Carriers

Stars: Lou Taylor Pucci, Chris Pine, Emily VanCamp, Piper Perabo

Director: Alex and David Pastor

Another of those plagues has wiped out 99.8 per cent of the Earth's population. Yawn. We meet four survivors driving through Texas, and, since they're obviously all doomed, there's very little in the way of suspense, and not enough plot progression to boot.

They meet survivor Chris Meloni (from TV's Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, still searching for a decent film role), with his contaminated daughter. In his desperation, he damages their car, which they're forced to abandon, taking him at gunpoint.

One by one, the travellers become infected, but there's little poignancy in their being left behind, and not much dramatic impact either when they arrive at a place where a serum is being developed to combat the disease, only to meet more despair.

Barely entertaining, the film has par performances, good photography and a screenplay they could have been written on the back of an envelope but still manages to come up with gaffes. Wouldn't Pucci have contracted the disease when treating an infected man's leg? And isn't that a fleet of cars driving around in the background in the golf course scene?

David Quinlan

USA 2008. UK Distributor: Paramount. Colour by deluxe.
83 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 0, Swearing 1.

Review date: 07 Dec 2009