There are zombie movies and there are pandemic movies and while they may seem like the same thing, the creators are often very adamant about the distinction. Example, “28 Days Later” is probably seen as a zombie movie, but writer/director Alex Garland is very clear that the humans infected with the rage virus do not come back from the dead to become undead. Likewise, Steven Soderbergh’s pandemic movie “Contagion” is much more deadly global virus that kills instead of a zombie movie. So it looks like we have one more film to add to that particular mix: “Patient Zero.”
Directed by German filmmaker Stefan Ruzowitzky—he helmed 2008’s “The Counterfeiters” which won the Best Foreign Language Film of the Year at the Oscars— “Patient Zero” centers on an unprecedented global pandemic of a super strain of rabies has turned the majority of humankind into highly intelligent, streamlined killers known as “The Infected.”
One victim, Morgan (Matt Smith), who is asymptomatic and can communicate with the infected, leads the last survivors on a hunt for Patient Zero and a cure. The cast also includes “Game Of Thrones” star Natalie Dormer, Stanley Tucci, John Bradley and Clive Standen.
“Patient Zero” has been plagued by delays, as the film was shot in 2015 and originally set for release in 2016. However, after numerous date changes, it looks like Sony has finally agreed to release the film later this summer.
“Patient Zero” opens on digital August 14 and select theaters September 14.
Here’s the official synopsis and trailer:
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.