Warning, Spoilers ahead! Please don't read this if you haven't enjoyed the film yet.

Several reviewers have said this is not a horror flick, but I have to disagree strongly.

Leaving a good man and his sick daughter behind because she had to pee? Shooting a couple old ladies because they wouldn't give you their gas because they were just trying to survive too? Kicking your own infected girlfriend out on the side of the road to almost certain death? Mind, she became infected because of overwhelming compassion for a sick child. Then, if that is not enough, the younger brother character (Danny) must ultimately shoot his, admittedly repellent older brother character (Brian). And all of these terrible acts are committed by normally law- abiding people who would not dream of doing anything close unless their very lives depended on it?

I imagined myself in the situation with my own little brother. How much horror do you people want? This film delivers a boatload if you can drum up a modicum of empathy.

That said, it is certainly more of a thinking person's movie than your average slasher fan's.

I just left the screening of "Carriers". It was the opening Movie on this years Fantasy Film Fest. At least here in Munich. Well, my first reaction to this film was something like "Wow... this where long 90 Minutes". Most of the other crowd thought the same and their comments where quite similar to mine. Meaning: Good, but a bit slow.

This Movie needs a little tightening to speed it up a little bit. It does a lot of things right! The characters are worked out properly, the camera-work is top notch and the acting is very good. But sometimes there are scenes, that last too long. You know where the Directors want to go, you know how the scene will play out in the end, but it still goes on and on and on... So again: a little trimming would do the film good!

Well, and then there is this whole "Wrong Marketing"-Thing. At least here in Germany they try to sell this movie as a Horror-Movie. That's just wrong. Sure, there are the classic Horror-Elements, but overall "Carriers" is a strong, heavy Drama. There is virtually NO Action and even less gore in it. Instead there are long dialogs, dramatic events and more dialogs. That's fine with me, but it makes the movie hard to find it's audience. The GoreHounds will be disappointed by the lack of blood and guts and the Drama-Fans will be pushed away by the apocalyptic Elements...

So. Once again: "Carriers" has great potential but is a little bit to slow and to heavy on the drama to pass as a great movie.

Despite its premise, "Carriers" is not a zombie movie (there is a hint that this may be a possible outcome of the unspecified disease, but it's quickly dropped). It's not even a horror movie. There are a few tense moments, but overall, the film is a tragedy.

Four young people are traveling together after most of humanity is wiped out after an unexplained outbreak of a fatal, and highly contagious disease: Danny (Lou Taylor Pucci), a would-be Yale student, if it weren't for the epidemic, his brother Brian (Chris Pine), who's a self-proclaimed jerk, Brian's girlfriend, Bobby (Piper Perabo), and another friend, Kate (Emily VanCamp). They're all trying to get to the beach where Danny and Brian vacationed together as kids. To do that, they're following three of Brian's rules: The infected are already dead, and they can't be helped. Always wear a mask around the infected. Wipe anything down that the infected have touched within the last 24 hours.

"Carriers" is interesting because it explores something that movies of this ilk leave as an afterthought: how would you function when society has completely vanished? No government, no jobs, no politics? The only rule here is to survive at any cost. It's an interesting question, and film-making brothers Alex and David Pastor pose a few interesting conclusions.

The acting is solid, although the characters are only as interesting as the actors who play them. Chris Pine is making a name for himself as the guy who's a complete dick on the surface, but with a heart underneath. Think the beginning of his performance in "Star Trek" taken to the next level. Lou Taylor Pucci, who burst onto the indie film circuit with his performance in "Thumbsucker" (unseen by me), is also good as the brother who is straddling the line between compassion and selfish survival. Piper Pearabo is good as Bobby, whose compassion for others can get her into trouble. Unfortunately, Emily VanCamp, who was terrific in "Black Irish," doesn't have much to do. Special note has to go to Christopher Meloni, who manages to tug the heart as the father of a sick little girl, and his daughter is adorable as well.

The problem with this film is I wanted more. I wanted to see more of the little things that people would do without any rules. The film is a very short 87 minutes, so it had some time to spare. This would allow for some character development, which would make this a lot more effective.

It's a movie to watch if it's on TV, or if you're interested in exploring a situation, not a zombie movie.