Unceremoniously dumped into theatres several years after its completion (most likely on the off chance that headliner Chris Pine's role in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot would make the actor a star), the Pastor brothers' plague film Carriers is engaging despite its downbeat message and lack of zombie action.

And that lack of zombie action is probably why the film was not released wider or with any significant fanfare. In a world oversaturated with zombies (I count 42 zombie-related films, both major and minor, released this year alone), Carriers is a relatively quiet throwback to the pre-zombie Armageddon days when global plagues were even scarier. In some ways, it's still true.

While there are no shuffling undead, Carriers does have a decent share of infected, red-eyed sourpusses. This virus, unlike the "rage bug" from 28 Days Later, just kills people straight up; no madness, no puking, just a nasty rash and then see ya. And it's fast. The world is pretty much depopulated in a matter of years and the lone survivors wander this post-human landscape with a few guns and gallons of bleach. An ad for instant hand sanitizer if there ever was one.

Brian (Chris Pine), a rowdy, bawdy brawler, and his brother Danny (Lou Tayler Pucci), the sensitive Ivy Leaguer, are traveling across the southwestern United States with Brain's gal, Bobby (Piper Perabo), and Danny's friend (he makes clear she is definitely not his girlfriend several times), Kate (Emily VanCamp), to California and a remote seaside resort the brothers spent time at as kids. Brian and Danny were closer when they were younger, now they battle each other constantly with Brian usually doing the emotional throttling. While Brian assumes he's immune (after spending time waist-deep in corpses (not shown), the others aren't so confident and wear rubber gloves, facemasks (humorously illustrated with fangs, lips, etc.), and douse everything they touch with disinfectant.

All is going well until the foursome runs across a dad, Frank (Christopher Meloni), and his very ill daughter. Frank is searching for a government outpost where scientists claim to have developed a vaccine and Brian very, very reluctant agrees to drive the infected pair to the outpost. Things, predictably, don't go well, and when they come across a group of survivalists (bargain basement Crazies clones), the situation gets downright gnarly.

The film is slow. It's brooding, and it's bleak. While the Pastor brothers (Alex and David, French writer/directors) weave in a Cain and Abel-styled sibling rivalry sub-plot, the bulk of the film revolves around the need for survival. They need gas. They need meds. They need food. It is, in many ways, thematically similar to Cormac McCarthy's bestseller The Road. On the technical side, the film is beautifully shot by DP Benoit Debie (of Irreversible and Calvaire fame) and the directors make excellent use of their New Mexican shooting locales. The performances are serviceable and though Pine makes a respectable bully, he doesn't display any of the charm that made him so memorable in Star Trek.

Carriers certainly isn't an original film. It's not a particularly surprising one either, but it's got some decent, brief scares, a compelling setup, and, unlike most rampaging brain-eater movies, it leaves you feeling something other than the jagged rush of adrenaline.