Written by: Michael Den Boer on October 22nd, 2010
Theatrical Release Date:
Director: Nathan J. White
Writer: Nathan J. White
Cast: Gregory Fortescue, Stevie Lee, Steve Dixon, Paul Silverman, Paul Urbanski, DeLaney Provencher, Matt Shear, Robin Fleck
DVD released: October 26th, 2010
Approximate running time: 99 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Full Frame
Rating: R
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono English
Subtitles: N/A
DVD Release: Code Red
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $19.98
Synopsis: A young man becomes infected with a mysterious disease that kills anyone who comes in contact with anything that he has touched.
The Carrier was written and directed by Nathan J. White (his only film as a director to date). Whether intentional or not, it appears that the film does try to inject some social commentary into the story at hand. With the AIDS epidemic that rose to prominence in the 1980′s. Serving as a possible inspiration for the mysterious disease featured in this film. The Carrier features several crew members who also worked on Evil Dead 2 like composer Joseph LoDuca, cinematographer Peter Deming and actor Bruce Campbell assisted with the sound effects.
Content wise The Carrier stands out from the majority of its contemporaries. Instead of the usual madman killer that is prominent is countless other body count horror films. The killer is an unseen entity that is only exposed when it melts those which come in contact with it.
Even though things start off slowly. Once the unknown disease is unleashed on the unsuspecting townspeople things kick into high gear. This film greatest asset is the make its builds tension through the mounting paranoia from the townspeople.
Trying to gauge the performances is kind of difficult. Since the film is populated with stereotypical characters who spew forth inane dialog, while dressed head to toe in plastic. Ultimately The Carrier is an ambitious film that never fully realizes its potential and yet it somehow holds your attention no matter how absurd things get.
The DVD:
Code Red presents The Carrier in a 4:3 full frame aspect ratio. Colors look nicely saturated, black levels fare well and details generally look crisp.
This release comes with one audio option, a Dolby Digital mono mix in English. The audio mix is in pretty good shape as everything sound clear and consistent throughout.
Extras for this release include a trailer for the film and a entertaining audio commentary with director Nathan J. White and moderator Scott Spiegel. Also Included with this release are trailers for Nightmare, The Visitor, The Redeemer: Son of Satan, The Night Child, Slithis and Family Honor. Overall The Carrier gets a strong DVD release from Code Red.