Apocalyptic Diseases (2020): Subgenres of Terror

By Steve Hutchison

Two popular subgenres converge. Film critic Steve Hutchison covers 50 excellent apocalyptic disease films and ranks them mathematically. A synopsis, five ratings, and a review are provided for each film. How many have you seen?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Hutchison
• Release date: Mar 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781778871276

Steve Hutchison

Artist, developer and entrepreneur in film, video games and communications Steve Hutchison co-founded Shade.ca Art and Code in 1999, then Terror.ca and its French equivalent Terreur.ca in 2000. With his background as an artist and integrator, Steve worked on such games as Capcom's Street Fighter, PopCap's Bejeweled, Tetris, Bandai/Namco's Pac-Man and Mattel's Skip-Bo & Phase 10 as a localization manager, 2-D artist and usability expert. Having acquired skills in gamification, he invented a unique horror movie review system that is filterable, searchable and sortable by moods, genres, subgenres and antagonists. Horror movie fans love it, and so do horror authors and filmmakers, as it is a great source of inspiration. In March 2013, Steve launched Tales of Terror, with the same goals in mind but with a much finer technology and a complex engine, something that wasn’t possible initially. He has since published countless horror-themed books.

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Tales of Terror’s

Subgenres of Terror 2020

Apocalyptic Diseases

INTRODUCTION

Two popular subgenres converge. Film critic Steve Hutchison covers 50 excellent apocalyptic disease films and ranks them mathematically. A synopsis, five ratings, and a review are provided for each film. How many have you seen?

#1

11.22.63

2016

A time traveler attempts to prevent John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

Stars

8/8

STORY

7/8

CREATIVITY

7/8

ACTING

8/8

QUALITY

7/8

Who has never felt the deep desire to fix today’s problems yesterday; to go back in time and erase critical mistakes. The film explores this question more in-depth than Back to the Future did. 11.22.63 is easily one of the best time travelling stories ever adapted to screen. It’s a mini-series, so it requires involvement, but every second is worth it. You should jump in head first!

11.22.63 is a science-fiction story and a supernatural drama. It contains horrific scenes, but in the midst of it evolves a touching love story. This is also one of Stephen King’s most political tale, and one of his most mature work despite the colorful premise. In this mini-series, a time traveler; James Franco’s character, attempts to prevent John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963.

This feature is dialogue-oriented. Though not everyone is a big star, all actors are highly competent. Those who are reluctant to see James Franco in the protagonist’s shoes will surely reconsider. He is amusing and extremely sympathetic. His character deserves to achieves his goals but fails at every step. You see, the past doesn’t want to be changed. The past is the ultimate villain, in fact…

#2

The Stand

1994

A bacterial apocalypse polarizes two groups of survivors.

Stars

7/8

STORY

8/8

CREATIVITY

8/8

ACTING

7/8

QUALITY

7/8

This is right up there, in the upper tier of King’s filmography. It is one of his best mini-series. Though we experience a wide range of emotions, this is, first and foremost, one of his saddest novel adaptations. It is the quintessential apocalyptic film, but with a dominant supernatural angle. It’s about one percent of the population surviving and being separated in two groups; good and evil.

You couldn’t do the story justice with a feature film. Making an epic was the way to go. It’s a tale that must simmer to have its full effect. The casting is stellar. Shooting landscapes in a way to simulate a post-apocalyptic world the way Mick Garris did must’ve taken extra effort and ingenuity. This is one of his best productions. The dialogue and photography, though, have their ups and downs.

This picture has a touching and perfectly suited soundtrack. The score is immersive. The Stand is an adventure. The way it polarizes two teams, like oil and water; vignette by vignette, is astonishing. There’s a myriad of characters, and the story is easy to follow regardless. It’s about friends, lovers, enemies, about hope, despair, war, sickness and death. It’s a hearth-breaking tale. Enjoy!

#3

In the Mouth of Madness

1994

An investigator discovers the strange impact a horror writer’s books have on his readers.

Stars

7/8

STORY