The difference between zombie movies and pandemic movies is subtle, but important. Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later? Pandemic. Dawn of the Dead? Zombie movie. The latest in the former category is Patient Zero, which finds Stanley Tucci, Matt Smith, Natalie Dormer, and others trying to survive a pandemic that has turned its victims into rabies-fueled savages. So yeah, it’s very 28 Days Later.
The film is directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky, the German director who helmed The Counterfeiters, the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winner in 2008. Shooting was completed on this in 2015 and has been on the shelf for a while, which isn’t a good sign, but the trailer suggests a solid entry in the genre. Here’s the synopsis:
In the pandemic thriller, PATIENT ZERO, humanity is battling intelligent, adrenaline-fueled creatures born from a viral super-strain. After being bitten, human survivor Morgan (Matt Smith) realizes he is asymptomatic and can communicate with the infected, leading the last survivors on a hunt for Patient Zero and a cure.
Patient Zero hits theaters on September 14th, preceded by a digital release on August 14th.
