1. Contagion (2011)
It is very hard to give a synopsis of the plot as this is an ensemble piece and it follows the trials of many different characters, but basically, there is a killer virus pandemic and the film follows the effects of the virus upon the population (with accompanying mass hysteria and panic) along with the attempts of the scientists to halt its spread and manufacture a vaccine. The virus starts off with a cold, develops into seizures and finally affects the brain and Central Nervous System. Scientists deem it a meningoenchapilitis virus and name it Meningoenchapalitis Virus 1 - MEV1. Director Steven Soderberg wanted to make an ultra realistic film about a pandemic and he and the cast did extensive research for the film, meeting representatives from the WHO. The film focuses on how the pandemic leads to panic and chaos among civilians and the subsequent collapse of social order. The procedures for containing and classifying a new virus are examined along with the balancing of individual self interest and the good for the majority in a chaotic, possibly life threatening situation. The hopelessness of health services to deal with a potential pandemic is exposed as are the social ties which make transmission inevitable. Post 9/11, apocalyptic scenarios have become more salient and the film was certainly influenced by the 2003 SARs epidemic and the 2009 bird flu situation. Contagion is the most ambitious medical disaster film to date and it scares us as we see how society falls down and MEV1 creeps relentlessly throughout the globe felling people in their millions. There is no huge horror-type drama, the film quietly paints a picture of both individual turmoil and collective panic. It is calmly terrifying.
Which ones have we missed? Let us know in the comments section below.