definitely feels more compelling to watch in a post-pandemic world. The fear of contracting and spreading an invisible terror is far more relatable and real when you’ve literally lived through a global event that centered around exactly that, and in that vein, Carriers really hits. 

The story itself is your average post-apocalyptic fare, with a quartet of survivors driving across America in search of respite at a beloved childhood vacation spot. Along the way, they run across all manner of fellow survivors, ranging from desperate families trying to stave off infection, to militant predators similar to the soldiers in 28 Days Later. Loyalties and safety guidelines are tested and broken, and things get progressively harsher the closer the group’s destination becomes. 

As I mentioned, there were a lot of similarities to zombie outbreak films in here, but it ultimately felt like more of a pandemic movie, especially with all of the cleaning precautions the characters were taking to avoid infection. The inconsistent use of PPE from every single character was driving me absolutely crazy though. I get that this was made pre-COVID, so I don’t think anyone making it had any idea what real-world, real-stakes PPE usage could or should look like at that scale, but damn! Either mask up or don’t guys, but this half-ass shit is going to kill all of you in the end. Watching this definitely forced me to confront how scarred I still am in some ways from living through COVID lockdown.  

One thing that was cool about this movie was that I recognized every core actor in it from something else. Perhaps my favorite surprises were the short moments we got with Mad Men alums Keirnan Shipka and Mark Moses, though I also enjoyed seeing a younger Emily VanCamp own the screen. Her character seemed to me like the only one with enough grit to actually make it in this move’s virus-ravaged world, despite her being the youngest in the main quartet. 

The ending was ultimately extremely fucking bleak, but I respected it. Too many post-apocalyptic films try and set up living in the wasteland of a destroyed society as somehow worthwhile, with messages about how survival is resistance, living despite the horrors is beautiful, and there is some sort of better life waiting at the end of all the struggle. Personally, I’ve always been far too pessimistic for all of that, so I appreciated that Carriers had the guts to meet the cruel question of what’s even left to live for at the end of all humanity with the harrowingly realistic answer of, “Absolutely nothing.”

Hooptober 12
2/2 Post-Apocalyptic Horror 

"Sometimes choosing life is just choosing a more painful form of death."

This felt like it was doing everything it could to be a zombie film without ever actually going full zombie, which was certainly A Choice. I didn’t really mind it in the end, but I did find myself confused about what type of horror Carriers was trying to serve at a few different points throughout the runtime. 

I’m not sure how a movie about a highly lethal virus that dramatically altered the state of humanity hit back in 2009 when this was released, as I don’t even remember hearing or seeing anything about Carriers back then, and I was a teenager who spent pretty much every weekend at the local cineplex back then. Perhaps this project was just ahead of its time, because it definitely feels more compelling to watch in a post-pandemic world. The fear of contracting and spreading an invisible terror is far more relatable and real when you’ve literally lived through a global event that centered around exactly that, and in that vein, Carriers really hits. 

The story itself is your average post-apocalyptic fare, with a quartet of survivors driving across America in search of respite at a beloved childhood vacation spot. Along the way, they run across all manner of fellow survivors, ranging from desperate families trying to stave off infection, to militant predators similar to the soldiers in 28 Days Later. Loyalties and safety guidelines are tested and broken, and things get progressively harsher the closer the group’s destination becomes. 

As I mentioned, there were a lot of similarities to zombie outbreak films in here, but it ultimately felt like more of a pandemic movie, especially with all of the cleaning precautions the characters were taking to avoid infection. The inconsistent use of PPE from every single character was driving me absolutely crazy though. I get that this was made pre-COVID, so I don’t think anyone making it had any idea what real-world, real-stakes PPE usage could or should look like at that scale, but damn! Either mask up or don’t guys, but this half-ass shit is going to kill all of you in the end. Watching this definitely forced me to confront how scarred I still am in some ways from living through COVID lockdown.  

One thing that was cool about this movie was that I recognized every core actor in it from something else. Perhaps my favorite surprises were the short moments we got with Mad Men alums Keirnan Shipka and Mark Moses, though I also enjoyed seeing a younger Emily VanCamp own the screen. Her character seemed to me like the only one with enough grit to actually make it in this move’s virus-ravaged world, despite her being the youngest in the main quartet. 

The ending was ultimately extremely fucking bleak, but I respected it. Too many post-apocalyptic films try and set up living in the wasteland of a destroyed society as somehow worthwhile, with messages about how survival is resistance, living despite the horrors is beautiful, and there is some sort of better life waiting at the end of all the struggle. Personally, I’ve always been far too pessimistic for all of that, so I appreciated that Carriers had the guts to meet the cruel question of what’s even left to live for at the end of all humanity with the harrowingly realistic answer of, “Absolutely nothing.”