The idea of bringing the world to an end through disease is not a new one.  Stephen King did it most famously in The Stand, but 28 Days Later and a host of zombie-related titles have used the idea of virus as apocalypse, so it would seem that another film along these lines is... well, unnecessary.  Brothers Alex and David Pastor have something else in mind with the release of Carriers.  The disease is not a transport device for zombification, nor does the virus drive its host insane with rage.  It's just a bug - a lethal one.  And I'll be damned if that isn't one of the most horrifying ideas put to film recently.

Carriers begins after much of the world has collapsed, with four survivors out on the open road.  Brothers  Brian and Danny, played by Chris Pine and Lou Taylor Pucci, are en route to a childhood escape, a slice of beach that served as a vacation spot before the first horseman rode across the globe.  In tow are Bobby (Piper Perabo), Brian's main squeeze, and would-be girlfriend for Danny, Kate (Emily VanCamp).  There is a playfulness in their introduction, but a forced one.  These are people under stress, forced to take the back roads of America to avoid the plague that has taken most of the population.  There are rules to survival, crafted by Brian, clearly the leader of his band of survivors.  These are not carefully delineated, written rules, but are understood.  They are a means to avoid contact with the infected, to stay alive no matter what.

When the foursome come across a father and daughter stranded on the lonely desert highway,out of gas,  it's decision time.  The decision is made for them, however,  when the young girl, peeking from the window of her father's car, shows signs of disease in the form of a bloodied mask over her mouth.  Taking evasive action, the group finds that they have damaged their car in an attempt to avoid infection and are forced to return to the father, Frank (Christopher Meloni), and his sick daughter, Jodie (Kiernan Shipka), gas in one hand, a gun in the other.  Frank and Jodie are relegated to the back of the SUV, sealed away behind duct tape and plastic.  Their mission is clear - get Frank and Jodie to an emergency center where a vaccine is rumored to have been successfully used, then get the hell out of Dodge and head for the beach.

When the foursome come across a father and daughter stranded on the lonely desert highway,out of gas,  it's decision time.  The decision is made for them, however,  when the young girl, peeking from the window of her father's car, shows signs of disease in the form of a bloodied mask over her mouth.  Taking evasive action, the group finds that they have damaged their car in an attempt to avoid infection and are forced to return to the father, Frank (Christopher Meloni), and his sick daughter, Jodie (Kiernan Shipka), gas in one hand, a gun in the other.  Frank and Jodie are relegated to the back of the SUV, sealed away behind duct tape and plastic.  Their mission is clear - get Frank and Jodie to an emergency center where a vaccine is rumored to have been successfully used, then get the hell out of Dodge and head for the beach.

At the emergency center, we quickly understand that the vaccine has been ineffective, and the last remaining doctor has found a new way to cure his patients, a group of children, all infected with the virus.  Anyone familiar with Jonestown knows the cure the good doctor has in mind.  It's one of the first moral dilemmas of the film - what is cruelty and what is kindness?  Is a quick death preferably to the slow decay of disease?  At what point is humanity lost in the attempt to survive?  These are tough questions, and Carriers is more concerned with posing them than in answering them, to its credit.

Along with the survivors and their run-ins with others, the character present in every scene is the plague.  It's death, pure and simple, an illness characterized by bloody coughs and a rash.  It does not discriminate, it has no good or evil within it.  It is simply present, forcing our characters to act in ways that are terrifying, made more so by the absolute logic of those actions.  The true fear of Carriers lies not in contracting the illness, but of being discovered, being outcast.  It's truly chilling stuff.

first moral dilemmas of the film - what is cruelty and what is kindness?  Is a quick death preferably to the slow decay of disease?  At what point is humanity lost in the attempt to survive?  These are tough questions, and Carriers is more concerned with posing them than in answering them, to its credit.

Along with the survivors and their run-ins with others, the character present in every scene is the plague.  It's death, pure and simple, an illness characterized by bloody coughs and a rash.  It does not discriminate, it has no good or evil within it.  It is simply present, forcing our characters to act in ways that are terrifying, made more so by the absolute logic of those actions.  The true fear of Carriers lies not in contracting the illness, but of being discovered, being outcast.  It's truly chilling stuff.

Chris Pine, late of Captain Kirk fame, brings a simple intensity to the role of Brian, the burly alpha male of the group whose rules are absolutes in a world where there are no rules left.  Pucci is suitably quiet as Danny, but Perabo may be the standout in this very good cast.  A moment between her character and the sick girl in the SUV, awaiting the return of the rest from exploring the emergency center, is heartbreaking and pivotal, as Bobby finds a moment of happiness that is quickly turned tragic.  In fact, the Pastors seem to revel in the bleak tone of the film, never letting up, never allowing release.  It's for this reason that Carriers is such a stand-out.  The horror of this movie lies within the characters and their actions, not the disease surrounding them.  By the time the survivors of the plague reach their final destination, it's hard to argue that there is any humanity left at all.

male of the group whose rules are absolutes in a world where there are no rules left.  Pucci is suitably quiet as Danny, but Perabo may be the standout in this very good cast.  A moment between her character and the sick girl in the SUV, awaiting the return of the rest from exploring the emergency center, is heartbreaking and pivotal, as Bobby finds a moment of happiness that is quickly turned tragic.  In fact, the Pastors seem to revel in the bleak tone of the film, never letting up, never allowing release.  It's for this reason that Carriers is such a stand-out.  The horror of this movie lies within the characters and their actions, not the disease surrounding them.  By the time the survivors of the plague reach their final destination, it's hard to argue that there is any humanity left at all.

In a year populated by so many remakes and re-imaginings, something as simple as the end of the world sounds stale, but Alex and David Pastor have crafted an elegant, lean script and executed it with ruthless intensity.  It's an emotionally savage, desperately bleak movie that resonates as a parable about fear and its cost in the age of terrorism and plague.  If you don't mind being left in a dark place by talented filmmakers, Carriers is a dark gem.  Oh, and it's PG-13.  For all those who say no good horror can be found in that category, see this and Drag Me to Hell and shut your traps.