Movie Review - Virus

Virus

(2016)

Blumhouse Productions / Busted Shark Productions / Chapter One Films / Dimension Films / IM Global / Miramax : Lionsgate / Entertainment One

7.5 / 10

"Worm-flu hits America..."  I really wasn't looking forward to watching this film with that tagline, though the synopsis and trailer were enough of a hook to fish me in... and I am glad they did.

There's some new illness going around and it spreads with the speed of Speedy Gonzalas.  At first, the news tells people not to worry... then to stay at home... then the airwaves are taken over by the CDC as everything goes to hell.

What you get here is a typical "Teenagers will do what teenagers will do survival story".  the difference being it's pretty strongly directed and acted.

The story by Barbara Marshall and Christopher Landon had me in mind of Stephen King's Cell (also reviewed on this blog) though done better.  Instead of a cell phone signal affecting people, it's a strange infectious disease... or is it?  What the writers do best is to create strong and engaging characters.

Respect to directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman for breathing new life into the genre by creating relatable and realistic characters, adding tension and scares where required, and especially for some very nice camera shots.

Something else which booted the film in my eyes was the absence of an annoying character.  There's usually one character in this type of movie that is irksome and usually lowers the movie; the best example of this is "Snot-Girl" in The Blair Witch Project.  Luckily there's no such character here - thank you.

What you get are sisters Emma and Stacey Drakeford who have been forced to move to the new housing estate in a new city, thanks to their teacher dad's transfer.  The sisters are realistically portrayed by Sofia Black D'Elia and Analeigh Tipton, respectively.  Even though all hell is breaking loose around them it's a story of their relationship and how strong their and their families bonds are.

Even though there aren't many big special effects in the film, what there is are well done and nicely throughout.  The airstrike comes straight to mind as an example as does the "wiggly" ears...

If you like science fiction films about humans fighting an unwinnable fight against unknown forces then this would be worth a watch.  You will also see how Cell should have been done.