The scariest films are the ones that exert a vivid sense of realism. Their worlds feel lived in, their characters make coherent decisions, and the events of the film - while frightening, remain plausible. Most of the time, these films are not structured around the supernatural or the paranormal, but instead on events that feel like they could exist in real life.

In March of 2020, we’re on the cusp of a possible global pandemic with the COVID-19 virus, and never has Steven Soderberg’s Contagion felt more relevant or more frightening.

Contagion is a film about transmission. The film’s central focus is the study of how a highly contagious and deadly disease is spread from one person to another. We see this in the earliest moments of the film, as Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) travels home from a business trip in Hong Kong after contracting the virus, infecting numerous people along the way.

Within the film, the concept of transmission (which we see visually) also encompasses the act of communication. Much of the film is structured around sequences of purposeful dialogue, usually consisting of exchanges between scientists who are trying to contain the virus. These scenes are mostly focused on the strategies that our world leaders and epidemiologists are trying to implement in order to control the situation, but they usually end with one or more characters failing to agree to a plan either because of a language barrier or a total lack of understanding. Due to the lack of proper communication between countries and people, it’s evitable that the disease spreads and society eventually crumbles.

The film moves at a break-neck but methodical pace, with information constantly being thrown at its audience. As the virus spreads and the pandemonium sets in, the character narratives can abruptly change, sometimes with deadly results. Soderberg creates a hostile and relentless environment for our characters to interact with, but more importantly, he creates an environment that feels unsafe and real for everyone.

Contagion contains a large international cast, yet Soderberg primarily uses his actors to service the story and to progress it. The decisions and the motivations his characters make are frighteningly real and because we do not get keyed into most of the characters emotions, when the film does take a dystopian turn, it feels like any action a character makes could be a detrimental one.

The choice to forgo intimacy in a film structured around human interaction is a bold one. Fortunately, Soderberg’s decision to gravitate towards a colder, more detached perspective works in the film’s favor - helping to distance itself from the schmaltzy, overly-sentimental disaster films from Hollywood’s past. Clearly more interested in the clinical process of viral infection, Soderberg creates a film that feels fully grounded in reality, giving us a preview of what would actually happen in reality if a disease were as widespread as the one within the film.

The cold approach Soderberg chooses to utilize is a throughline of Contagion; from the frantic, hypnotic score to the stark, sickly cinematography. Soderberg deftly establishes the mood through the technical aspects of the film.

As the virus in the film spreads and the body count climbs higher and higher, Soderberg lets the suspense build until the virus has spread globally - resulting in a finale that is neither bombastic nor purgative. The film concludes with a very human moment; one that all of us can relate and adhere to. Soderberg theorizes that in the wake of an event like a global pandemic, life will ultimately continue and those who survive will move on.

Released in 2011 and mostly ignored by audiences, Contagion has since become widely considered a breakthrough in medical-drama cinema, with many scientists and writers praising the film for its representation of how an outbreak spreads and the governmental response to it.

Almost 10 years later, Contagion remains an essential piece of medical-drama cinema. Soderberg has crafted a taunt, tactical, sometimes disturbing, but always realistic look into how countries and people respond to a pandemic on a global scale. It’s a truly terrifying film, and in the Spring of 2020, a film has never felt more timely.

Written by Kieran Triplett - March 10th, 2020