When Viruses Attack: Scariest Outbreak Movies

The villains in these films are invisible, but deadly.

Scariest Outbreak Movies - With Halloween just around the corner, cold and flu season upon us and the worldwide threat of virus outbreaks dominating the news, we're taking a few tips from stars who have battled viral villians on the big screen. Check out our list of the scariest outbreak movies!(Photos from left: Warner Bros. Pictures, Twentieth Century FOX)

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Scariest Outbreak Movies - With Halloween just around the corner, cold and flu season upon us and the worldwide threat of virus outbreaks dominating the news, we're taking a few tips from stars who have battled viral villians on the big screen. Check out our list of the scariest outbreak movies!(Photos from left: Warner Bros. Pictures, Twentieth Century FOX)

Photo By Photos from left: Warner Bros. Pictures

Ebola Syndrome (1996) - A Chinese man in South Africa contracts the Ebola virus from a local woman and brings the deadly disease back to his native Hong Kong, wreaking havoc among citizens. Nope, that's not a recap of the alarmist evening news, but rather the basic plot of this cringe-inducing Asian cult horror film. Heap on the rapes, murders, cannibalism and just about every horror taboo you can think of, and you have an idea of what's in store when you watch this film. Not for the easily grossed out.(Photo: Jing's Production)

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Ebola Syndrome (1996) - A Chinese man in South Africa contracts the Ebola virus from a local woman and brings the deadly disease back to his native Hong Kong, wreaking havoc among citizens. Nope, that's not a recap of the alarmist evening news, but rather the basic plot of this cringe-inducing Asian cult horror film. Heap on the rapes, murders, cannibalism and just about every horror taboo you can think of, and you have an idea of what's in store when you watch this film. Not for the easily grossed out.(Photo: Jing's Production)

Contagion (2011) - You'll never scoff at those guys who wear face masks on airplanes after watching this tensely-plotted thriller by Steven Soderbergh. The film, starring Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne and more, follows the progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days and tears society apart at its seams. The invisible villian in this film is scarier than any flesh-and-bone version we've ever seen.  (Photo: Claudette Barius/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.)

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Contagion (2011) - You'll never scoff at those guys who wear face masks on airplanes after watching this tensely-plotted thriller by Steven Soderbergh. The film, starring Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne and more, follows the progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days and tears society apart at its seams. The invisible villian in this film is scarier than any flesh-and-bone version we've ever seen. (Photo: Claudette Barius/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.)

28 Weeks Later (2007) - A smart take on the zombie genre, 28 Weeks Later picks up six months after 28 Days Later left off. In the aftermath of the rage virus that left Great Britain's population depleted, the US Army helps survivors to repopulate and start again. Of course, things don't quite go as planned. Idris Elba and Harold Perrineau are among the stars in the film.   (Photo: Twentieth Century FOX)

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28 Weeks Later (2007) - A smart take on the zombie genre, 28 Weeks Later picks up six months after 28 Days Later left off. In the aftermath of the rage virus that left Great Britain's population depleted, the US Army helps survivors to repopulate and start again. Of course, things don't quite go as planned. Idris Elba and Harold Perrineau are among the stars in the film.  (Photo: Twentieth Century FOX)

Outbreak (1995) - Years before SARS, bird flu and ebola became a regular part of the evening news, this film explored what happened when a group of scientists bombed an entire village in Zaire infested with a deadly virus. Thirty years later, their extreme actions came back to haunt them. Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman and Cuba Gooding, Jr. star in this suspense classic.(Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures)

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Outbreak (1995) - Years before SARS, bird flu and ebola became a regular part of the evening news, this film explored what happened when a group of scientists bombed an entire village in Zaire infested with a deadly virus. Thirty years later, their extreme actions came back to haunt them. Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman and Cuba Gooding, Jr. star in this suspense classic.(Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures)

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World War Z (2013) - Brad Pitt saves the world from a zombie apocalypse in this smart, fast-paced action thriller. As a UN employee who is somehow the only person on the planet with the skills to crack the zombie code, Pitt puts himself in harms way to protect humanity from the plague of undead.   (Photo: Skydance Productions)

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World War Z (2013) - Brad Pitt saves the world from a zombie apocalypse in this smart, fast-paced action thriller. As a UN employee who is somehow the only person on the planet with the skills to crack the zombie code, Pitt puts himself in harms way to protect humanity from the plague of undead.  (Photo: Skydance Productions)

Photo By Skydance Productions

I Am Legend (2007) - Will Smith scored a commercial and critical hit with this thriller, in which he plays the sole survivor of a plague that wipes out every living person in Manhattan, and most of the rest of the world. The actor was captivating, despite spending nearly all of the film alone on the screen, with only a dog for a co-star.  (Photo: Warner Bros.)

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I Am Legend (2007) - Will Smith scored a commercial and critical hit with this thriller, in which he plays the sole survivor of a plague that wipes out every living person in Manhattan, and most of the rest of the world. The actor was captivating, despite spending nearly all of the film alone on the screen, with only a dog for a co-star. (Photo: Warner Bros.)

Quarantine (2008) - It's a broadcaster's worst nightmare. In this film, a TV reporter and her cameraman are trapped inside a building quarantined by the Center for Disease Control after — you guessed it — the outbreak of a deadly virus that turns humans into carnivorous zombies. Columbus Short makes an appearance as a cop trying to protect the crew.(Photo: Columbia/TriStar)

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Quarantine (2008) - It's a broadcaster's worst nightmare. In this film, a TV reporter and her cameraman are trapped inside a building quarantined by the Center for Disease Control after — you guessed it — the outbreak of a deadly virus that turns humans into carnivorous zombies. Columbus Short makes an appearance as a cop trying to protect the crew.(Photo: Columbia/TriStar)

Resident Evil (2002) - This 2002 film about a special military unit that fights a group of scientists who mutated into flesh-eating creatures after a freak lab accident spawned five sequels. Milla Jovovich plays the head evil-slayer Alice in the franchise.(Photo: Screen Gems)

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Resident Evil (2002) - This 2002 film about a special military unit that fights a group of scientists who mutated into flesh-eating creatures after a freak lab accident spawned five sequels. Milla Jovovich plays the head evil-slayer Alice in the franchise.(Photo: Screen Gems)

The Crazies (2010) - This remake of George Romero's classic traps viewers in a small Iowa town in which the residents suddenly go insane as the result of a contaminated water supply. The film is so frightening, it should have been sponsored by Evian. (Photo: Saeed Adyani/Overture Films, LLC and Participant Media, LLC)

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The Crazies (2010) - This remake of George Romero's classic traps viewers in a small Iowa town in which the residents suddenly go insane as the result of a contaminated water supply. The film is so frightening, it should have been sponsored by Evian. (Photo: Saeed Adyani/Overture Films, LLC and Participant Media, LLC)

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Cabin Fever (2002) - Horror prodigy Eli Roth directed this tense tale of a group of college students who rent a cabin only to fall victim to a horrifying, flesh-eating virus. If that isn't bad enough, the outbreak attracts the unwanted attention of homicidal locals. It's the kind of drama that would make you think twice about cutting class.(Photo: Lions Gate Entertainment)

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Cabin Fever (2002) - Horror prodigy Eli Roth directed this tense tale of a group of college students who rent a cabin only to fall victim to a horrifying, flesh-eating virus. If that isn't bad enough, the outbreak attracts the unwanted attention of homicidal locals. It's the kind of drama that would make you think twice about cutting class.(Photo: Lions Gate Entertainment)

Carriers (2009) - Star Trek hottie Chris Pine stars in this thriller about a deadly viral pandemic.  Gory and terrifying, Carriers was a box office hit — but a movie that is diffucult to watch more than once   (Photo: Paramount Vantage)

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Carriers (2009) - Star Trek hottie Chris Pine stars in this thriller about a deadly viral pandemic.  Gory and terrifying, Carriers was a box office hit — but a movie that is diffucult to watch more than once  (Photo: Paramount Vantage)