The streets are deserted as the city enters the third day of lockdown. It feels almost like a movie scene from “I am Legend” and every time I walk outside my apartment, I feel closer to a post-apocalyptic world. Well don’t imagine me as Will Smith (at least for now) but this self-quarantine made me interested in the post-apocalyptic genre again. So, whether you’re watching it alone or along with your friends, here is a list of pandemic movies that you can Netflix right now!
Pandemic Movies on Netflix
1. Pandemic
Pandemic: How to prevent an outbreak is a docuseries unusually relevant to the current times. A six-part series on the preparedness of the world in terms of dealing with a new pandemic, it starts with a theory that the world is fast approaching a deadly virus. The uncanny similarities between the series and the present-day situation of health care workers dying while treating affected patients, overworked doctors and overcrowded hospitals in the under-developed and developing countries is a reality check on the health care system across countries.
As real as it can get, Pandemic is an enlightening, educational and extraordinary production.
Genre: Social & Cultural Documentaries
Number of Episodes: 6
Duration: 50 mins.
IMDb Rating 6.3 | Watch Pandemic
2. 93 Days
Directed by Steve Gukas, it’s based on a true story. 93 Days takes us back to the Ebola Outbreak in 2014. While the story revolves around how it arrives with a Liberian American diplomat entering Nigeria and health workers’ heroic attempt to contain it. If I’ve to put it in one word, I’d say the movie is courageous and shows the altruistic spirit that everyone should nourish in themselves in times of distress. It is also considered to pay homage to Stella Adadevoh, who is considered to have played a pivotal role in containing the spread of Ebola in Nigeria.
This might be not for everyone as some might find it a bit slow. Provided there it’s based on a true story and grounded on emotions rather than nerve-wrenching scenes.
Genre: Drama Thriller
Duration: 118 mins.
IMDb Rating 6.0 | Watch 93 Days
3. Explained (This Next Pandemic)
If you love the content VOX Media produces, Explained is another series produced by them, available on Netflix. Although there are 2 seasons in total, I’ll talk about this particular episode in the second season that gained my interest, titled ‘The Next Pandemic”. This particular episode is a discussion on global Pandemics and how they spread. With appearances like Bill Gates, where he discussed the first of such pandemics with other experts. As the name suggests(Explained), it gives you an insight into not only the history and what a pandemic is but also how new methods for possible prevention.
“If anything kills over 10 million people in the next few decades, it’s most likely to be a highly infectious virus rather than a war – not missiles, but microbes,” Bill Gates (TED Talk)”
Genre: Documentary
Duration: 20 mins.
IMDb Rating 8.0 | Watch Explained
4. Doomsday Preppers
It’s better to be prepared than to wait and suffer right? This reality show originally hosted by National Geographic shows you exactly that. From families preparing for biological terrorist attacks to intense F5 tornadoes. These preppers are the fight all odds to prove that they can survive efficiently. If nothing else this show will at least show you various meticulously doomsday survival plans.
Whether you watch it for pure entertainment or to learn some new tactics for the wild, Season 2 is the highest-rated season available on Netflix
Genre: Reality-TV
Number of Episodes: 18
Duration: 45 mins.
IMDb Rating 6.1 |Watch Doomsday Preppers
5. Inferno
Dante defined our conception of hell 700 years ago but these circles of hell have been re-arranged
The damned line by Tom Hanks from Inferno was enough for me to re-watch this movie during this ‘never-ending’ lockdown. ‘Inferno’ directed by Ron Howard is based on Dan Brown’s book by the same name. Starring Tom Hanks and Felicity Jones ‘Inferno’ unfurls the plot of overpopulation, man-made plague and amnesia.
Robert Langdon and Sienna Brookes played by Hanks and Jones respectively are trying to control this plague which has been unleashed by Dr. Bertrand Zobrist, the mad scientist who is hell-bent on solving the world population problem. To know about this a little more, go and watch this brilliant adaptation. Also, one more perk – our favorite actor Irrfan Khan has a little role too, which is definitely a scene-stealer.
Genre: Mystery
Duration: 121 mins.
IMDb Rating 6.2 | Watch Inferno
6. 12 Monkeys
12 Monkeys is a 1995 movie showcasing the release of a deadly virus in 1996, by an Army of the Twelve Monkeys. The virus ends up wiping out most of the Earth’s population, forcing survivors to live underground. The movie is a science fiction, where the protagonist is made to travel time in order to find the origin of the virus and develop a cure. Directed by Terry Gilliam, this movie is a visual treat with a gripping storyline.
The movie earned Bradd Pitt his first OSCAR Nomination and he also won the Golden Globe Award for best-supporting actor.
Genre: Sci-Fi
Duration: 129 mins.
IMDb Rating 8.0 | Watch 12 Monkeys
7. Carriers
Carrier is a movie where four friends seek shelter to save themselves from the deadly virus which has spread worldwide, killing most of the human population. The story revolves around the escape and the subsequent spread of the endangering virus amongst the group of friends. Though for many this is an engaging end-of-the-world drama, for others it is not appealing enough with an unsatisfactory ending.
Given the time you have in your hand right now, this might be an interesting watch if you are looking for a mix of horror and beyond-reality-drama.
Genre: Adventure Thriller
Duration: 85 mins.
IMDb Rating 6.0 | Watch Carriers
8. It Comes at Night
“Fear turns men into monsters” does it? Well, you’ll know your answer at the end of this pandemic. But before that, you should definitely watch “It comes at night” by widely acclaimed director Trey Edward Shultz. This post-apocalyptic psychological thriller will leave you unnerved and unhinged. “It comes at night” is about a couple and their teenage son. A plague has apparently wiped out humanity, and the last man left will do anything to protect his family, but the main lead Travis the teenage boy wants a world beyond this post-apocalyptic environment. So when a young couple with their kid comes and lives with Travis’s family, a chain of events breaks loose.
Watch this not so typical horror and be ready for a few jumps here and there. Also, keep a check on the ‘Red door’.
Genre: Mystery
Duration: 91 mins.
IMDb Rating 6.2 | Watch It Comes at Night
9. Outbreak
Based on Richard Preston‘s nonfiction book The Hot Zone. The outbreak is a movie Directed by Wolfgang Petersen. It’s about a virus that originated in the jungles of Africa in 1967, which is eventually contained by destroying ground zero by U.S Army officials. However, it doesn’t stop there. It makes a comeback in the year 1995 but through a primate which is smuggled into the US soil. What makes the movie further is its direction and the prospect of such diseases lurking in remote places only to find a way to come into our mundane lives and affect us. Anyhow, watch the movie and try to remain calm, as someone even with a slight cough might make you uncomfortable.
Genre: Thriller
Duration: 127 mins.
IMDb Rating 6.6 | Watch Outbreak
10. Black Mirror
With six Emmy awards, Black Mirror is a series that got me hooked from the start with its dystopian storyline. Created by Charlie Brooker it gives us humans a reality check about how ignorant and isolated we have become to the outside world. The entire series targets a lot of myriad areas but if I have to suggest an episode that is a must-watch, I’ll go with, ‘Fifteen Million Merits’ starring Daniel Kaluuya, where people spend most of their time in a high-tech enclosed environment.
Though we’re not as technology-obsessed as the episode’s storyline, it does bear a lot of similarities with the present-day ‘work-from-home’ culture and maybe we hit a point where the desperate need to earn currency makes us perform mundane at home.
Genre: TV Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Duration: 62 mins.
IMDb Rating 8.1 | Watch Black Mirror
Closing Remarks
So, since you have enough time in your hand now. Stay in and prevent the widespread. This might be the right opportunity to binge-watch Netflix and come out to a better place. Carrier, It comes at Night and Outbreak are movies which might not be available in your country, you can use a VPN to bypass that and enjoy these. So, here was my list of pandemic movies that you can Netflix right now! If you’ve more such movies, do let me know in the comments.
Also Read COVID-19 Apps to Stay Updated About the Pandemic
