Carriers vs. The Happening

Look, I'm usually not all about end-of-the-world-everyone-dies movies. But, since Justin and I rented Carriers last night and it was similar in some ways to The Happening, I thought that I would write some comparisons as well as contrasts. (If you don't like the end ruined, don't read on.)

To start with, Carriers jumps into the middle of the action: there's a deadly virus that is highly contagious and kills a person within days of receiving it. There's no antidote. The main idea is to stay away from anyone that has it. Our four main characters, who are not infected (yet), are trying to get to a safe haven at Turtle Beach, where the two brothers used to go for family vacations. At this point, I'm thinking that the movie has redeeming qualities of family and sticking up for each other in terrible, horrifying times. However, to cut to the point, only two end up surviving- the younger brother and a girl who he met in college. It's a survival of the fittest with no human love or care shown along the way, at least not when it counts.

In The Happening, a movie by M. Night Shyamalan, the characters are also faced with a horrible, apocalyptic fate. People start dying for no reason (in fact, they are committing suicide). In this movie, however, the main characters band together and learn to trust and love instead of going against each other. Furthermore, we learn that the cause of the whole situation was that the plants were upset and releasing toxins in the air. As a result, the antidote is to live in peace with nature (at least that was the environmentalist theme I took away from it). Thankfully, part of the family survives the event to love and trust each other.

Now, technically The Happening is rated R for scary images, etc, and Carriers is rated PG13 for about the same things. While the Happening may be more graphic, at least it has some redeeming qualities about life. On the other hand, Carriers seem to portray humans at their worst state- in a fight to survive where they will turn against even their own family. And what did the main character get from it in the end? Loneliness. Nothing more, according to the closing narration.

As a Christian, I am careful to analyze movies from a Biblical worldview. Don't both of these movies show the depraved nature of man? Of course man will be selfish when he sees death all around and does not believe in the Savior Jesus Christ. Sinful man will only defend his own life, as shown in Carriers, because there is nothing else to hope in. While The Happening does end on a more positive note, it almost seems to be pantheistic in its turn to nature and harmony. I am so comforted in my faith to know that God holds the end of all things, and as a Christian, no matter how horrible the physical death on this earth, I will live in eternity with the Lord.

More reviews at Christian Answers. I'm bummed that Plugged In, a Focus on the Family movie review site doesn't have this one yet, but does have many others if you want to look up the ratings.