THE REVEREND’S REVIEW
FT’s resident man of the cloth REVEREND PETER LAWS goes into lockdown armed with a selection of movies perfectly suited for watching during a pandemic
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The Covid-19 ‘event’ has locked much of the world inside – including me as I write this. It’s a surreal and disorientating experience where we seem to be using films and TV shows not just to pass the time, but to cope. I’ve long argued that scary content helps us process scary experiences, so I’m not shocked to find that gloomy virus films like Contagion (2011), 28 Days Later (2002), I Am Legend (2007) and Outbreak (1995) are some of the most popular movie choices on streaming services right now. If you’ve already worked your way through those, here are some additional movie picks, fit for a global pandemic.
Why not start on Netflix with the full-on pestilence of Black Death (2010), where Mediaeval England is ravaged by the bubonic plague? A mysterious village seems untouched by disease – is the supernatural at work? Sean Bean heads the prestigious cast, along with Eddie Redmayne as the young monk sent to investigate. This effective chiller is an appropriately filthy looking descent into disease and necromancy.
If Black Death is at the classy end of virus cinema, then get your retro B-Movie fix with the next few picks. In Where Have All The People Gone (1974) on Amazon Prime, Peter Graves and his family are immune to a series of solar flares that turn the majority of Earth’s inhabitants into piles of empty clothing. Scenes of them wandering the empty planet feel reminiscent of a once-a-day, state-sanctioned jog through our deserted towns right now. You’ll find a similar vibe on Amazon Prime with The Last Man On Earth (1964) where Vincent Price plays a reluctant vampire hunter in a world newly emptied by plague. Out for Amazon rental is The Alpha Incident (1977), in which a train carrying a deadly alien organism is plunged into quarantine. The slow pace might put you to sleep, but we’ve all got plenty of time to work through it.
Another retro tip could be The Mad Death (1983), which is now out on DVD from Simply Media. This BBC Scotland mini-series showed the effects of a massive rabies outbreak across the UK. Rabies was the on-trend bio-fear at the time, and the opening sequence is particularly spooky: the face of a fox, floating in rippling water, while a child’s choir sing ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’. Brrr.
Interestingly, more recent virus films tend to focus on home isolation. So do try renting It Comes At Night (2017). Here a family are faced with a worldwide virus outbreak and go into lockdown in a secluded woodland. The film hinges on an idea that is freshly terrifying in the current climate: the thought of another family asking to stay with you. Also for streaming rental is 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) a tightly constructed fortean thriller about a woman who wakes up in the bunker of a suitably swivel-eyed conspiracist John Goodman. He claims she can’t leave since the outside world has been contaminated via an ‘attack’. Is he right? This clever, tense scenario had me gripped.
If you’re feeling truly claustrophobic, then the following two picks might give you perspective. Streaming on Channel 4 player is The Descent (2005), which had me sweating with stress. Six cavers become trapped in a horribly cramped underground cave system… though there’s just enough room for monsters to join them. If you really want to zoom it in close, then try Buried (2010), a twisted Ryan Reynolds thriller set entirely inside a coffin. Your house will feel like a palatial mansion after watching this.
Other classics worth seeking out include: The Andromeda Strain (1971), The Omega Man (1975) Masque of the Red Death (1964) and Pontypool (2008).
Final tip: watching any Bigfoot movie is a must at these times... if you want to learn the art of avoiding people from the undisputed master of social distancing.
It’s a filthy looking descent into disease and necromancy