Entertainment

Outbreak to Pandemic: 10 must watch Hollywood films on virus outbreaks

Hollywood has often turned to the subject of virus attack and outbreaks to create box-office winners. Let us takes a look at some of the best films in the genre.
Hollywood has often turned to the subject of virus attack and outbreaks to create box-office winners. Let us takes a look at some of the best films in the genre.
Hollywood has often turned to the subject of virus attack and outbreaks to create box-office winners. Let us takes a look at some of the best films in the genre.
Online Desk
Updated on: 
2 min read
Outbreak (1995): German filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen's 1995 medical thriller continues to be one of the most accomplished efforts in the genre. Flaunting a powerhouse cast comprising Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kevin Spacey and Donald Sutherland, the film focuses on an outbreak of a fictional Ebola-like virus called Motaba in the African nation of Zaire and goes on to surface in a small town in the United States.
Outbreak (1995): German filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen's 1995 medical thriller continues to be one of the most accomplished efforts in the genre. Flaunting a powerhouse cast comprising Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kevin Spacey and Donald Sutherland, the film focuses on an outbreak of a fictional Ebola-like virus called Motaba in the African nation of Zaire and goes on to surface in a small town in the United States.
28 Days Later (2002): Danny Boyle's 2002 British post-apocalyptic horror film starred Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris and Christopher Eccleston. The accidental release of a contagious virus threatens to destroy civilisation even as the protagonists cope with the destruction of the life they once knew while evading those infected by the virus. The film redefined the zombie horror genre and was critically and commercially acclaimed. It was followed by a 2007 sequel, '28 Weeks Later'.
28 Days Later (2002): Danny Boyle's 2002 British post-apocalyptic horror film starred Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris and Christopher Eccleston. The accidental release of a contagious virus threatens to destroy civilisation even as the protagonists cope with the destruction of the life they once knew while evading those infected by the virus. The film redefined the zombie horror genre and was critically and commercially acclaimed. It was followed by a 2007 sequel, '28 Weeks Later'.
Resident Evil series (2004-Present): The series began with 'Resident Evil: Apocalypse' (2004), its story continued with 'Resident Evil: Extinction' (2007), and then 'Resident Evil: Afterlife' (2010), 'Resident Evil: Retribution' (2012), and closed with 'Resident Evil: The Final Chapter' (2016). The films told the story of Alice (Milla Jovovich), who is a former security specialist and covert operative who battles the Umbrella Corporation, whose bioweapons have triggered a zombie apocalypse.
Resident Evil series (2004-Present): The series began with 'Resident Evil: Apocalypse' (2004), its story continued with 'Resident Evil: Extinction' (2007), and then 'Resident Evil: Afterlife' (2010), 'Resident Evil: Retribution' (2012), and closed with 'Resident Evil: The Final Chapter' (2016). The films told the story of Alice (Milla Jovovich), who is a former security specialist and covert operative who battles the Umbrella Corporation, whose bioweapons have triggered a zombie apocalypse.
I Am Legend (2007): Hollywood superstar Will Smith was at the peak of his career when he did this 2007 film, directed by Francis Lawrence. Smith plays a US Army virologist in the post-apocalyptic action thriller. Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York struggles to find a cure.
I Am Legend (2007): Hollywood superstar Will Smith was at the peak of his career when he did this 2007 film, directed by Francis Lawrence. Smith plays a US Army virologist in the post-apocalyptic action thriller. Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York struggles to find a cure.
Blindness (2008): The 2008 film, an adaptation of the 1995 novel of the same name by Portuguese author Jose Saramago, was about a society suffering an epidemic of blindness. Directed by Fernando Meirelles, the film had Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo fronting its cast. The film was special to Ruffalo, who learned in 2001 that he had a brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma. In 'Blindness,' he played a character who is made helpless by an illness and whose experiences were 'magnified, amplified and retooled' variations of his own, heraldextra.com had reported.
Blindness (2008): The 2008 film, an adaptation of the 1995 novel of the same name by Portuguese author Jose Saramago, was about a society suffering an epidemic of blindness. Directed by Fernando Meirelles, the film had Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo fronting its cast. The film was special to Ruffalo, who learned in 2001 that he had a brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma. In 'Blindness,' he played a character who is made helpless by an illness and whose experiences were 'magnified, amplified and retooled' variations of his own, heraldextra.com had reported.
Doomsday (2008): Rhona Mitra, British actress of Bengali-Indian origin, starred in this 2008 release directed by Neil Marshall. The story takes place in the future in Scotland, which has been quarantined because of a deadly virus. It was reportedly conceived by Marshall based on the idea of futuristic soldiers facing medieval knights.
Doomsday (2008): Rhona Mitra, British actress of Bengali-Indian origin, starred in this 2008 release directed by Neil Marshall. The story takes place in the future in Scotland, which has been quarantined because of a deadly virus. It was reportedly conceived by Marshall based on the idea of futuristic soldiers facing medieval knights.
Carriers (2009): Starring 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' actress Emily VanCamp and Chris Pine of 'Wonder Woman' fame, the 2009 film directed by David Pastor and Alex Pastor was about four friends fleeing a viral pandemic. They soon learn they are more dangerous than any virus.
Carriers (2009): Starring 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' actress Emily VanCamp and Chris Pine of 'Wonder Woman' fame, the 2009 film directed by David Pastor and Alex Pastor was about four friends fleeing a viral pandemic. They soon learn they are more dangerous than any virus.
World War Z (2013): Brad Pitt not only acted in the 2013 zombie pandemic film but also served as a producer. In September 2013, Pitt was asked whether or not a sequel to 'World War Z' was in the works. He had told variety.com: 'We're certainly talking about it, yes. We have so many ideas on the table from the time we spent developing this thing and figuring out how the zombie worlds work,' Pitt said. 'We gotta get the script right first to determine if we go further.'
World War Z (2013): Brad Pitt not only acted in the 2013 zombie pandemic film but also served as a producer. In September 2013, Pitt was asked whether or not a sequel to 'World War Z' was in the works. He had told variety.com: 'We're certainly talking about it, yes. We have so many ideas on the table from the time we spent developing this thing and figuring out how the zombie worlds work,' Pitt said. 'We gotta get the script right first to determine if we go further.'
Maggie (2015): Action star Arnold Schwarzenegger, known for starring in big budget films like 'The Terminator', picked this 2015 independent thriller about a viral pandemic and surprised the audience. Schwarzenegger had earlier said in the film's production notes: 'When I read it, I knew I had to do it. It is more vulnerable than any role I have played, more real, more emotional. You're used to seeing me play the ubermensch, the action hero bullets can't seem to hit.
Maggie (2015): Action star Arnold Schwarzenegger, known for starring in big budget films like 'The Terminator', picked this 2015 independent thriller about a viral pandemic and surprised the audience. Schwarzenegger had earlier said in the film's production notes: 'When I read it, I knew I had to do it. It is more vulnerable than any role I have played, more real, more emotional. You're used to seeing me play the ubermensch, the action hero bullets can't seem to hit.
Pandemic (2016): The 2016 science fiction thriller film, helmed by John Suits, had Rachel Nichols playing a doctor who leads a group to find survivors of a worldwide pandemic.
Pandemic (2016): The 2016 science fiction thriller film, helmed by John Suits, had Rachel Nichols playing a doctor who leads a group to find survivors of a worldwide pandemic.
pandemic
Blindness
Resident Evil
World War Z
outbreak
I Am Legend
Doomsday
Hollywood virus outbreak films
Hollywood virus based films
28 Days Later
Carriers 
Maggie 

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