Plague

And I mean it too. I saw this film late at night on the Sci Fi Channel a few years back and I despised it. It is filled with clichès and a really thin excuse for a plotline that will just bore the most timid viewer. Basically it is about some stupid female scientist who tampers with some highly toxic bacteria that she shouldn't have been anywhere near in the first place and she unleashes a deadly virus to the public, a virus that is spread whenever someone touches anything that has been contaminated. This film also suffers from a veeery low budget, since it has the victims writhing and shaking like they're having seizures when it's their time to kick the bucket. This film was so cheap that it couldn't even afford any special effects!!!! The music heard throughout is suitably creepy, but becomes predictable as hell whenever it plays before someone dies. This film just introduces a bunch of people that have no coherence to the story whatsoever just so they could be bumped off! Any young upstart fresh out of high school could have written a better story than what this pathetic film has. Your better off watching OUTBREAK instead. 1/10.

Contary to the opinion of one reviewer of this film, it is NOT the worst film ever made, far from it. It may not be the best either but there are countless worse ones out there. Check out 'Ransom Runner' for example, that is a stinker by anyone's standards.

I quite like the low key documentary feel of this film, far less sensational than a film like 'Outbreak,' this rather prosaic style is probably the more realistic way it would be in real life. As the saying goes, the world ends with a whimper and not a bang.

In it's own way this is quite an effective little thriller along the lines of the old BBC television series from the 1970's, the 'Surviours.' And as another fellow reviewer points out, also somewhat contemporary now with the threat of 'bird flu.' Or indeed, other fearful epidemics like MRSA or even the constant threat of AIDS. Although, this was made before any of these awful diseases were known.

The acting is nothing to write home about and is standard at best, although, the actress playing Jessica, shines as a sardonic secretary.

While not in the same class as films such as 'Outbreak' or '28 Days Later' or even 'The Satan Bug,' which use the same end-of-the-world plot line, this passes the time and holds the attention to the end. Also interesting is the final reward to the two people who help save the world.

I mean, there is even a newscaster telling the public to stay at home and avoid contact with other people! Anyway, "Plague" is an attempt to make a disaster movie with no real budget to speak of; it is very drably shot, photographed, directed and acted, but its bare-bones, no-frills, minimalist approach is occasionally effective. ** out of 4.

Plague is a movie about an outbreak on a bacteria called M4. The bacteria causes people to die in extreme pain, in body spasms. A woman who is a carrier escapes from a hospital and goes on the run, spreading the plague to people she encounters, and onto food in fast food stops etc. She has no idea however that she is a carrier, and as such may carry a cure. For those interested in science there are easily recognisable reasons for the reaction to the bacteria also; there is an exponential release in acetylcholine, increasing nerve activity yada yada yada. I don't want however to give the impression that due to this being a realistic account of a plague outbreak, that it is like sitting through a lecture. The movie plays like a made for TV entertainment flick, and if you go into expecting this you can get a lot of entertainment from it. The film towards the end begins to flag however, and possibly due to budget we seemingly get a good 2 minutes here and there where we get random shots of buildings and bacteria under the microscope. This in a way made the movie lose a bit of its momentum, but luckily only happens towards the end, and the movie does manage to hold together. The movie carries a kind of scientific message, which holds a lot of truth in todays society, where science moves further into unknown territory, and questions the consequences of such practises, to some extent if we should play god.

The acting in the movie far surpasses what it needs to be, and adds a lot to the movie. Daniel Pilon plays Dr. Bill Fuller who works on trying to make a cure to the bacteria, which actually he and his assistant were responsible for creating, the latter responsible for releasing.

For people who have seen Ed Hunt movies previously such as The Brain or Bloody Birthday, and liked them, i can guarantee you will get enjoyment out of this. It is excellent 70's trashy fun. However if you do not like late 70's cheaply made movies, and you are looking for something more along the lines of 28 Days Later, this movie may not be for you.

most of the people who comment on this film just don't get it. they don't appreciate it for the low budget gem that it is. "gemini strain" makes an excellent companion piece to the original "andromeda strain." "andromeda" is quality "a" filmaking, a full-budgeted production helmed by a major director (robert wise). as such, it's one of the best and most interesting pictures released by a major studio during the seventies. "gemini," on the other hand, is a down-and-dirty, low budget Canadian tax shelter flick. as a result it's grungier, grime-ier, and more "realistic" in a banal way. neither film is "better" than the other. each one represents a different approach to similar material. each deserves to be appreciated on its own merits. (i'm not going to give the film a numerical rating. film is too subtle and nuanced a medium to be quantified on a one to ten basis.)