Top 9 Most Thrilling Pandemic Movies in the World

The global disaster movie, The Happening, is a 2008 American thriller set in a post-apocalyptic world. The plot follows a group of four people trying to escape a mysterious natural disaster – a bizarre plague that is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, with no visible symptoms. The infection drives people to commit suicide in terrifying ways. Worse, there's no way to stop the pandemic. It's like an intelligent entity targeting human populations.

This was the first and only R-rated film by Shyamalan, released in New York City on June 10, 2008, before hitting theaters on June 13, 2008. Despite negative reviews from critics, the film grossed $163.4 million, far surpassing its $48 million budget.

Details:

• Director: M. Night Shyamalan
• Screenplay: M. Night Shyamalan
• Production Studio: 20th Century Fox
• Release Date: June 10, 2008
• Duration: 90 minutes
• Box Office Revenue: $163.4 million
• Countries: USA, India

Contagion (2011) is a science fiction thriller based on real-life events. The film was a commercial success, grossing $135 million for Warner Bros Pictures, and showcased the talents of director Steven Soderbergh. The star-studded cast, including Matt Damon, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Bryan Cranston, and Kate Winslet, contributed to its success.

The story follows businesswoman Beth Emhoff, who suddenly dies from an unknown illness after a trip to Hong Kong. Soon, cases of people dying from the same symptoms spread worldwide. In a desperate bid to save humanity, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) begins working on a vaccine. Countless lives are lost in the process, and the origin of the disease is only revealed in the film's final moments. The plot bears striking similarities to the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus (nCoV), including its origins in bats, the spread of misinformation online, prevention measures, and hoarding of essential supplies. Contagion has been hailed by critics as one of the most compelling pandemic and medical crisis films of all time.

Details:

• Director: Steven Soderbergh
• Screenplay: Scott Z. Burns
• Production Studios: Participant Media; Imagenation Abu Dhabi
• Release Date: September 9, 2011
• Duration: 106 minutes
• Box Office: $135.5 million
• Country: United States

Deranged is a 2012 South Korean science fiction horror film starring Kim Myung-min, Kim Dong-wan, Moon Jung-hee, and Lee Ha-nui. It is Korea's first medical horror film focusing on an infectious disease outbreak.

The movie revolves around a parasitic organism called 'Yeongasi,' or 'mane hairworm,' which wreaks havoc by taking control of its host's brain. The government declares a state of emergency, unable to find the cause or a cure. The horror of Yeongasi lies in the fact that doctors can't develop a vaccine. As news spreads that a deworming drug could kill the parasite, chaos ensues as citizens flood pharmacies, leading to a public panic. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies deliberately hoard the medicine, creating an artificial crisis to profit from the situation. The real goal of those behind the scenes is to exploit the pandemic for financial gain.

Details:

• Director: Park Jung-woo
• Writers: Jo Dong-in, Kim Kyeong-hoon
• Production Studio: Oz One Film
• Release Date: July 5, 2012
• Duration: 109 minutes
• Box Office: $28.4 million
• Country: South Korea

Based on the 2006 novel by Max Brooks, World War Z follows Gerry Lane, a United Nations worker traveling around the world to find ways to protect humanity as people turn into bloodthirsty zombies. These creatures and the survivors fight to survive in the apocalyptic end of humanity.

World War Z was a blockbuster in 2013, with a production budget exceeding $200 million. The film grossed $540 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing zombie apocalypse movie of all time. Initially, the movie was planned to kickstart a trilogy with Brad Pitt as the lead, but due to various reasons, Paramount canceled the sequels.

Details:

• Director: Marc Forster
• Writers: J. Michael Straczynski; Matthew Michael Carnahan
• Production Studios: Plan B Entertainment; UTV Motion Pictures
• Release Date: June 21, 2013
• Duration: 116 minutes
• Box Office: $540 million
• Country: United States

The Flu (2013) is a spine-chilling film that bears a striking resemblance to the COVID-19 pandemic. The movie delves into a catastrophic influenza outbreak that affects numerous countries and regions. It features shocking scenes such as a stadium filled with corpses and the gruesome fates of flu victims being either buried alive or cremated.

The plot centers around a deadly epidemic spreading rapidly across Bundang, a suburb of Seoul, South Korea. The outbreak is traced back to a group of illegal immigrants, and the only survivor becomes the key to the virus’s rapid transmission. With infection rates soaring to over 2,000 cases per hour and victims dying within 36 hours, the epidemic plunges the city into panic. In an attempt to contain the outbreak, the government considers drastic measures, including the possibility of eradicating the entire city of half a million residents, located just 19 kilometers from Seoul.

Details:

• Director: Kim Sung-su
• Writers: Lee Yeong-jong; Kim Sung-su
• Production Studio: iLoveCinemaiFilm Corp.
• Release Date: August 14, 2013
• Runtime: 121 minutes
• Box Office: $19.8 million
• Country: South Korea

Train to Busan (2016) is a South Korean zombie apocalypse film. The plot begins with South Korea under attack by a mysterious virus that transforms humans into bloodthirsty zombies. The story focuses on a group of passengers aboard a train to Busan as they fight for survival against the relentless undead, who spread the infection through bites and violence. The film takes place almost entirely on the train, with passengers and crew trapped inside, struggling to survive the wave of zombies. The 453-kilometer journey from Seoul to the safe zone in Busan quickly turns into a battle for life.

The movie was featured in the Midnight Screenings section of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 13. On August 7, the film set a box office record, selling over 10 million tickets.

Details:

• Director: Yeon Sang-ho
• Screenplay: Park Joo-suk
• Production Companies: Next Entertainment World; RedPeter Film
• Release Date: May 13, 2016
• Runtime: 118 minutes
• Box Office: $72.7 million
• Country: South Korea

Outbreak (1995) is a classic film based on the real-life events surrounding the Ebola virus outbreak that threatened humanity in the 1990s. The Ebola virus spreads rapidly, causing internal bleeding and severe damage, leading to a high risk of death. In the film, the virus is called Motaba, and it originates in Africa before spreading to the United States and across the globe.

This was one of the first films to explore the theme of pandemics. Outbreak is adapted from the novel *The Hot Zone* by Richard Preston, which was inspired by the Ebola outbreak in Africa. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring renowned actors such as Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, and Donald Sutherland, *Outbreak* grossed $189.8 million, making it one of the highest-grossing films of 1995. The film also helped launch Kevin Spacey's career, earning him his first major film awards.

Details:

• Director: Wolfgang Petersen
• Screenplay: Laurence Dworet; Robert Roy Pool
• Production Companies: Punch Productions, Inc.
• Release Date: March 10, 1995
• Runtime: 128 minutes
• Box Office: $189.8 million
• Country: United States

28 Days Later (2002) tells the story of a deadly infection that turns into a pandemic, threatening to wipe out humanity across the United Kingdom. Survivors flee to a military base to join forces against the infected. This mysterious disease is spread by chimpanzees.

Critics praised *28 Days Later* for its gripping story and it became a commercial success. It frequently appears on lists of the best horror and disaster films of all time. The sequel, *28 Weeks Later*, also achieved similar success.

Details:

• Director: Danny Boyle
• Screenplay: Alex Garland
• Production Companies: DNA Films; UK Film Council
• Release Date: November 1, 2002
• Runtime: 113 minutes
• Box Office: $82.7 million
• Country: United Kingdom

I Am Legend (2007) is a post-apocalyptic action sci-fi film based on the novel of the same name, directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith as Robert Neville, a U.S. Army virologist. The movie became the highest-grossing Christmas film ever during its release and ranked as the 7th highest-grossing film of 2007.

The story centers on a devastating pandemic that nearly wipes out humanity, transforming the survivors into monstrous creatures. Robert Neville is the last human survivor in New York City, immune to the virus. As he battles against bloodthirsty mutants, he strives to find a cure to end the plague that ravages the world.

Details:

• Director: Francis Lawrence
• Screenplay: Mark Protosevich; Akiva Goldsman
• Production Companies: Village Roadshow Pictures; Weed Road Pictures; Overbrook Entertainment; Heyday Films; Original Film
• Release Date: December 14, 2007
• Runtime: 101 minutes
• Box Office: $585.3 million
• Country: United States