7 Diseased Films

The world is weird right now. If you haven’t been intentionally avoiding the news, then a lot of your thoughts lately are probably filled with the COVID-19 Coronavirus. I, personally, am having a hard time processing what’s happening, because not only has nothing like this happened to me (a 24 year old), but no one in my life has experienced anything like this, who feels like they have a grasp on what’s happening. So I’m going to do what I always do, and watch movies. So below are movies about the world dealing with a large pandemic, in a way that probably feels like what we are experiencing now.

If you feel like this is in poor taste, I apologize, and completely understand why you would feel that way. I personally NEED to watch movies that are an exaggeration on what’s happening right now, as a way to process the whole thing.

Contagion

This movie is the most realistic of the list, so it gets to go first. The film is about a team from the CDC as they try to fight a China-based flu that is from pigs and bats. The film has been celebrated for it’s accuracy, and features an amazing cast, including Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, and Bryan Cranston.

12 Monkeys

In this 1995 movie, Bruce Willis is from the year 2035, and is being sent back to 1996 to attempt to stop the origin of a virus that essentially destroys the world. This Sci-Fi race to save the world really only uses the virus as a backdrop for a reason to go back in time (robots was already taken), but it’s overall a good movie that can fill an afternoon.

World War Z / Train to Busan

These movies work the best as a double feature. In World War Z, Brad Pitt leads a team that has to discover the origins of a virus that brings the world into a zombie apocalypse. Truly, one of the best zombie movies of all time, the CDC play a major part in the films third act, and reminds everyone why scientists are important. Then, in Train to Busan, you can see the first day of the outbreak, which is in South Korea, same as the source in WWZ. If you can pass the one-inch barrier of subtitles, you’ll appreciate the same version of zombies, in a fantastic thriller.

I Am Legend

Will Smith, the last survivor in New York City, is a doctor who has stayed behind to try to find the cure for the disease that has turned everyone into zombies vampires. The premise is that the disease comes from the cure for cancer, that had a dangerous side effect. If you’ve been stocking up on toilet paper, then perhaps you can see what is really important, and how to prepare, for the end of the world in this great movie.

The Day After Tomorrow

While technically not a disease movie, this is one of the better end-of-the-world films out there. Due to climate change going completely unchecked, the whole world freezes, and survivors have to make their way in the frozen wasteland. What’s interesting, is that in areas like China and Northern Italy, there is a drastic change in the amount of air pollution, due to everyone not working/driving/etc. Hopefully as people realize they can work from home, and that we don’t need to burn as many fossil fuels as we currently do, the COVID might actually be what puts us on the path to not have a Day After Tomorrow of our own.

Shaun of the Dead

Lastly, a bit of levity. I’m a bit of a zombie purist, and so I avoided watching Shaun of the Dead for quite a while, especially after I watched the terribleness of Warm Bodies. I must say though, this movie is great at having a realistic zombie apocalypse, and a great level of humor. This movie just barely beats out Zombieland, as they occupy the same space, but I really appreciate Edgar Wright’s sense of humor just a bit more.

What movies are you watching right now? Let us know in the comments below!