2020 has been dominated by the words pandemic and virus, and Collins Dictionary recently announced that “lockdown” was their word of the year. The scenario we have all been living through was strangely foretold in past Hollywood movies about biological warfare, deadly diseases, and plagues, and, if you haven’t had enough of coronavirus by now, then check out the great movies about biological warfare on this list.
Of course, biological warfare is a very different phenomenon from the current pandemic, but the outcome is much the same for many of the characters in these movies, which have been ranked according to their IMDb ratings.
The Satan Bug - 6.2
Based on the novel by Alistair MacLean, The Satan Bug was a 1965 crime thriller about a private eye who finds himself caught up in the deadly world of biological warfare.
Although it borders on B-Movie melodrama at times, The Satan Bug certainly boasts an enthralling plot, as you would expect from thriller writer extraordinaire MacLean. There may not be any big Hollywood names in the cast, but actors like George Maharis and Richard Baseheart make the best of a rather complex storyline and script.
Unlocked - 6.3
Unlocked is a biological warfare movie for the twenty-first century, with intelligence agents pitted against international terrorists who have managed to get their hands on some very deadly biological weapons.
With an all-star cast including Noomi Rapace, Orlando Bloom, Michael Douglas, and John Malkovich, Unlocked should probably have been a bigger box office hit, but it was let down by a rather predictable storyline and too many spy thriller clichés. It nevertheless scored a reasonable 6.3 on IMDb and is well worth watching for a bit of dramatic escapism.
The Cassandra Crossing - 6.5
Disaster thrillers like The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno were all the rage in the 1970s, and the 1976 biological warfare movie The Cassandra Crossing was another classic of the genre.
The globe-trotting movie boasted an international cast, as Burt Lancaster chased terrorists armed with a deadly virus around the world. The movie was a flop at the time thanks to its over-the-top plot and some of the bizarre casting choices, but it has a certain cult appeal almost 50 years later.
The Omega Man - 6.5
Released in 1971, The Omega Man was a little different from the other movies on this list, as it took place after a global pandemic had already wiped out most of human civilization. The movie was based on the Richard Matheson novel I Am Legend, better known as the source material for the 2007 Will Smith film of the same name.
The movie was hit with critics and moviegoers despite its rather far-fetched ending, and it was ground-breaking in showing one of the first Hollywood inter-racial kisses, between Charlton Heston and Rosalind Cash.
The Blob (1988) - 6.5
The 1988 version of The Blob is a remake of the 1958 movie of the same name, and, bizarrely, IMDb users rate the remake as better than the original! The 1958 Blob is a timeless B-movie, while the 1988 version was a major box office flop.
However, it has since become known as one of those films that are so bad they are good and has acquired something of a cult following. Don’t expect a Hollywood classic if you tune into The Blob, though you might find yourself enjoying an unexpected belly laugh or two.
Outbreak - 6.6
If you’re feeling stressed about the current coronavirus pandemic, then the 1995 film Outbreak is probably not the movie for you. It is one of Hollywood’s most realistic interpretations of what would happen should the world find itself in the grip of a deadly virus, and some of the scenes might just hit a little too close to home at the moment!
Nevertheless, the impressive cast, including Dustin Hoffmann and Rene Russo, is backed up by a strong script, and some serious ethical questions about how far governments should go in preventing the outbreak of a serious pandemic.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service - 6.7
British super-spy James Bond has had to deal with some cunning villains in his time, but Ernst Blofeld, played by Telly Savalas in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, is one of the most fiendish of all. This is the only Bond film to star male model George Lazenby as 007; he took over the iconic role after Sean Connery announced his retirement.
Blofeld’s evil plot revolves around a Swiss clinic where beautiful women are transformed into living biological weapons. It is as ridiculous as you would expect from a Bond film, but riotous good fun, nonetheless.
Jarhead - 7.0
Jarhead is a much more serious film than most of the other cheap thriller movies on this list and is based on the memoirs of a real-life US Marine, Anthony Swofford. Swofford’s character, played by Jake Gyllenhaal in the Sam Mendes-directed film, struggles to cope with the psychological impact of being sent to war and the terrible things that he and his comrades see while fighting in Iraq. The critically-acclaimed movie is a serious piece of film-making, despite the darkly comedic moments among the soldiers in camp.
War of the Worlds (1953) - 7.1
Amazingly, the novel on which War of the Worlds was based was written back in 1897 by H.G. Well, and the original movie from 1953 is much better than the Tom Cruise remake.
Although it focuses a little too much on the romance between the two leading characters, the special effects were mind-blowing to audiences in the 50s, even if they look a little cheap to twenty-first-century viewers. Try and suspend your disbelief for a while and just enjoy a Hollywood classic.
V for Vendetta - 8.2
By far the best biological warfare movie, at least according to IMDb users, is V for Vendetta, the 2005 dystopian thriller starring Natalie Portman. The biological warfare element is only a small part of the movie, in the shape of a weapon which is employed by the evil Norsefire Party as a way of keeping the population under control.
The film is based on a comic of the same name, and stylistically the film feels very like a graphic novel, though it is also reminiscent of another dystopian classic, George Orwell’s 1984.