Watching movies about pandemic can be very crucial in terms of how we perceive and combat the real crisis we are facing now. There’s more to these stories than the overdramatized drama and action they present, but in each of them—probably, something that is embedded on these types of films—are values that teaches people about survival.
We have enumerated a list of movies that tackled the issue of pandemics (which you can read here) such as The Flu, Contagion, Outbreak, World War Z, and 12 Monkeys, but there are more to this genre that are just itching to be seen by many.
5. I Am Legend (2007)
Photo from Warner Bros.
For a movie that banks primarily on thrills, I Am Legend was one of those movies that manages to be heart-wrenching and exciting at the same time. See it for its lead Will Smith, but you will find a lot of value with the work the filmmakers had done imagining a post-apocalyptic world of the movie.
4. Pandemic (2016)
Photo from Content Media
Pandemic can be divisive, but embrace most of its moments and you will find yourself gripped to the film’s tense moments. For those looking for a pandemic movie that treats its crisis with subtlety and is a lot of things in one (road trip movie, drama, horror, comedy), this is a fitting watch.
3. Children of Men (2006)
Photo from Universal Pictures
It is very likely you may have encountered Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men before, but never got the chance to see it. And if you have seen it, you may never have associated the film as a pandemic movie. But it is indeed a pandemic movie in different sorts. With infertility as the disease that spreads all over the world, Children of Men finds its hook when a child was miraculously born in a dystopian world. And it could still be the Oscar-winning filmmaker’s best work yet.
2. Cargo (2017)
Photo from Netflix
Cargo is probably one of the best films produced by Netflix, and yet, it still haven’t found a large following from the streaming giant’s subscribers. By narrowing its pandemic story to a father and his child’s struggles in finding a new life instead of narrating a macro-view of the crisis, the film becomes surprisingly personal and heartfelt. A must-watch.
1. 28 Days Later (2002)
Photo from Fox Searchlight Pictures
28 Days Later was one of the most influential horror films of the 2000s, starting the revival of zombie movies when it was released. It’s a zombie movie that is focused on the outbreak itself and the humanity’s survival against the pandemic, not so much about the zombies themselves (as other movies that came after this would glamorize). This is a must-watch for those looking for a zombie movie that feels more resonant today.
BONUS: Quarantine (2008)
Photo from Screen Gems.
Quarantine is tense and entertaining. Released at a time when “found footage” films are just slowly finding its audiences, the movie’s escape mission involving a news team locked in a building filled with disease-infected people was a nail-biting watch. It never really picked up a following through the years, but viewers who will discover this will find merits beyond its thrills.
Do you have film recommendations you want to add in this list? Share your reactions on the comments section below.