Writer: Eu Sze Sean

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Watch this if you liked: “Zombieland”, “I Am Legend”, “28 Days Later”

"Carriers" follows just after the horror-comedy "Zombieland", where the premise of the story is similar: A group of four people journey through an apocalyptic world, infested with zombies, plagued with a viral pandemic of no cure (or hope for that matter), in search of the alleged safe haven free of anything trying to kill you. Also thrown in are a set of golden rules for survival, which must be followed without fault or question, otherwise you die!

Stop right now if you're thinking, "Oh no. A 'Zombieland' rip-off," because this is where the similarities end. You are not watching a horror-comedy funfest with a Bill Murray cameo. What you will find instead is a psychological drama survival thriller (ala "I Am Legend"), which plays on raw human emotions, the primitive instincts of man, the fragile human mind, the difficult decisions in life and the strong will to survive, by any means necessary of course.

The movie casts some familiar faces: Chris Pine ("Star Trek"), Christopher Meloni ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"), Piper Perabo ("Coyote Ugly"); and some not-so-familiar ones: Emily VanCamp ("Brothers & Sisters"), Lou Taylor Pucci ("The Informers"). The chemistry between the characters aren't as "tightly knit" as the foursome in "Zombieland", which may leave audiences without any sentiment towards any of them, save only perhaps the two brothers played by Chris Pine and Lou Taylor.

The progression of the story follows the gradual demise of hope for these young travelers as they slowly and eventually lose everything dear around them. The settings and scenes portray the typical grim and lonely nature of surviving an apocalyptic, desolate world without being too exaggerated and flashy. The ending leaves their fate uncertain, allowing audiences to speculate what will become of the surviving characters. The horror doesn't come from the impending doom of hordes and hordes of zombies (which there are none by the way), but rather from the dark, cold and selfish nature of humanity.

Hardcore fans of the zombie genre may find the movie short, bland and shallow, but casual moviegoers will appreciate the movie for a breath of something different amidst the actions, comedies and "squeakquels". If nothing else, you can watch it to see Chris Pine again.

Cinema Online, 06 January 2010