Spoilers Alert:
It is probably only a matter of time before Corona-inspired epidemic films hit international cinemas. Until then, just make do with stale fare from 2013. Like that PANDEMIC, which due to the circumstances now finds its way onto the screen. We’ll reveal in our review whether it’s worth it.
A little girl in the midst of the plague.
And as such, “Pandemic” works pretty well. Although the makers use the usual set pieces of a film in which the same catastrophic event is viewed from different points of view, it is not for nothing that these have proven themselves over many decades. The little girl who desperately searches for her mother in the turmoil of the epidemic fulfills her purpose here, as does the self-sacrificing nurse who gives her life for that of patients who are strangers to her. There are also a few marginal figures who classify what is happening from a political perspective (the motif of politicians and researchers making decisions over the heads of the citizens is once again overused to the point of ridiculousness; everything here is always a touch too sensational to be anything other than greed to satisfy the desire for a believable story after adrenaline) or to find completely different perspectives to show how differently each person deals with such an exceptional situation. It should be pretty clear from the above descriptions who the main drama ultimately focuses on.
“The makers use the usual set pieces of a film in which the same catastrophic event is viewed from different points of view, but it is not for nothing that these have proven themselves over many decades.”
In contrast to similar genre fare from the USA, “Pandemic” does not rely on simply slapping the dirtiest possible color filter over the typical Hollywood glossy look. No, “pandemic” just seems really unsavory overall. When blood sprays here, you can literally feel the mutual infection between people. The physical state of emergency on their faces is always evident under the sweat of exertion and the dirt of the last few days. The lack of make-up and hairstyles makes it seem at all times as if this is simply about people fighting for their lives. This makes “Pandemic” very authentic on a technical level, even if it otherwise only partially fits in with the rest of the film. At the same time, this mix of lurid over-dramatization and lifelike execution is quite fascinating.
Conclusion: Due to the corona pandemic, the disaster thriller “Gamgi”, which was released in 2013, is now making it to USA cinemas under the title “Pandemic”. Here the viewer can expect a classic genre thriller with a few random references to our current reality, which, however, relies primarily on quick shock and less on sneaking threat.
“Pandemic” can be seen in USA cinemas from August 6th.
