Outbreak/Epidemic marathon

Tonight's marathon is all about the spread of massive and deadly epidemics through five different storylines. Totally inspired by the recent events of the Ebola virus, were in for an evening of utter and sheer terror. We have on our menu for this evening:

  Outbreak 1995, 28 Days Later 2002, Contagion 2011, Rise of the Planet of the Apes 2011, and I Am Legend 2007

Does that sound like an intense lineup or what? All of these movies have a deadly disease that threatens to wipe out large portions of the population and possibly mankind. We begin the evening with the classic outbreak film titled Outbreak. With an all star cast among the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Donald Sutherland, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Spacey, we see a group of civilians and corrupt military figures taking extreme measures to contain an epidemic of a deadly airborne virus. This serves as a great prelude to the second film in the lineup titled 28 Days Later. In this epidemic tale, the story picks up four weeks after an incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, allowing the audience to follow a group of survivors in their quest to find protection from the infected. If one uses their imagination, this film can be seen as the direct sequel to the events of Outbreak. Not only is 28 Days Later one of the most thrilling epidemic movies ever made, but it was such a big hit that it led to a solid sequel titled 28 Weeks Later. The third film Contagion, has a high profile cast like Outbreaks with the inclusion of Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Contagion shows the everyday normal people such as healthcare professionals, government officials, and regular civilians finding themselves in the midst of a worldwide epidemic as the CDC works to find a cure. The lineup leads to towering heights with Rise of the Planet of the Apes. In this entry, a substance that's designed to help the brain repair itself, gives rise to a chimp that is so super-intelligent, he becomes capable of leading an ape uprising. While this film may not appear to be as an outbreak movie like the others, it has many layers of that theme in it's story and a virus plays a role in the latter part of the movie. The final film of the night brings home the impact of the outbreak and epidemic with I Am Legend. I Am Legend takes place years after an epidemic that killed most of the worlds population and turns the rest into monsters. The only survivor of the epidemic played by Will Smith, struggles to find a cure.

By putting all of these movies together, it gives the illusion that this is really one giant epidemic that's slowly wiping out mankind one film at a time. There is no hope for humanity this evening.