As we are entering into deeper depths of the COVID-19 or coronavirus uncertainty, we are turning to streaming platforms as one of our only sources of entertainment where pandemic movies and related media have been the highest trending subject. On Netflix, the film Contagion has skyrocketed in streams due to the eerily similar circumstances that reflect the details of the pandemic that the Earth is currently going through. So, what are the best pandemic movies to relate to right now? College News gathers the top 5 pandemic movies you can find on streaming sites right this moment.
What are our favorite pandemic movies?
Contagion
As mentioned before, the 2011 film Contagion has never felt so relevant. Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, and Matt Damon. The film’s tagline “Nothing spreads like fear,” speaks for itself and the current state of the coronavirus media pandemic. We won’t include any spoilers, but the plot is about a woman who goes on a business trip to Hong Kong and comes back feeling lethargic, later dying. After that everyone around the world starts getting mysteriously sick and a journalist begins to investigate the panicked media response. If you are looking for a case of life imitating art then this is it.
Streaming On: Hulu
Pandemic: How to Prevent An Outbreak
With strangely perfect timing, and as some conspiracy theorists would say, not coincidental—Pandemic: How to Prevent An Outbreak, dropped on Netflix less than a week before the coronavirus pandemic really gained traction. This documentary takes a look at in the past when the deadly influenza virus killed 50-100 million people. Stock footage of people in face masks and mass graves makes you think how bad this could really get and how history can repeat itself. This is definitely a “watch-with-caution” choice among our pandemic movies list.
Streaming On: Netflix
Outbreak
Outbreak was released in 1995, and stars Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman to name a few. In this film we see a dangerous airborne virus that ravages a civilization comes to fruition after a monkey carrying the virus is brought into the US. This outbreak only happens in one town, but there still is a sense of urgency before it spreads elsewhere.
Streaming On: Netflix
I Am Legend
This classic Will Smith film is a must-see, and shows what can happen when a plague get’s at it’s worst. Believing he is the only man on Earth it shows his day to day survival dealing with these terrible creatures that were past humans and animals taken by the plague. This is one of our pandemic movies that are a classic, but also great for a re-watch or a first watch if you haven’t viewed it yet.
Streaming On: fuboTV
Quarantine
Released in 2008, this film follows a reporter and her cameraman who are called out to a building and investigate an elderly woman who was heard to be screaming. Once they arrive they see the CDC had the place under lockdown and the rest that occurs is pretty terrifying. A great spooky watch if you are into viral horror.
Streaming On: Crackle
Also read: Homemade Sanitizer Recipe Fights Coronavirus
