Contagion (2011)

For those of you who aren't already freaked out by the idea of a global pandemic-Steven Soderbergh's latest film should do the trick. The film is cold, almost clinical presentation of a virus that quickly spreads out of control across the World.

Contagion makes you think about how many times a day you touch your face. Like most people, it's not something you would've considered before. It's perfectly normal to touch your face, rub your eyes, stroke your chin. But, what if someone (Gwyneth Paltrow is the first to contract the virus) could pass the virus very easily just by touching something or someone? What if you touched an object that had the virus, mortally unaware, and then 48 hours be foaming at the mouth. Then, once the doctors opened you up to find out what the hell caused your death-they had absolutely no idea.

Contagion is frighteningly plausible. Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns go to great lengths to make it so, to show you exactly how a hybrid bat/pig virus might unfold in minutes. You'll never be so aware of how many things you handle that thousands of other people have touched after you watch this film. A doorknob, a chair, a pint glass. The mere thought is enough to make everyone get out their fresh supply of hand sanitiser, and the number of possibilities is endless. It's not science fiction - but it is the nearest Soderbergh has come to making a horror film. It certainly is up there as one of the scariest films of the year.

Each scene is laden with dread as Soderbergh's camera lingers on a recently touched door handle, a lift button or a bowl of mixed nuts. The killer is unseen, ready to violently strike at any moment. The deaths aren't spectacularly inventive like most films these days. This bad boy just wants to give you the flu - then 48 hours later, put you on your knees.

The actual plot of Contagion is a series of intersecting stories that give a human face to the spread of the virus. A husband and Step-Father (Matt Damon) whose wife may have been patient Zero; a collection of CDC employees that range from doctors (Laurence Fishburne, Jennifer Ehle and Kate Winslet), all trying to figure out how to cope. We also have a Homeland security agent (Enrico Colantoni), a military man (Bryan Cranston), a member of the World Health Organisation (Marion Cotillard) and a internet talk-show host/Blogger (Jude Law) who may be trying to help find a cure or just make loads of money.

Law is the nearest thing the movie has to a villain, with a dodgy Australian accent and really bad teeth. But in his character's campaign to have people reject the vaccination and instead try his untested methods, Soderbergh introduces a story that is similar to the MMR controversy, but this is a movie where science comes out to save the day.

Most of the intersecting stories are well-played out apart from Cotillard's. Her story should be the most dramatic, but she disappears for most of the film, leaving the audience with a slight pay-off when it comes to the ending. But, to Soderbergh's credit, he keeps things cinematic and immediate. Just try not to cough in the cinema.

This is a well-made ensemble drama that, while not a traditional horror film, is still one of the scariest films of the year.