In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, now given the name COVID-2019, Netflix released an extremely timely documentary called Pandemic: How to Prevent and Outbreak. This documentary gives the backstory about flu outbreaks throughout history and talks about the risk of another flu pandemic. While the coronavirus isn’t a flu virus as it’s part of the coronavirus family, there are many parallels.
Given the very real virus that is impacting people today, many are looking for other documentaries and movies to watch that relate to viral outbreaks and pandemics. There are many documentaries as well as fictional movies that explore these topics. This list gives examples of fictional movies, especially horror films, that go into the topic in a way that allows people to process their fears as well as documentaries that give real information about diseases and their spread.
It Follows
The horror genre is full of films that center about the spread of some sort of disease. While zombie movies might come to mind, some horror films take a much different approach. It Follows is a horror movie that takes real-life fears of the spread of STDs and turns it into an actual monster. This film involves a deadly curse that is spread by sexual contact, and it’s a thrilling movie that also makes us question our own moral conceptions.
The Final Inch
Exploring fears of viruses and diseases in horror can be cathartic, but it’s also good to balance fantasy with reality. Learning about past infectious diseases that have impacted the world is a good way to understand what is happening now. The Final Inch is a documentary about public health workers in Pakistan and India who were dedicated to getting rid of Polio for good in those countries. It’s a well-made documentary that explores the impact of vaccines and how even with good vaccines not everyone has access to the same healthcare.
World War Z
There’s no denying that the most popular genre of outbreak films is the zombie movie. These films explore many themes and are connected to lots of real-world fears such as outbreaks, apocalypses, societal collapse, and more.
World War Z stars Brad Pitt, and while it’s a zombie movie, it treats the outbreak more like a real virus. The film revolves around the main character looking for patient zero and trying to find a cure. While it’s very outside the realm of reality, some of the public health elements are grounded in truth.
Hero With A Thousand Faces
This is another documentary that shares some similarities with The Final Inch as it’s about public health issues and public health workers. Hero With A Thousand Faces instead focuses on Ebola and how those charged with helping patients and curing diseases are on the front lines. This documentary also includes interviews with many powerful people including Barack Obama and Bono. It’s an interesting look into the lives of Public Health workers on the front lines of outbreaks.
I Am Legend
I Am Legend is another movie in the zombie genre, but it also does touch a lot on the idea of pandemics and spread of disease. This movie is given an origin story of the outbreak happening, and we see the panic. Neville, the main character, spends his time as the last man alive in Manhattan trying to discover a cure and testing his findings on rats. The movie ends with him discovering a cure for the zombie/vampire-like creatures that returns them to their original human states.
Influenza 1918
There have been many viral outbreaks throughout history, but one of the most impactful in United States history was the 1918 flu outbreak which is commonly known as Spanish influenza. This PBS documentary goes into the history of this flu virus and how it began. It was one of the most deadly flu viruses ever and killed over 600,000 Americans before it strangely and suddenly disappeared. This documentary can be found easily online, and it’s a well-done historical documentary that will make you think a lot about current public health concerns.
Outbreak
While many fictional films about outbreaks seem quite removed from reality, Outbreak is scary because it’s more realistic. While the idea of a zombie pandemic destroying the world is interesting because it’s scary but unrealistic, Outbreak is about a disease that is similar to the Ebola virus. This film has a lot of realistic elements, but it does dramatize things a bit as most Ebola outbreaks don’t infect all that many people. However, if you’re looking for realistic scars, it’s a good choice.
28 Days Later
28 Days Later is one of the most talked-about and loved zombie movies ever. It definitely redefined the genre in pop culture as it changed the way we think about zombies.
Instead of seeing them as the slow-moving, living dead of the past, this movie helped popularize the idea of zombies as humans who have been infected by a pathogen. Plus, this movie is really scary and still seems shocking even today when there are so many zombie films.
And The Band Played On
One of the more recent epidemics that impacted the world as well as the United States special was the AIDS crisis. As the Band Played On focuses on real-life epidemiologist Don Francis as he learned about gay men dying and tried to identify the origins of the disease. It’s considered to be an extremely important public health film. This movie is considered a docudrama that’s based on a nonfiction book, so it’s somewhere in the middle between a documentary and a fictional film.
Contagion
If you’re interested in pandemic movies, Contagion is the best of them all if you want something more realistic. This movie is packed with stars including Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law. It follows the outbreak of a new illness that spreads rapidly and impacts the entire world. Contagion is eerie to watch because it feels so realistic. It follows a fictional patient zero as well as fictional public health officials from the World Health Organization. While it does dramatize things, this fictional virus isn’t far removed from reality.
