20 Best Movies about Pandemics on Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu and More

The Covid 19 outbreak in 2019 highlights some pandemic movies as people face strange facts like in fiction movies.

Here is the list of the 20 best movies about pandemics. Explore where to watch them on Netflix, amazon prime video, Hulu, and more.

20 Best Movies about Pandemics on Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu

1. Outbreak (1995)
2. Contagion (2011)
3. World War Z (2013)
4. 28 Days Later (2002)
5. The Andromeda Strain (1971)
6. Quarantine (2008)
7. I Am Legend (2007)
8. The Last Man On Earth (1964)
9. 12 Monkeys (1995)
10. Pontypool (2008)
11. Deranged (2012)
12. Virus (2019)
13. Flu (2013)
14. The Cassandra Crossing (1976)
15. Infection (2019)
16. The Happening (2008)
17. Blindness (2008)
18. Bird Box (2018)
19. Carriers (2009)
20. Zombieland (2009)

20. Zombieland (2009)

Zombieland is a 2009 American zombie comedy movie by Ruben Fleischer. The movie shares the geeky college student in Texas who made his way to the post-apocalyptic zombie apocalypse in search of his family. The zombies have taken over their nation in the early twenty-first century.

However, the shy boy survived the situation by following his 30 rules, including Looking in the back seat, avoiding public restrooms, and double tap. As a result, he traveled to Ohio to find his parent’s situation.

The character meets three strangers and takes their way on an extended road trip through the Southwestern United States to find shelter free from zombies.

  • Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, and Bill Murray.
  • Director: Ruben Fleischer
  • Runtime: 1h 28m
  • Rating: 7.6/10
  • Available on: Peacock

19. Carriers (2009)

Carriers (2009) is a post-apocalyptic movie by Àlex and David Pastor, where Taylor, Pine, Perabo, and VanCamp play as four survivors. They attempt to stay alive from the viral pandemic, which loomed the threat of infection worldwide.

The movie received a positive response from the critics and the audience. Also, the flick story was praised alongside the theme and acting performances. However, the audience criticizes its ending.

People thought the film was more realistic than zombie shows. Also, during the 2019 pandemic, it received a positive review from Screen Rant Chris Sawin.

  • Stars: Lou Taylor Pucci, Chris Pine, Piper Perabo, Emily VanCamp, and Christopher Meloni
  • Director: Alex Pastor and Davis Pastor
  • Runtime: 1h 24m
  • Rating: 6/10
  • Available on: Amazon Prime

18. Bird Box (2018)

Bird Box is an American horror thriller movie based on Josh Malerman’s 2014 novel. The film follows the mother who tries to save her two children from entitles that cause the demise of people via suicide if they look at them.

As a result, she blindfolds her children and is aware of never removing them. The movie gained a mixed response from the critics and became the most-watched movie on Netflix within 28 days.

  • Stars: Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich, Danielle Macdonald, and Sarah Paulson
  • Director: Susanne Bier
  • Runtime: 2h 4m
  • IMDB rating: 6.6/10
  • Available on: Netflix

17. Blindness (2008)

Blindness is a thriller movie that shares the story of a community that suffered from an epidemic of white blindness based on the Portuguese writer Jose Saramago’s 1995 novel.

The infected person is quarantined in an abandoned mental hospital by the authorities. The film received mixed reviews on Metacritic. However, it was the number of critics’ top 10 lists for 2008.

  • Stars: Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Alice Braga, Yusuke Iseya, Yoshino Kimura and more
  • Director: Fernando Meirelles
  • IMDB Rating: 6.5/10
  • Runtime: 2h 1m
  • Available on: Hulu and Amazon Prime

16. The Happening (2008)

The Happening is a 2008 thriller by M. Night Shyamalan about the inexplicable natural disaster which caused mass suicides in New York City’s Central Park. People believed an airborne neurotoxin had caused the event. However, it is an airborne virus created by trees and plants, which suddenly spread across the nation.

Later, the behavior spread in the Northeastern United States. As a result, the science teacher’s family struggled to survive the situation contaminated for committing suicide. The film gained an average response from critics.

  • Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo and Betty Buckley
  • Director: M. Night Shyamalan
  • Runtime: 1h 31m
  • IMDB Rating: 5/10
  • Available on: YouTube, Google Play, iTunes

15. Infection (2019)

Infection is an independent horror-thiller film by Flavio Pedota about the zombie apocalypse, which contains elements of social satire. The more interesting fact about this movie; it was the first Venezuelan zombie film and the recipient of several awards and nominations.

The story follows Dr. Adam Vargas and his friends, who fought their way from rabies after an epidemic outbreak by creating a cure in the international laboratory. Also, the father tried to protect his son from the contagion. The movie shared good production values, which contain a social allegory.

  • Stars: Ruben Guevara, Leonidas Urbina, Magdiel Gonzalez, Genna Chanelle Hayes
  • Director: Flavio Pedota
  • Runtime: 1h 37m
  • IMDB Rating: 5.2/10
  • Available on: Amazon Prime

14. The Cassandra Crossing (1976)

The Cassandra Crossing is a disaster thriller movie that follows the story of a disease-infected Swedish terrorist who escapes and infects the passengers on a European train. As a result, nobody let them off the train.

The disaster film received negative reviews from critics. However, its success in the film industry and even obtained production costs from Japan alone.

  • Stars: Sophia Loren, Richard Harris, Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Martin Sheen, O.J. Simpson, and Lee Strasberg
  • Director: George Pan Cosmatos
  • Runtime: 2h 9m
  • IMDB Rating: 6.3/10
  • Available On: YouTube and Amazon Prime

13. Flu (2013)

Flu is a disaster movie about an outbreak of H5N1, which caused chaos that killed the victims within 36 hours. The airborne virus spread less than 20 Km from Seoul and infected the South Korean population.

  • Stars: Kim Sung-Jin, Seo Jong-Hae, Jeong Hoon-tak, Im Young-Ju
  • Director: Kim Sung-Su’
  • Runtime: 2h 2m
  • IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
  • Available on: Amazon Prime

12. Virus (2019)

Virus(2019) is a medical thriller movie based on the 2018 Nipah virus actual event outbreaks in Kerala. It also shares the moment when the character helped control the spreading of the virus, which disrupted the individual’s life, victims, and health care professionals.

The group of people stood up and risked their lives. The movie received critical acclaim and even made commercial success at the box office.

  • Stars: Kunchacko Boban, Indrajith Sukumaran, Asif Ali, Tovino Thomas, Revathi, Parvathy Thiruvothu, and Poornima Indrajith
  • Director: Aashiq Abu
  • Runtime: 2h 32m
  • IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
  • Available on: Vudu and Amazon Prime

11. Deranged (2012)

Deranged is South Korea’s first medical thriller movie about the infectious disease epidemic related to the 2013 film Flu. The plot follows people who suffer from extreme thirst and become crazy for water as they cannot control themselves.

After the outbreak of mutant parasitic horsehair worms, it controlled people’s minds, and the infected person showed signs of hunger and thirst after the worm’s maturity.

  • Stars: Kim Myung-Min, Kim Dong-wan, Moon Jung-hee and Lee Ha-nui
  • Director: Park Jung-woo
  • Runtime: 1h 49m
  • IMDB Rating: 6.3/10
  • Available on: Tubi and Vudu

10. Pontypool (2008)

Pontypool is a Canadian horror movie by Bruce McDonald based on Tony Burgess’s novel Pontypool Changes Everything. It follows the story of the small town of Pontypool, Ontario, where the radio host Grant Mazzy interprets the possible virus outbreak which would infect the people.

The movie gained a positive response from the critics and held an 84% rating based on 86 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. It also ranked as the 42nd Scariest movie ever made in 2018.

  • Stars: Stephen McHattie, Lias Houle, and Georgina Reilly
  • Director: Bruce McDonald
  • Runtime: 1h 33m
  • IMDB Rating: 6.5/10
  • Available on: iTunes and Shudder

9. 12 Monkeys (1995)

12 Monkeys is an American science fiction movie based on the outbreak of the deadly virus in 1996, which wiped out all of humanity and forced the living being to live underground. The people believed the Televle Monkeys were behind the release of these viruses.

The movie follows the time traveler’s journey from the future post-apocalyptic who came to the past world on a mission to locate the source of the plague, which nearly destroyed the human population.

The film received a positive response from critics for its performances and twist. Even gained the approval of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 74 reviews with a rating of 7.6/10.

  • Stars: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer
  • Director: Terry Gilliam
  • Runtime: 2h 9m
  • IMDB Rating: 8/10
  • Available on: Hulu

8. The Last Man On Earth (1964)

The Last Man On Earth is a science fiction post-apocalyptic horror movie based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel I Am Legend. The story follows Robert Morgan, who lives in a world infected with the plague, which turns everyone into vampiric creatures.

Morgan is the last man on the earth who holds a mission to hunt the creatures for his survival and burn them to prevent them from coming.

Although it was unsuccessful at the time of release, the film received critical acclaim from the viewers and received an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Even the film critic Phil Hall said the movie was the best Vincent Price film ever made.

  • Stars: Vincent Price, Frenca Bettoia, Emma Danieli, and Giacomo Rossi Stuart
  • Director: Sidney Salkow and Ubaldo B. Ragona
  • Runtime: 1h 26m
  • IMDB Rating: 6.7/10
  • Available on: Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Pluto TV

7. I Am Legend (2007)

I Am Legend is a post-apocalyptic action movie based on the Richard Matheson 1954 novel. The film follows the cancer cure, which turned into a virus that destroys most of humankind. Neville remained the survivor of the infection in New York City beside nocturnal mutants.

The survivor is immune to the plague, so he works to discover a cure while protecting himself from the hostile mutants.

The film became the 7th highest-grossing movie of 2007, which received positive reviews from critics. Even they praised the mesmerizing performance of Smith and criticized the ending. Based on 217 reviews, the film received an approval rating of 68% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Stars: Akiva Goldsman, James Lassiter, David Heyman, and Neal H. Moritz

  • Director: Francis Lawrence
  • Runtime:1h 41m
  • IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
  • Available on: iTunes, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Google Play, and Vudu

6. Quarantine (2008)

Quarantine is a remake of the Spanish movie REC related to the found footage, which followed a reporter and cameraman who got trapped in a building quarantined by the Center for Disease Control after the mysterious virus outbreak that turns humans into brutal killers.

They followed the distress call and found about the deadly mutated rabies virus. It spread over the resident of buildings. As a result, they couldn’t escape there as the government acted to protect the virus from spreading beyond it, and the pair started recording the events.

The film received a mixed response from critics. Meanwhile, they praised the effective atmosphere and scars, which stand above horror movies. It gained a 56% approval rating as per 86 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

The movie is the best-found footage film with great editing, which builds tension until the conclusion.

  • Stars: Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez, Columbus Short, Greg Germann, Steve Harris, Dania Ramirez
  • Director: John Erick Dowdle
  • Runtime: 1h 29m
  • IMDB Rating: 5.9/10
  • Available on: Sling TV and Hulu

5. The Andromeda Strain (1971)

The Andromeda Strain is a science fiction thriller movie based on the techno-thriller novel by Michael Crichton. It follows a group of top scientists who examine a toxic organism in outer space. They work in secret in a state-of-the-art laboratory to discover the contagion which killed small-town citizens.

The film detailed the deadly agent and its impact. Also, it shared the certification for certain people who are immune to viruses.

Some critics provided mixed opinions, and some enjoyed the movie as it was all dedicated to the original novel. It acquired a 67% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

  • Stars: Arthur Hill, James Olson, Kate Reid, David Wayne, Paula Kelly, and George Mitchell
  • Director: Robert Wise
  • Runtime: 2h 11m
  • IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
  • Available on: iTunes, Youtube, Google Play, Amazon Prime

4. 28 Days Later (2002)

28 Days Late is a post-apocalyptic horror movie that follows the bicycle courier boy who awakens from a coma to find the accidental outbreak of a toxic aggression-inducing plague. After the breakdown in the UK for four weeks, the survivors tried to discover a sanctuary.

The movie is a terrifying zombie sequel with a sharp political allegory. Even the film is listed on The 100 Scariest Movie Moments by Bravo.

The film received positive critical views and obtained an 87% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with a 7.40/10 rating. The viewers thought the fast-moving zombies were a productive idea.

  • Stars: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns, and Brendan Gleeson
  • Director: Danny Boyle
  • Runtime: 1h 53m
  • IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
  • Available on: Amazon Prime

3. World War Z (2013)

World War Z is an action horror movie based on Max Brook’s 2006 novel. A former United Nations investigator Lane traveled the globe to discover the cure for the sudden zombie pandemic.

A mysterious infection only took 12 seconds to spread, which turned the whole human race into rampaging zombies. Meanwhile, Lane barely escapes from the chaos and follows the trek to protect human civilization.

The zombie genre received positive acclaim praising the solid performance of Brad Pitt. The sequel brings fast-moving thrills with non-stop action.

The movie collected a 66% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 279 reviews.

  • Stars: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale, and Mathew Fox
  • Director: Marc Foster
  • Runtime: 1h 56m
  • IMDB Rating: 7/10
  • Available on: Sling TV and Hulu

2. Contagion (2011)

Contagion is a medical thriller movie that follows the spread of the highly contagious plague. It shares the concern over the virus, which had communicated through the respiratory droplet and inanimate object fomites.

Medical researchers and public health officials attempted to identify the disease when the virus turned into a global pandemic. As a result, they must identify the virus type and the means of combating it.

The film commenter gave positive reviews to Contagion and gave 85% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 278 reviews.

  • Stars: Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurance Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet
  • Director: Steven Soderbergh
  • Runtime: 1h 46m
  • IMDB Rating: 6.8/10
  • Available on: Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime, and iTunes

1. Outbreak (1995)

Outbreak (1995) is a medical disaster movie based on Richard Preston’s book The Hot Zone about the outbreak of a fictional virological taxon in the African Village of Zaire. Daniels offered to investigate a lethal disease and found interesting facts about the virus, which could even infect his nation.

Ford was sure the Motaba virus, which caused the deadly fever, never reached their country. Nonetheless, an African smuggled monkey carrier led the virus outbreak in a small town in California.

The critics viewed the film with mixed reviews and gained 60% of 65 critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

  • Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Donald Sutherland, Cuba Gooding Jr.
  • Director: Wolfgang Petersen
  • Runtime: 2h 7m
  • IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
  • Available on: Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, iTunes, Google Play, and Vudu.
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