Thursday Movie Picks: Epidemic/Pandemic/Outbreaks
1) 28 Days Later
Those damn animals activists. Trying to release infected chimps and inadvertently released the rage virus on civilization instead. This is definitely one of my all time favorite horror movies. The shot of Cillian Murphy walking in an abandoned London is hauntingly beautiful.
2) Cabin Fever
Eli Roth knows horror, and Cabin Fever is the perfect combination of campiness and sickening gore. The campers in this film are exposed to a flesh eating virus that rapidly spreads between them.
3) Planet Terror
A bio tech experiment goes horribly wrong and everyone exposed to the gas turns into a zombie. This film was one half of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse feature, and in my opinion it's the far superior half.
Hmmmm. I haven't seen any of these although I've long meant to see 28 Days Later but not being a horror guy I keep putting it off. I've heard it is a good one though.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of Cabin Fever and have avoided it. Planet Terror is new to me but doesn't really look like my kind of thing, though maybe some day when I'm in the mood I might give it a look.
Not being a horror fan I veered towards more drama based movies that look at the theme.
Longtime Companion (1989)-The AIDS epidemic is viewed through the prism of its impact on a small group of friends. We begin with young Willy (Campbell Scott), his best friend John (Dermot Mulroney) and a few others going about their day both in Manhattan and Fire Island during the summer of 1981 as one of them, Lisa (Mary Louise Parker) notices a small article in The New York Times mentioning a new disease at first called "GRID: Gay-Related-Immune-Disorder". As time passes and the government remains indifferent to the disease’s spread the group is slowly decimated by the disease. At times searingly sad but also balanced with humor and beautifully acted. Bruce Davison was deservedly nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
Panic in the Streets (1950)-When called in to do a routine autopsy on an unknown gunshot victim in New Orleans Dr. Clint Reed (Richard Widmark) discovers he also has signs of the infectious pneumonic plague. He alerts the authorities who at first are skeptical but when he explains they have only 48 hours to locate anyone he came into contact with to prevent a pandemic the chief of police (Paul Douglas) goes into action. Meanwhile the dead man’s killer (Jack Palance) and associates begin to fall victim to the disease. Probably the only film noir pandemic movie you’ll ever find.
Outbreak (1995)-A deadly contagion breaks out in a California town and once alerted a group of scientists realize that it could spread through the rest of the country in a matter of days. But as the military quarantine tightens, the head scientist (Dustin Hoffman) begins to suspect that there’s more than the outbreak to worry about, and that he himself might be in danger for knowing it.
I know I've seen Outbreak but I don't remember much from it. Longtime Companion is good, but feels really dated and almost a bit stereotypical watching it now. I saw it for the first time this year.
DeleteJoel, the whole of the double-feature Grindhouse is an absolute BLAST, but I think you'd much prefer Planet Terror to Death Proof. It's much campier and more self-aware. Death Proof is just another Tarantino movie, with purposefully rougher editing.
DeleteI liked Grindhouse as a double feature. Planet Terror is far above Death Proof for me though. There was a lot of nothing happening in that movie.
DeleteThat bit in CF where the chick is shaving her legs and the skin comes off is still one of the worst things I've ever seen
ReplyDeleteOmg yes! It's completely illogical but kind of brilliant at the same time.
DeleteYup! I haven't seen any...hahahahaa. Actually not quite true, I started watching 28 Days but left the film because it was freaking me out too much and, as per norm, I had nightmares. I think i will pass on the other 2 as well. The chick with her skin off her face is enough for me
ReplyDelete28 Days later is pretty freaky, if you don't like scary movies I can see why you gave up on that. Cabin Fever is insanely gory, one of the reasons I love it. lol
DeleteI figured 28 Days Later would be popular this week. I considered it but had already used it for a previous week. Haven't seen Cabin Fever in a long time but I remember really liking it.
ReplyDeleteLOVE that you went with Planet Terror. I LOVED Grindhouse so much, and PT was TONS of fun.
I'm glad there's another Planet Terror fan out there! I expected to see a lot of 28 Days Later too.
DeleteEven as a horror fan I never really warmed to Eli Roth. Just find him very immature as a filmmaker.
ReplyDelete28 Days Later is, of course, a greay pick.
I've always enjoyed him, he's a fascinating dude.
DeleteThree amazing films of horror. In fact, I'm going to re-watch 28 Days Later as one of the final films of this horror marathon of sorts that I've been doing as it's time to write a review on it.
ReplyDeleteThat's a perfect way to end your marathon!
DeleteFirst, let's talk about those gifs. Those are all so perfect. We have a match with Contagion and I love Planet Terror. I agree it was way better than QT's entry.
ReplyDeleteWhy thank you! I'm glad we matched on 28 Days Later. I also like seeing the love for Planet Terror as well!
DeleteGreat minds think alike!! I accidentally watched a bit of Cabin Fever and sister told me that rest sounds vile.
ReplyDeleteCabin Fever is great! You should finish it.
DeleteNice picks! 28 Days Later is such a great 'zombie' movie - perfect amount of horror and a little bit of hope at the end. Grindhouse was an awesome double feature - so much fun. I prefer Planet Terror to Death Proof too.
ReplyDeletePlanet Terror never had the opportunity to drag like Death Proof did. It was fun throughout. I'm glad you like it too!
DeleteI love 28 Days Later. Haven't see the other two but Planet Terror sounds good, I guess I would enjoy it more than Death Proof.
ReplyDeleteIt's a lot more fun.
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