Epidemics: the ten best films of the genre

Don't you know how to spend your days in these difficult moments for the Bel Paese? Don't worry, if you have already devoured series after series, film after film, but you still don't have enough, here are the ten best films dedicated to viruses, pandemics and post-apocalyptic situations.

You are ready? Let's start:

Lethal Virus (1995)

Lethal Virus (Outbreak) is a 1995 American “medical disaster” film directed by Wolfgang Petersen and based on Richard Preston's book “The Hot Zone”. He is portrayed by Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kevin Spacey, Donald Sutherland and Patrick Dempsey.

The film focuses on the outbreak of an imaginary Ebola-like pandemic in Motaba, Zaire and later in a small town in the United States. It is primarily set in the United States Army Medical Research Institute, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the fictional town of Cedar Creek, California. The Outbreak storyline speculates to what extent military and civilian agencies could come to contain the spread of a deadly and contagious disease.

The production was successful at the box office, grossing nearly $ 200 million, and Spacey won two awards for his performance. A real-life outbreak of the Ebola virus was occurring in Zaire when the film was released.

The City Will Be Destroyed at Dawn (1973)

The City Will Be Destroyed at Dawn Also known as The Crazies and Code Name: Trixie is a 1973 American sci-fi horror film written and directed by George A. Romero. Among the performers we find: Lane Carroll, Will MacMillan and Harold Wayne Jones, residents of a small American town that is accidentally plagued by a military bioweapon. A box office failure, which did not prevent the film from becoming a real cult. A remake was released in 2010.

The Road (2009)

The Road is a 2009 American post-apocalyptic survival film directed by John Hillcoat and written by Joe Penhall, based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy. The film sees Viggo Mortensen, the unforgettable Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings and Kodi Smit-McPhee respectively playing the roles of a father and son in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

The film had its world premiere in September 2009 at the 66th Venice International Film Festival, where it was in competition for the Golden and Silver Lion awards. It was also screened at the 34th Toronto International Film Festival. It has received generally positive reviews from critics as well as the performances of Mortensen and Smit-McPhee. The Road has also received numerous nominations, including a BAFTA nomination for Best Cinematography.

Resident Evil (2002)

Based on the Capcom survival horror video game series of the same name, Resident Evil is a 2002 film directed by Paul WS Anderson. Among the performers we find Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez.

In the film, the Umbrella Corporation operates a secret genetic research facility called The Hive. Located deep within Raccoon City, The Hive was sealed off by the Red Queen (the AI ​​that controls the Hive) due to the release of the T-Virus at the facility. The Red Queen kills all living things in the facility to ensure the T-Virus doesn't reach the surface, but the T-Virus revives them, turning humans into ravenous zombies and animals into highly aggressive mutants.

Costing $ 33 million, it grossed more than $ 100 million making it one of the most successful films of 2002. Several sequels have followed one another over the years, but none of them have achieved the results of the first Resident Evil.

Mimic (1997)

In 1997, several successful films were released: Titanic, Seven Years in Tibet, Will Hunting - Genius Rebels, Jackie Brown, Contact, Men in Black, Starship Troopers, The Rain Man and many more. Among these, quietly and without much praise, Mimic has made its way. 1997 American science fiction horror film written and directed by Guillermo del Toro based on the homonymous short story by Donald A. Wollheim, starring Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Josh Brolin, Charles S. Dutton, Giancarlo Giannini and F. Murray Abraham. The film features Norman Reedus in his all-time Hollywood debut.

When you play God, the results aren't the best. Two scientists seek a way to eradicate a virus that threatens the lives of thousands of New Yorkers. Eventually they succeed by combining the DNAs of different species, but the natural balance will be upset leading, three years later, to the arrival of strange and mysterious creatures that mimic the appearance of their prey, humans.

Mimic has received many positive reviews so as to have reached the score of 61% on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert gave the film 3 1/2 stars by saying “Del Toro is a director with a real visual sense, with a way of drawing us into his story and evoking the atmosphere with the same look and texture of his shots. He used the winning ingredients and presented them so effectively that "Mimic" makes something old look new, fresh and scary. "

A version containing six additional minutes was released in 2011, initially as a Home-Video exclusive and is now available through various digital services.

And the day came (2008)

The Happening is a 2008 apocalyptic thriller film written, co-produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo and Betty Buckley. The film follows a group of four as they try to escape an inexplicable natural disaster. People inexplicably tend to commit suicide for no apparent reason; thousands die all over the world. Biochemical attack? Collective madness? No, the cause is to be found in plants, trees, meadows… and in a particular toxin.

The film is the first and so far only Shyamalan film to have received an R rating. It premiered in New York City on June 10, 2008, and was subsequently released on June 13, 2008 in North America. It received generally negative reviews from critics despite grossing $ 163 million worldwide against an estimated production budget of $ 48 million.

28 Days Later (2002)

28 Days Later is a 2002 British post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Alex Garland, starring Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns and Brendan Gleeson. The plot depicts the collapse of society following the accidental release of a highly contagious virus and focuses on the struggle of four survivors (Murphy, Harris, Burns and Gleeson) to cope with the destruction of the life they once knew by evading those infected with the virus. .

The film received critical acclaim. Many praised the performances, the script, the atmosphere and the soundtrack. The film was acclaimed for giving new life to the zombie genre of horror film, as well as for increasing the popularity of fast-moving zombies. While Dan O'Bannon's 1985 film "Return of the Living Dead" featured the first example of "fast zombies" in film, the concept was largely overlooked by the media until after the release 28 days later . It was also a financial success, grossing over $ 82,7 million worldwide with its modest $ 8 million budget and becoming one of the most profitable horror films of 2002.

It was followed by a sequel, 28 weeks later, a graphic novel titled 28 Days Later: The Aftermath, which spans the outbreak timeline, and a 2009 comic book series titled 28 Days Later. In 2017 a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers and critics for Time Out magazine ranked it the 97th best British film ever.

Cabin Fever (2002)

2002 American horror co-written and directed by Eli Roth (making his directorial debut) and starring Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, James DeBello, Cerina Vincent, Joey Kern and Giuseppe Andrews. The story follows a group of college graduates who rent a cabin in the woods and start falling victim to a carnivorous virus. The inspiration for the film's story came from a real-life experience on a trip to Iceland when Roth developed a skin infection.

For the making of Cabin Fever, Roth drew inspiration from several of his favorite films, including The House, Don't Open That Door and The Last House on the Left. The film received a sequel: Cabin Fever 2 - Contagion, and a prequel Cabin Fever: Patient Zero. Against a budget of $ 1,5 million, he took home more than $ 30 million.

World War Z (2013)

World War Z is a 2013 American apocalyptic action horror film directed by Marc Forster, based on the 2006 novel by Max Brooks. The film stars Brad Pitt as Gerry Lane, a former UN investigator who must travel the world to find a way to stop a zombie pandemic. The ensemble's supporting cast includes Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale, Ludi Boeken, Fana Mokoena, David Morse, Peter Capaldi, Pierfrancesco Favino, Ruth Negga and David Andrews.

Pitt's Plan B Entertainment secured the film rights in 2007 and Forster was approached to direct. In 2009, Carnahan was hired to rewrite the script. Filming began in July 2011 in Malta, with an estimated budget of $ 125 million, before moving to Glasgow in August 2011 and Budapest in October 2011. The film was originally scheduled for release in December 2012, production has suffered however some setbacks. In June 2012, the film's release date was postponed and the crew returned to Budapest for seven weeks of additional filming. Damon Lindelof was hired to rewrite the third act, but he didn't have time to finish the script, and Drew Goddard was hired to rewrite it.

Filming took place between September and October 2012. The World War Z premiered in London on June 3, 2013 and was chosen to open the 35th Moscow International Film Festival. The film premiered in New York and Los Angeles on June 14, 2013 and released everywhere on June 21, 2013, in the United States, in 2D and RealD 3D. It received mostly positive reviews for Brad Pitt's performance and a realistic relaunch of the zombie genre. It certainly would have deserved more if CGI had been curated more. Regardless, the film was a commercial success, grossing over $ 540 million against a total production budget of $ 190 million, making it the highest-grossing zombie movie of all time. A sequel was announced shortly after the film's release, but was reportedly canceled in February 2019 due to budget concerns.

I am Legend (2007)

2007 American post-apocalyptic action thriller film based on Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name. Directed by Francis Lawrence, the film stars Will Smith as US Army virologist Robert Neville. The story is set in New York City after a virus, originally created to treat cancer, wiped out most of humanity, leaving Neville as the last human in New York, in addition to nocturnal mutants. Neville is immune to the virus and works to develop a cure while defending himself from hostile mutants.

Warner Bros. began developing I Am Legend in 1994, and various actors and directors have taken turns on the project, although production has been delayed due to budget concerns related to the script. Production began in 2006 in New York City, shooting primarily on location in the city, including a $ 5 million scene on the Brooklyn Bridge. It is the third film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, I Am Legend, following 1964's The Last Man on Earth and 1971's The Omega Man.

I Am Legend was released in 2007 grossing over $ 256 million in the United States of America alone and $ 329 million internationally, for a total of $ 585 million. The film received mostly favorable reviews, especially for Smith's poignant performance; the criticisms have focused on his divergences from the novel, in particular as regards the ending, still a source of discussion today.

+1 The army of the 12 monkeys

The Army of the 12 Monkeys, also known as the Twelve Monkeys, is a 1995 American neo-noir sci-fi film directed by Terry Gilliam, inspired by Chris Marker's 1962 short La Jetée, starring Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe and Brad Pitt, in the lead roles and with Christopher Plummer and David Morse in supporting roles. After Universal Studios acquired the rights to remake La Jetée as a feature film, David and Janet Peoples were hired to write the screenplay.

Under Gilliam's direction, Universal granted the filmmakers a budget of $ 29,5 million, and filming lasted from February to May 1995. The film was shot primarily in Philadelphia and Baltimore, where the story is set.

The 12 Monkeys Army has been tremendously successful and grossed $ 168 million worldwide. Pitt was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and won a Golden Globe Award for his performance. The film was nominated for various categories at the Saturn Awards, taking home the awards for Best Sci-Fi Film, Best Supporting Actor (Brad Pitt) and Best Costume Design.