The Top 10 Best Outbreak Movies

March 18, 2020June 9, 2020 Patrick Sessoms biological weapon, Contagion, disease, epidemic, infection, outbreak, pandemic, virus

5. Mayhem

You ever just want to kill your boss? Well, the virus in Mayhem gives you just that opportunity! The film features the crazy ID-7 “Red Eye” virus. While not lethal (at least not directly) it infects neural pathways, removing all inhibition and moral integrity. The end result is people acting out their darkest impulses up to and including murder. A man commits murder under the influence of the virus and, because of that, he’s not deemed liable for his actions. So, if you end up with the Red Eye virus, you pretty much have a Get Out of Jail Free Card for the next 8 hours. That’s the premise for this insane workplace comedy as two people quarantined due to an outbreak fight their way through a gauntlet of pencil pushers with incredibly bloody results. It’s a movie with plenty of attitudes, and seeing the virus spread is just a friendly reminder to WASH YOUR DAMN HANDS!

4. Pontypool

This has got to be the weirdest entry on this list of outbreak movies because the virus in it is a one that is spread through words. Now, I can understand that might sounds kind of dumb from the description, but trust me this is an incredibly creepy and surreal film. It followed a radio shock jock who arrives to work in the wee hours of the morning only to find himself covering a crazy epidemic that is sweeping the nation. People are suddenly viciously attacking their friends and neighbors, and nobody knows why. The CDC is pretty much useless as they check for viruses and bacterial infections only to end up scratching their heads in confusion. Our DJ isn’t going to stop broadcasting though, and the more callers he gets, the more he’s able to start putting the pieces together. This might just be one of the best outbreak movies you’ve never seen.

3. The Andromeda Strain

That look like a killer virus to you, Frank?

Yeah, The Andromeda Strain is an oldie, but that doesn’t make it any less relevant today. In fact, a paper published by the Infectious Diseases Society of America in 2003 called it:

“[the] most significant, scientifically accurate, and prototypic of all films of this [killer virus] genre … it accurately details the appearance of a deadly agent, its impact, and the efforts at containing it, and, finally, the work-up on its identification and clarification on why certain persons are immune to it.”
Infectious Diseases in Cinema: Virus Hunters and Killer Microbes

I get that people don’t like listening to egghead doctors these days for some reason, but that was more than enough to convince me to include this classic sci-fi film among this list of truly great sci-fi movies. Hopefully, you’ll be willing to give it a watch too!

2. Contagion

Keep your eyes open for idiots like this.

When it comes to outbreak movies, Contagion is serious business. It’s been praised for its portrayal of not only how a virus might spread in order to cause a pandemic, but on how people might react to such devastating news. The film cuts across a number of stories as it shows how people in the CDC, media, and everyday life might handle this sort of disaster. It also sports a star-studded cast including Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Gwenyth Paltrow (though who knows if she actually learned anything since she’s responsible for the holistic B.S. Goop). What starts as a sick animal in the jungle quickly spreads to pigs at a farm and then to a dish at a fancy hotel. From there it spreads to America and threatens the life of every single person living there. It might not be the most fun to watch, but Contagion shows just how serious viruses can be.

1. 28 Days Later

You fall asleep for 28 days and the whole world goes to Hell without you…

Alright, I consider 28 Days Later to be the best zombie movie ever made. However, some people argue that it’s a film about a virus. So, I’ve decided to include it on this list of outbreak movies. If you want an idea of how quickly viruses can spread, look no further. The film starts with some animal liberation idiots trying to free apes from a cage and learning the hard way that these are vicious, crazed, animals that would rather rip your face off than fling poo. Turns out the animals in question also had an incredibly deadly virus in their blood and once freed they were all too happy to share. Our hero awakens in a world straight out of The Walking Dead (though it came out a year beforehand). Trapped on the island known as Great Britain, he’s forced to find other survivors and figure out a way not to fall victim to this horrible disease that causes victims to be filled with enough rage to attack any living thing they come across.

Honorable Mention: The Crazies

Man, if only the government had actual response times like this.

I will argue any day of the week that The Crazies is one of the greatest horror remakes of all time. It features a military made biological weapon meant to destabilize regions that finds its way into a small town’s water supply. It does its job in the most frightening way imaginable.

Those are my picks for the best outbreak movies out there. If you have any others that you think I should check out, leave a comment below. As always, I’ll be updating this list as new and improved outbreak movies hit the silver screen. So, be sure to check back from time to time in order to see how the rankings might change. Until then, WASH YOUR HANDS!

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