Contamination

Original title: Contagious

TV Movie
1997
PG-13
1h 43m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

When some shrimp from Colombia, tainted with cholera, is served to some people on a plane bound for L.A., an outbreak ensues. And a doctor sets out to find the source and contain it before i... Read allWhen some shrimp from Colombia, tainted with cholera, is served to some people on a plane bound for L.A., an outbreak ensues. And a doctor sets out to find the source and contain it before it turns into a epidemic. And if things weren't bad enough, a drug smuggler who was carryin... Read allWhen some shrimp from Colombia, tainted with cholera, is served to some people on a plane bound for L.A., an outbreak ensues. And a doctor sets out to find the source and contain it before it turns into a epidemic. And if things weren't bad enough, a drug smuggler who was carrying some drugs on him contaminates the drugs and are sold on the street. And to top things o... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.4/10

416

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win total

Photos3

User reviews13

5.4416

Featured reviews

1RodrigAndrisan

Boring!

The movie is bad, but it has a special interest, as I suppose it presents all the films about the epidemics. Shrimps are unlikely to have triggered cholera but you can never know... The acting in general is bad but Lindsay Wagner is doing a good job in the role of the doctor facing all those possible problems. I would have preferred that the film had treated exhaustively the subject of the epidemic, without introducing the annoying scenes with the family, the husband, the children, lost in that forest in the mountains. Also introducing the story with the drug dealers and the way the police act, it worsens everything, resulting in a kind of food that gives the viewer indigestion. One star for Lindsay Wagner.

3MovieLuvr-1

Ouch.

I normally aspire to write reviews which are witty, thought-provoking, and provide true insight into a film's artistic merits. This made-for-TV movie, however, deserves no such effort. This is probably one of the worst TV moves - no make that movie in general - that I have ever seen. The acting is horrible (I have seen better performances in high school drama class productions), the plot is rambling and pointless, and even the cinematography is more soap-opera than any movie ever should be. Pure trash - avoid at all costs.

peterjamesyates

Lindsay with ham better than no Lindsay at all.

Must admit, one of the first in this screenplay's body count - the bearded drugs gang member - shouldn't have moved his eyelids when he was supposed to be dead but, then, these productions are expected to have reasonably competent directors.

But any TV movie with Lindsay is surely worth a look out of idle curiosity. Maybe she isn't the world's greatest actress and, doubtless, she could be more selective of material. I wouldn't mind having the opportunity to work with her.

williamj-2

plot-by-numbers, routine thriller which doesn't thrill

This made for TV movie suffers in comparison to the tense and exciting 'Outbreak'. You can join the dots yourself as the story unfolds and it becomes a matter of waiting for the cast to jump through the hoops. There are no surprises. But there is Brendan Fletcher, who makes a silk purse from the sow's ear of a script. He is always worth watching.

5raymond-15

Lacks relief

Exhausted doctor battles with cholera outbreak. Columbian drug smuggling is thrown in for added excitement. So what is missing from this Canadian production? If you are looking to be entertained, this film is not for you. If you are interested in public health problems and the way in which hospitals fight cholera epidemics then this film might prove informative. It's likely you'll cancel your plane flight in the near future. The film is more of an educational documentary. A little love interest is thrown in towards the end when the disease strikes the doctor's family and effectively reunites them after family problems. The film lacks any kind of relief from the constant admission of hospital patients and a frustrated doctor devoid of sleep. In a word, hospital procedures (stimulation of heart muscle with hypodermic needles and electric shock) are not the basis for a good night's entertainment.

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Linda Ko's debut.

Goofs
The establishing shot for "Taipei, Taiwan" actually shows (now closed) Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong, clearly recognizable by the runway configuration and the numerous buildings surrounding the airport and the end of the runway.

Quotes
Medical Examiner: When they brought him in here I was sure he was another mule who OD'd, we got a bunch of them slit open like pigs for slaughter. Now usually I don't get people starting my work for me, but whoever did him made such a mess looking for the drugs I just naturally looked there first.
Dr. Hannah Cole: You sure cocaine was the cause of death?
Medical Examiner: Oh yeah yeah, the blood levels were through the roof, the stuff must've been almost pure. Listen, I know you don't get to look at ODs much, but I do and this one looked really strange.
Dr. Hannah Cole: You prepare a culture in a smear?
Medical Examiner: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Hannah Cole: Where's it set up?
Medical Examiner: Right here.
Dr. Hannah Cole: [takes a look] It's cholera. You ever seen vibrios?
Medical Examiner: No.
[looks through microscope]
Medical Examiner: Nasty looking, aren't they?
Dr. Hannah Cole: Who's this man?
Medical Examiner: Oh, who knows? He's a John Doe found on Canyon Road but you know nobody swallows balloons of coke unless they're smuggling, right?
Dr. Hannah Cole: Yeah but from where, and when? I mean we need to know everyone this man came in contact with. Now *you're* gonna have to be tracked for the next five days.
[dials phone]
Dr. Hannah Cole: It's Hannah, the body at the coroner's has cholera... yeah, I'm gonna have him send you samples to be cultured, meanwhile we need to alert every county emergency room right now. Mm-hmm, okay, thanks, bye.
[hangs up]
Dr. Hannah Cole: Police brought this man in?
Medical Examiner: Uh, yeah. You think it's more than just this one guy?
Dr. Hannah Cole: I sure as hell hope not. I need to know if you find anyone else like this. Okay?
Medical Examiner: Yeah.