35 Best Movies About A Pandemic That You Should Watching Update 03/2024

Movies About A Pandemic

The coronavirus has officially imposed quarantine on a large swath of the world’s population. Isolated people are turning to streaming services for some kind of social connection in a world that is more disconnected from one another. A more dystopian alternative to the escapism offered by escapist fantasies and absurdist reality TV is becoming increasingly popular among moviegoers: the pandemic-thriller. As Kathryn VanArendonk of Vulture puts it, “this present pandemic problem makes me afraid, and a tale about exactly that same thing is one way to engage with that anxiety. ” The following is a list compiled by Vulture, divided into categories for your convenience, featuring movies about contagion that you may watch to assuage your fears or inflame them even further.

Classic Contagion

1. Outbreak

Outbreak

An Ebola-like outbreak occurs in a fictional California town, and the entire community is evacuated. Outbreak was the movie that turned a microgeneration into hypochondriacs. Many folks in their 30s and 35s were scared to death at the movie theater after seeing a scenario where people were pouring out of their orifices and the CDC was pitted against military medical researchers tasked with containment and treating the infected. (This film is available to stream via Netflix.)

2. Contagion

Currently, the sickness disaster film is the talk of the town! In Steven Soderbergh’s film Contagion, Gwyneth Paltrow’s early death serves as a stark reminder of the seriousness of the imaginary sickness that is spreading over the globe. When Gwyneth was killed, (you can’t just do that!) The film begins with a sense of dread before morphing into a spine-tingling examination of what ordinary people would do in the event of a pandemic that seems frighteningly real. If you want to watch it, go to Hulu.The Flu

An extremely lethal type of H5N1 influenza begins spreading through Bundang, South Korea, killing those who get it within 36 hours. There’s a sudden and dire threat to the lives of nearly 1 million people. In the iTunes store or on Amazon Prime, you can find it.

3. The Cassandra Crossing

The ensemble includes Sophia Loren, Martin Sheen, Ava Gardner, and Burt Lancaster, and the film is about a rail attack across Europe by Swedish terrorists. infected, as well, with a lethal pathogen Nobody on board can get off the train as it speeds toward an unsafe bridge. (This video can be seen on Tubi, YouTube, or Google Play)

4. Infection

Infection

When a doctor’s error causes serious harm to a patient, the medical staff who helped cover it up begin to suffer from a mysterious illness. The deaths in this Japanese film are a little more bizarre, with the afflicted turning into a green slime, but it’s crucial to consider epidemics from a worldwide perspective. It’s possible to watch on Tubi and Vudu.

5. Virus (2019)

It is based on the true story of the 2018 Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala and the community’s mobilization attempt to stop its spread, which was the inspiration for this Indian movie. (Amazon Prime members can watch it.)

6. The Bay

Those who enjoy found footage will enjoy this tale of a small hamlet that becomes a breeding ground for an organism that takes control of its hosts’ thoughts and bodies. It’s not the greatest film ever made, but the “recovered” video is so convincing that you’ll believe you just witnessed a town engulfed in flames. If you want to watch it, go to Hulu.

7. Deranged

Deranged

It’s up to one man to try to find a treatment for the parasite in this South Korean film, which causes those infected to commit suicide by drowning. Meanwhile, as the disease spreads across the country, the government places those who are sick in quarantine. Download it from iTunes or YouTube.

8. Carriers

starring Chris Pine, Piper Perabo, and Emily VanCamp, a group of friends fleeing a pandemic find that the sins of man are equally as dangerous as a virus while on their journey (This film is available to stream via Netflix.)

9. The Last Days

Another fresh perspective on contagion: People have become so agoraphobic from a disease known as “The Panic” that they will die if forced to walk outside. Marc, our protagonist, is stuck in an office building, yet he sets out to find his girlfriend and must do so without ever stepping foot outside of it. If you want to watch it, go to Hulu.

10. Pontypool

Pontypool

Pontypool’s greatest asset is its narrow scope. Even as a rapidly spreading epidemic brings humanity to its knees, we are only able to witness the crisis via the eyes of an Ontario radio disc jockey who receives infrequent reports of the chaos outside. On iTunes and Shudder, this is available.)

11. Panic in the Streets

Dr. Richard Widmark has just arrived in New Orleans, where he finds himself battling an epidemic of “pneumonic plague” that has infected the city’s immigrant underclass. While it’s a noirish suspense story, it’s also a study of human nature: To deal with the citizens, Widmark’s character has difficulty; and a Greek immigrant couple who develop the disease early on view the authorities with distrust and hence refuse to comply. As a child of Greek immigrants, Elia Kazan has a unique perspective on the film’s subject matter. You may find it on iTunes, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube among other places.)

12. The Killer That Stalked New York

The “killer” of the title “was something to whistle at—it wore lipstick, nylons, and a nicely cut coat… a gorgeous face with a frame to match, worth following.” One of the city’s best doctors is on the hunt for the city’s carrier, a jewel thief (the legendary Evelyn Keyes), who has been betrayed by both her corrupt husband and her sister. It’s hard not to get caught up in the doomsday scenario of New York City being overrun by zombies and the streets empty. It’s almost comical to see the city’s politicians and medical professionals working together to get 8 million people vaccinated. A video of the event may be found here on YouTube.

The Zombies Are Coming

13. 28 Days Later

28 Days Later

28 Days Later, a film written and directed by Danny Boyle, revolutionized the zombie genre forever by depicting a group of survivors who band together a month after a strange virus has ravaged the United Kingdom and attempt to survive long enough to be rescued. If you want to watch it, go to Hulu.

14. Dawn of the Dead (1978)

There are several “of the Dead” films to choose from, but we pick George A. Romero’s follow-up to his seminal zombie film. Having spread from the farmhouse in The Conjuring, the disease has now spread over the entire country. It’s one of the best movies ever created depicting the devastating effects of an uncontrollable virus in its early stages, focusing on a group of survivors who make their way to a mall together.

15. It Stains The Sands Red

Almost the entire plot revolves around a single woman who is stranded in the Nevada desert just as a zombie outbreak begins to spread. Her only companion and constant reminder of her frail mortality and the mistakes she’s committed in life, one lone shuffling zombie, follows her into the void in the hopes of bringing her to safety. You may get it through iTunes or Amazon Prime.

16. Rabid

Rabid

One of David Cronenberg’s best-known films is The Body (1977), in which she feeds off of a bizarre growth beneath her arm following a surgical procedure. Cronenberg is a maestro of body horror. Infected humans turn into blood-hungry, zombie-like monsters, and the medical center where she is being cared for soon becomes a hunting field. Tubi, Amazon Prime, and iTunes are among the streaming services that carry the film.

17. Train to Busan

While it’s one of the best zombie films ever, one of the best outbreak movies ever, and one of the best action pictures ever made in the twenty-first century, Train to Busan also happens to be a movie primarily set on a train. An epidemic is spreading across South Korea and the businessman and his daughter board a train to Busan as the world outside begins to crumble. While the rolling train is semi-safe from the crumbling world, everything goes to hell as the infection hits passengers. It’s a rush. It’s in motion. It’s a nightmare. It’s a tragedy, to say the least. (This film is available to stream via Netflix.)

18. World War Z

With Brad Pitt and Mireille Enos starring, it’s maybe the greatest horde of zombies ever seen on film. Brad Pitt stars as a former United Nations investigator who accepts a mission to locate the root of the virus and hopefully a treatment before everyone succumbs to it. If you want to watch it, go to Hulu.

19. Mayhem

Mayhem

On the same day an epidemic known as the “Red Eye virus” begins wreaking havoc on society, Steven Yeun’s character is fired from his job as a corporate drone. (It’s not that they’re zombies, but they’re simply incredibly irritated.) When he meets Samara Weaving (who plays the woman who got cheated over by his company), they decide to murder their way to success. It’s available on a variety of platforms, including Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, and Google Play

20. Little Monsters

The best kindergarten teacher in the world, Lupita Nyong’o, sings Taylor Swift songs while battling the rabid undead and keeping Josh Gad, an alcoholic sociopath, from scaring her students. Little Monsters is the movie for you. If you want to watch it, go to Hulu.

21. Wyrmwood

Wyrmwood

Kiah Roache-Wyrmwood Turner’s is a contagious disease film with the untamed spirit of Mad Max. An outbreak of an illness threatens to wipe out the man’s entire family, so he builds a homemade suit of armor, armours himself with lethal weapons, and improves his vehicle in order to save his sister. Zombie movie that becomes even weirder when the sister is kidnapped by a sick doctor who enjoys dancing to disco music. (YouTube, iTunes, Amazon Prime, and Google Play are all options for viewing.)

Postapocalypse (and More Zombies)

22. I Am Legend

The mutated measles virus that was supposed to heal cancer instead kills ninety percent of humanity, forcing virologist Will Smith to combat vampiric monsters called Darkseekers in a hollowed-out Manhattan. The encounter with two human beings with natural immunity gives him new hope that he can find a solution. You may get it through iTunes or Amazon Prime.

23. Cargo

In the mid-2010s, there was a little trend of movies that concentrated more on the boredom of the end of the world than the frantic horror of breakouts themselves, so you could watch any old zombie outbreak movie during your contagion binge. Cargo, starring Martin Freeman, tells the story of a man stranded in the Australian outback with a baby who he must guide to survival. It’s for when you’re feeling down about your dad. (This film is available to stream via Netflix.)

24. Here Alone

One such emo-zombie movie that focuses more on sorrow rather than the dread of the undead is Here Alone. She is haunted by the guilt of having survived without her daughter and husband, but after meeting a teenage girl and her stepfather, her life begins to change. It’s not clear if anyone can be truly happy in the aftermath of the end of the world. (This film is available to stream via Netflix.)

25. It Comes at Night

To see how horrible and sad things might be when a disease broke down society, watch It Comes at Night, which centers on two families who come together in the forest. It will undoubtedly fill your need for an atmospheric, slow-burning drama. (This film is available to stream via Netflix.)

26. The Last Man on Earth

The original film adaptation of Richard Matheson’s novel I Am Legend, starring Vincent Price instead of Will Smith as the lone surviving scientist, is shown here in its original setting from 1964. They have a lot in common in terms of energy. (Amazon Prime members can watch it.)

27. The Night Eats the World

After a house party at a building in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, one man wakes up to find himself the sole survivor in an apartment building, and the monotony of survival and the crushing weight of loneliness that comes with it. (Amazon Prime members can watch it.)

28. The Omega Man

To his knowledge, Charlton Heston’s character, a retired army colonel who has survived a disease brought on by biowarfare, is the sole known survivor. Because of this, the infected regard him as a symbol of mankind’s demise, which they believe he is because of science and technology. If more survivors are found, he may be able to use an experimental vaccine treatment that saved his own life to help others. You may get it through iTunes or Amazon Prime.

29. Resident Evil Franchise

Aside from the first Resident film, which introduces Alice and introduces us to the T-virus that has wiped all civilization courtesy to a containment breach at the villainous Umbrella corporation, the Resident films will give hours of quarantine entertainment. Over the course of six films, Milla Jovovich takes on a slew of monsters, villains, and mutant crows in an ever expansive and dangerous universe. (Amazon Prime members can watch it.)

30. Ravenous

Zombie art is alive and well in this French-Canadian zombie film, which explores the emotional toll of surviving through a vast and enigmatic chair tower that the zombies flock to. For the more enlightened art-house zombies out there. (This film is available to stream via Netflix.)

31. Endzeit

At this point, civilization has been completely decimated and there are now only two remaining outposts of human civilisation. Having reached their breaking point in Weimar’s zero-tolerance, shoot-on-site policy against the infected, two ladies travel to Jena’s other safe haven, where undead are captured and those within are working to find a cure for the plague there. In order to reach their destination, the two of them will have to traverse a treacherous no-man’s-land, where they will encounter numerous perils. (YouTube, Google Play, and Amazon Prime are all options.)

Life After Infection (and, Still, Some More Zombies)

32. 12 Monkeys

A man who is sent back in time from 2035 to halt a pandemic that would wipe out most of the world’s population and compel the survivors to live underground, a calamity that begins in 1996, was directed by Terry Gilliam. If you want to watch it, go to Hulu.

33. The Girl With All the Gifts

Only a few pockets of humanity remain in the globe, and on an English military facility, scientists are investigating children born to infected women who may carry the secret to unlocking a cure in their blood, despite the fact that the planet is largely overrun with zombies called hungries. Survival will determine who will rule the world after the base is overrun, however, and the survivors are hurled out into the wilderness. If you want to watch it, go to Hulu.

34. Children of Men

There have been no more babies born since the early 2000s, when an unexplained ailment caused every woman in the world to miscarry. This occurred around the same time as a catastrophic flu epidemic. Clive Owen, his activist ex-wife Julianne Moore, and a young refugee woman may offer some hope for mankind in the midst of the current catastrophe. If you want to watch it, go to Hulu.

35. The Cured

A illness called the Maze Virus, which converted individuals into fury zombies, has been largely cured in this Irish horror-drama, which takes place in the aftermath of the infection era. There are many people who are still being held captive and stigmatized by restrictionists who have been reintegrated into society, and society must come to terms with the fact that they may have killed friends and loved ones while they were infected. Even if the government decides to execute them all anyhow, diseased rights advocates are fighting back. Lots of metaphors, and Ellen Page makes an appearance. (Amazon Prime members can watch it.)