The premise of Carriers may not be the most original - a deadly virus has wiped out much of humanity and a band of survivors tries to fight its way to safety - but sibling writer/directors Alex and David Pastor use their tiny budget wisely. They concentrate not on cheap effects or extreme gore but on a mounting sense of doom and foreboding. Chris Pine (Kirk in Star Trek) and Lou Taylor Pucci are believable as brothers who, along with female companions Piper Perabo and Emily VanCamp, are desperate to find refuge. The brothers hijack an SUV, together with its (possibly infected) father and daughter inhabitants, in order to speed their escape. The big question posed by the Pastors is how long can our heroes resist the temptation to shed their humanity and do anything to survive? The answer is fairly obvious, but it's the movie's convincingly bleak atmosphere and the absence of gimcrack shocks that really impress.

A deadly virus has spread across the globe. Contagion is everywhere, no one is safe, and no one can be trusted. Four friends race through the back roads of the American West on their way to a secluded utopian beach in the Gulf of Mexico where they could peacefully wait out the pandemic. Their plans take a grim turn when their car breaks down on an isolated road starting a chain of events that will seal their fates.