It’s the end of the world as you know it, so whatcha gonna do?  Brothers Brian and Danny decide to go to the Turtle Beach.  A virus of some sort has all but wiped out the population; those not dead, or sick, are waiting to die.  And if you decide to wait out the new plague away from society (as the brothers decide to do), why not hideaway at the beach at an abandoned old hotel.  Sounds good to me.

But one must first make it to the beach.  Carriers begins with the journey well on its way.  Brian and his girlfriend, Bobby, and Danny and his friend, Kate, are cruising down the back highways in a stolen car.  It’s here, in the middle of nowhere, they meet Frank and his daughter.  Frank just wants gas for his SUV.  Brian and company pass on helping Frank, especially when they discover his daughter is sick with the virus.  They make a hasty getaway, damaging their car in the process.  The damage sends them back to Frank, with syphoned gas, to carpool to what they hope is a safe haven:  a nearby town that is the research base for the cure.

Honestly, I don’t want to give too much of this movie away.  Sadly, though, watching it, it’s easy to see where the story is going.  That is my only drawback with Carriers.  Yeah, it paints it by numbers, but it makes such a pretty picture it almost looks original.  This really is a winner, and works on all the levels at which The Happening failed.  Carriers has some tense moments, yet the most effective of them are not scares, but moments of real drama.  The acting and directing are grade A.  The characters are easy to like, and very recognizable, and co-directors/siblings David and Alex Pastor have made a competent film that smooths over the shortcomings of their own script.

This is a lean movie, a little too lean for it’s own good.  Don’t expect any balls to the wall horror here, Carriers is quiet and affecting.

4 out of 5
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