It’s a measure of how insane the world has become in the last year and a half that movies about pandemics and contagions are suddenly deemed “realistic” cinema. Some people survive by watching reality TV shows about arranged marriages, while others watch movies about deadly pandemics sweeping the globe.
And if you’re in the latter category, then hello. Here is a compiled list of films about pandemics and zombies that you can watch from the safety of your own home. Everything is available at 123 movie.
Outbreak (1995)
This medical disaster film stars Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman and is based on Richard Preston’s non-fiction book The Hot Zone. It takes place in the imaginary hamlet of Cedar Creek, where an Ebola-like illness has spread thanks to the introduction of a smuggled African monkey. As the unknown disease spreads like wildfire, military and health organizations risk their lives in order to find a cure and stop it. At the time of the film’s release, a real-life Ebola outbreak was reportedly occurring in Zaire. Donald Sutherland, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kevin Spacey, and Patrick Dempsey also star in the film.
Cargo (2017)
The post-apocalyptic horror film from Australia is one of the few zombie films that manages to find a grounded, human thread that gives it emotional weight. It follows Andy (Martin Freeman), who has been afflicted with a virus and has only 48 hours before succumbing to the disease, in rural Australia following a terrible pandemic. He now has to find a new home for his daughter while also protecting her from harm.
28 Days Later (2002)
The plot centers on an epidemic of an unknown, highly contagious, rage-inducing virus that has caused society to collapse. After waking up from a coma 28 days after the outbreak, Jim (Cillian Murphy) discovers himself lost in a barren city. He is rescued by two survivors after a near-fatal attack by some of the infected people, and they must now figure out how to survive in this new world. Aside from being a critical success, it was also a box office success, becoming one of the year’s top-grossing films.
93 Days (2016)
Another terrifyingly realistic depiction of what happens during a pandemic, this Nigerian thriller chronicles the story of the 2014 Ebola outbreak and its eventual containment by healthcare professionals at a Lagos hospital before it spread over the city. The film focuses on medical professionals’ brave efforts to stop the virus from spreading, as well as the challenges they faced during this difficult time.
Virus, plague, and disease films used to be classified as “horror” or “fantasy,” but they’re becoming a lot more realistic these days. While there hasn’t been a zombie apocalypse or an alien-borne pathogen, COVID-19 has changed the way we think about pandemic movies.