From “I am legend” to “Outbreak”: 10 great films about pandemic crises, infections and zombies

After an introduction marked by an exemplary presentation of the characters, ‘Train to Busan’ puts it into fifth gear and does not give up a minute of respite during two flying hours, skilfully combining scenes of frenetic action with moments of intimate drama. A narrative balance that undergoes a certain imbalance only when the screenplay gives too much space to the incessant search for emotion, which happens above all in its final stretch and not always with good results.

But it’s a small mistake in a series of successes, among which the staging of each of the zombie attacks stands out, authentic displays of nerve and visual strength in which director Yeon Sang-ho is more than at home , offering a direction with a steady hand and clear ideas. In short, “Train to Busan” is one of those artifacts of pure and simple entertainment that knows what the viewer is looking for and delivers it with a golden ribbon. A real party.

Train to Busan at eCartelera

If we look at the glass half empty, and establish the ever hateful comparisons, ‘Zombies party’ is the weakest link in the Cornetto Trilogy created by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, surpassed by the comic force of ‘Fatal Weapon’ and by the spectacular storytelling and formal of “Welcome to the end of the world”.

However, let’s stay on the bright side and celebrate this joke at the expense of zombie films for what it really is, a more than promising debut from a director who was going through obvious influences such as George A. Romero, Quentin Tarantino or Martin Scorsese , among others , but who managed to develop his own charismatic speech. For this reason, despite having ended up occupying a minor place in its director’s filmography, based on the purely cinematographic, ‘Zombies party’ continues to maintain its freshness, intelligence, dynamism, effectiveness and well-deserved relevance within the genre.

Zombie party at the eCartelera

After his acclaimed performance, including an Oscar nomination, in the beautiful ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’, Will Smith had two options: continue this path of prestige and relentless pursuit of awards or return to acting in a blockbuster with serious success at the box office options worldwide. He chose the latter. And he was absolutely right. ‘I am legend’ was a new commercial success for a star who, at that point in his career, seemed unbeatable. Then came the fears, but almost unanimous status and respect were maintained here.

A film that worked as well as a commercial proposition of moderate terror and almost constant tension as well as a dramatic story with past traumas haunting the unexpected hero. There was nothing particularly memorable about it, but it would be unfair not to appreciate its ability to function as top-notch entertainment.

I am a legend in eCartelera

The first thing we saw of Zack Snyder was a Michael Jordan documentary released direct-to-video. The second, a remake of a classic horror film. Let’s just say good old Zack was looking for him early in his career. But, fortunately, with the exchange of triples and dunks with blood and courage, we all came out on top.

‘Dawn of the Dead’ is a more than effective gore and zombie film in which, in the absence of risk and originality, we have a good number of memorable scares, a pace that does not give way to boredom and a large number of scenes that mix terror with fun in a particularly brilliant way. This is not a masterpiece of the genre, far from it, but a viewer looking for a good dose of tension and entertainment will find its reward.

The dawn of the dead on eCartelera

‘Contagion’ could have been many different films, but it settles for being global, filled with fears that are as primal as they are universal. It’s hard to know how any of us would react to a situation like the one we’re faced with, but what is clear is that a story like this couldn’t be told more realistically and with such empathy with one of its characters. . In short, Steven Soderbergh freezes the blood through the eyes of a virus that doesn’t move the heart but attacks the brain and the senses, weaving a web that is easy to enter, yes, but very difficult to get out of. An exceptional proposition.

Contagion in eCartelera

There are sagas that would be much better understood if we thought of them as toys. Entertainments in which their creators deposit all their influences and passions, hobbies from which homage is paid to those films that have transformed a wild consumer of cinema into a creator. At home, few franchises so accurately exemplify this nature of ongoing homage as the one shaped by the four installments, to date, of ‘[REC]’.

A set of films that was born in 2007 with a first chapter that blew up expectations to become an absolute point of reference for the popular horror genre globally. A proposal that worked wonders from start to finish and served as the first shot a franchise that is already the history of our cinema.

[REC] in eCartelera

Written and directed with surprising ease and inspiration by newcomer Jeffrey A. Brown’The Beach House’ starts from a fairly classic premise, two young people arrive at a house in the middle of nowhere ready to unleash their romance until a series of strange events begin to occur, ending in a terrifying pirouette full of blood-curdling scenes.

Obviously, a sober and elegant staging helps, an ideal landscape for, from the very essence of calm, to reach points of suffocating tension. A goal to which must be added the leading role of a dazzling Liana Liberato, central axis of a film that seems destined for the most enthusiastic cult by fans of the genre.

Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Donald Sutherland, almost nothing, lead the spectacular cast of ‘Outbreak’, formidable pandemic thriller with which Wolfgang Petersen continued to confirm his stupendous run at two years from the splendid ‘In the Line of Fire’. A proposal that has measured its dramatic strokes particularly well, perfectly balancing an initial stretch of character presentation with a truly powerful final climax.

Over time, including a phase of confinement where it became another of the most watched films in the field of platforms, ‘Explosion’ has established itself as the gorgeous film it always was.

Outbreak in eCartelera

Even if it were only for the incredible staging of an Alfonso Cuarón whose inspiration runs through every shot, ‘Sons of Men’ would already be a clear candidate to be part of this list. But is that, in addition, the rest of the elements that accompany this constant lesson in management work at the same levelthat is, the one that is at the same height as infinity.

A proposition that grabs you from the first second and doesn’t let go, shaking you mercilessly, immersing you completely in its universe, giving each character their right time and space, exploding expectations and closing his story with one of the most beautiful final shots of the last decades. In short, a seamless film that should be celebrated as the absolute marvel it always was.

Children of men at eCartelera