I feel like in light of everything going on with the Pandemic over time, it’s not unexpected
to wish there was a safe haven where it couldn’t reach. Now imagine that being part of the
end of the world, and you have to search for that safe haven with strangers. Would you
start to question your companions? I know I would, and that’s exactly what 2009’s
Carriers is about.
Spoiler alert! This is just my opinion of the movie, and so, by all means, go watch
the film for yourself, and let me know what you think about it. Links to the video are
in the description.
I can already tell this movie is going to start off with some sort of tragedy. The tone
is too sad.
We open up to three friends driving down a desert highway. Brian is our driver, his brother
Danny is in the backseat, Bobby is Brian’s girlfriend in the front, and Kate is their
friend.
Ah! Nice to know that Chris Pine carries over his charming personality from Star Trek.
Fun Fact, while this film was filmed in 2006, Paramount decided to wait to release this
film until after Chris Pine found success in Star Trek which was released in 2009.
The delivery of that burn was effortless, and I love it!
Yeah. Nope! Don’t even slow down! You don’t pick up hitchhikers that block the road like
that.
I feel like everyone was kind of like this over the past two years.
After the group goes around the crazed dad and his car, the group continue on their way.
Apparently they aren’t going to make it too far though.
As Danny’s voice narrates the rules they live by, it’s clear that the world has been
ravaged by a deadly disease that’s highly contagious. Once you get it, it’s the end
for you.
That maybe isn’t a comforting maybe, but considering the other option is death, I guess
I’ll take it.
Is a jumpscare really necessary in this kind of movie? Definitely was not ready for that.
After the group deliberates, they realize that they don’t have a way to fix the car,
and they are almost out of options. The only option left is to go back to the dad and his
car, and try and convince him to help them.
You know this guy is just laughing internally watching them walk back with the gas he needed
in the first place.
On a side note, the masks they wear here are actually just dust masks which are used primarily
for construction. They actually don’t prevent airborne viral or bacterial agents from getting
into someone’s system. So these masks would actually be useless in this situation.
He means well, but I doubt anyone is going to be shaking his hand.
After Brian tries to take the vehicle at gunpoint, Frank explains that a vaccine has been made
for the virus, and he plans to take his daughter, Jodie, there no matter what. After a little
deliberation, the gang comes up with a plan.
Good old trusty duct tape. I don’t think there’s any other universal tool found in
movies to save the day.
After the gang gets the new car sanitized and ready for their journey, they continue
driving for a potential vaccine or a safe haven at least. After some back and forth
between everyone, they come to another car on the side of the road.
That scare was even more of a scare because of the fact that we don’t know the rules
for this virus being spread. Is it airborne? Is it bodily fluids? Is it zombie rules?
Later that night, the gang sets up camp for the night.
Well this can’t be any good. If they’ve got enough ammo to spare just shooting the
air, I’d imagine they mean trouble.
The gang quickly puts out the fire and gathers in silence to see what the fuss is about.
Luckily for them, that’s all he wanted. They weren’t spotted and one man leaves
with the body.
The next morning, the gang drives through what looks to be a fresh ghost town. The group
makes their way to the school that was doubled as an emergency hospital, but no signs of
life could be found.
These are not the people you’re looking for! Turn! Run! Get out of there!
Alright. I’m big enough to admit I was wrong about the creepy kid. Maybe.
Nope. I was right. It turns out that the serum they had only worked partially. Patients still
died, and those that didn’t yet were simply suffering. The doctor went to kill the kids
that were left, but Frank couldn’t stand to just watch it happen.
Well that’s a terrible yet true thing to tell a man whose daughter is sick in the car
outside.
Speaking of, Jodie has collapsed in the back of the car, and she desperately needs her
oxygen. Normally, her father would do it, but since he isn’t there, Bobby decides
she is going to help.
Just go on ahead and get in the back with her. You might as well give her oxygen at
this point.
But Bobby covers up the seal and wipes away the blood on her as she pretends like everything
is just fine. Once Frank and Jodie get out of the car to go to the bathroom, Brian throws
their stuff out and leaves them behind.
Well that seems like a terrible way to distract her from being left to their doom.
As Brian tries to apologize to Bobby, Bobby continues to keep her distance since she doesn’t
want to infect anyone else.
Well it almost didn’t matter if she got him sick or not. That was a great catch though.
Later, as the four friends are screwing around on the golf course, Brian and his shenanigans
get him down in the sand trap where he tries to get Bobby to join him.
Well that makes two infected now! Maybe? I still don’t know the rules for transmission
here.
Meanwhile, a mysterious transmission comes through on an unknown radio somewhere in the
golf resort. I’m not sure if the company is worse or
being stuck with a possible infected or two.
Why would you call out to the strange light source? At least they were smart enough to
run as soon as they did.
But it almost doesn’t matter because no matter which way they turn, more of the people
show up. As the newcomers continue to look for them, they hide in the kitchen, but they
are quickly found.
Also, every one of the newcomers carries a shotgun, and as they approach Danny and Kate,
they are constantly cocking the guns. No shells ever fall to the floor as a result, so one
can safely assume that they are carrying empty guns the whole time.
By the end of the encounter, the masked men are almost ready to let them go, until one
of them gets greedy with the women.
I love how that second guy is just like, I didn’t even think about that! Yeah! Oh yeah!
As they inspect the girls to make sure they aren’t infected, well something comes to
the light.
I’ll give it to her. She managed to keep it a secret way longer than I ever could’ve.
Naturally, none of the guys want them to stay, and they send them on their way. It’s a
quiet ride for quite some time now, and Kate is shunning Bobby as she is paranoid of catching
the disease. Can’t really blame her. Thinking you’re safe with these set people this whole
time, only to find out that you could’ve been in direct contact with her since she
got infected.
These are supposed to be close friends mind you! When it comes to dealing with a stranger
little girl, they can’t pull the trigger, but when it comes to your closest friend,
they’re ready to cut all ties just like that.
Damn! He didn’t even need to have someone talk to him! And he’s that calm about it
too?!
At first, Bobby tries to rationalize that they should let her stay, but when she doesn’t
listen, Brian takes it upon himself to remove her and some supplies from
the car.
I’m with him on this. You can’t even make up a good lie as to why you wouldn’t know.
It’s just almost insulting that she would even try. Even as a last minute attempt.
As Brian says his last words to Bobby, he makes it known that he pieced together that
it was because of Jodie. Bobby tries to defend her actions, but Brian isn’t having it.
As the remaining gang drive away, Brian tries to act like nothing happened and continues
with his old self.
Obviously he isn’t fooling anyone.
As gas begins to run out, they run into a car coming their way on the highway. In a
last-ditch effort to get gas, Brian blocks the road with the car, and Danny tries to
reason with them for a little gas. When negotiations fail, Brian takes it upon himself to get the
gas.
Well that’s one way to get it done. Obviously, Brian has lost his nerve, but who can blame
him at this point in the journey? He’s just lost his longtime girlfriend and one companion
in a world that doesn’t just drop options in your lap.
This whole story escalated from 0 to 100 real quick! Granted, considering the situation,
things couldn’t keep going smoothly, but wow!
After Danny tries to tell Brian that he doesn’t think he should be talking to him the way
he does, Brian puts him in his place by explaining how lucky he is to not have to deal with any
of the death and hard choices firsthand. Danny has been able to watch Brian handle all of
the hard decisions, and now Brian has made sure he realizes exactly how much he’s been
sheltered.
I’d say that Brian’s talk got through to Danny, but I’d imagine that he’s going
to lose his nerve pretty soon next.
Brian is not doing well with his new wound, so Danny decides to have them stop at an abandoned
house to look for medical supplies.
Ok. It’s apparent that Danny hasn’t had to be first into a place to scavenge for supplies.
Who barrel rolls into a window without peeking in first? Needless to say, that would be a
terrifying thing to roll into.
As Danny explores the house, he comes across medicine which is next to a dog who is feasting
on a human corpse. As he reaches for the medicine, he disturbs the dog who in turn rushes at
Danny.
It’s safe to say Danny is no longer just the innocent, sheltered brother anymore. This
may only be one encounter, but it’s enough to set into Danny’s mind that he really
has been sheltered from making the tough decisions this whole time.
When he makes it back to Brian, he asks him to take off his pants so he can administer
first aid to the gunshot wound.
Brian really does keep drawing the short end of the stick.
It’s just crap luck. At least they don’t leave him at the abandoned farmhouse like
he did Bobby. They put him in the back and seal up the trunk, like they did with Frank
and Jodie.
As they sit around the campfire that night, Brian begins to fade out more and more until
he passes out. Danny takes this opportunity to sneak over to Brian, but before he can
take the gun from Brian, Brian explains that he did something terrible before.
He explains that the job he had at the beginning of the pandemic digging mass graves actually
had them burying people who were still alive. When he finally talks about that, he wonders
how he lost so much humanity to end up where they were.
The last person I’d hand a gun to is Kate. She’s been so ready to be trigger-happy
this whole time!
Oh damn! Is Danny going to have to finally shed the protector he’s had this whole time?!
This is like the worst possible outcome to this timeline.
Are you serious? You've been so ready to get rid of people, and now that you finally have
a good reason to, you’re going to pass it off to the weakest member of the team?!
In a last attempt to play off of Danny’s emotions, Brian tries to remind him of the
good times they had before the virus. When that doesn’t work, Danny tries to remind
him of the rules they put in place for such circumstances as this.
Ooohhhhh!!! Don’t you love how Danny just becomes this stone-cold emotionally absent
baddie now that he actually has to? Kind of makes you wonder if you’d buckle down and
do the same under the circumstances.
It’s a bittersweet ending for Brian, but honestly, it’s one of the better ways it
could’ve gone.
After they burn Brian’s body and pay respects, Kate and Danny continue on their journey.
Eventually, the two of them finally make it to the beach, but this is no happy ending
for Danny.
This is the first movie I’ve seen in a while that just left you with a bittersweet ending
with no hope of a better future. It’s honestly kind of refreshing.
While pandemic movies are a dime a dozen, especially now, Carriers does a good job of
hitting multiple issues in a short amount of time. And with an ending like that, you
can’t really say it’s a common story through and through. Definitely a winner.
But that’s just my opinion of the film. By all means, try it out for yourself and
comment what you thought about the film in the comments below.
Don’t forget to like the video and subscribe for more videos like this one. Leave a comment
about what I should watch next, and I’ll see you in the next video.