Plague (1979) User Reviews

Realistic take on an ever growing sub-genre.

[Madluke91 · 6/10 · 12 April 2009]

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.

New Age Plague

[zeppo-2 · 5/10 · 27 December 2005]

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.

Now more topical than ever!

[gridoon2024 · 5/10 · 12 April 2020]

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.

companion piece to "andromeda strain."

[jonbecker03 · 29 June 2009]

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.)

Plague: Devoid of originality

[Platypuschow · 3/10 · 9 October 2018]

The trouble with plague/virus/disease style movies is just how limited in scope they are. Where can they possibly go with it?

They always follow the same formula, that containtment fails a carrier gets out into the world and makes everyone ill. Meanwhile scientists/doctors are back in their labs spewing pseudo-science and trying to make a vaccine.

We've seen it all before so a spin is certainly needed to set them apart from the crowd. Alas there is no such thing here, it is paint by numbers stuff and really quite boring to boot.

A dull lifeless effort.

The Good:

Not so much

The Bad:

Unoriginal

Really dull stuff

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Nothing, in fact I think I might have lost a couple of brain cells

Not Enough Action To Survive This Plague

[charlieoso · 4/10 · 7 September 2018]

A deadly bacteria is accidentally created and now has escaped the lab. It is now running rampant through the streets of Toronto. The most brilliant minds (including Kate Reid) are trying to come up with a solution to this potential worldwide problem while a woman who acts as the carrier of the plague has escaped and is infecting people. You might enjoy if you like watching people in white suits working in labs. But, I like more action than that. Would have worked a lot better if a Canadian filmmaker like David Cronenberg worked on it. Then it would have had the punch I was looking for.

Blame Canada

[van-42949 · 1/10 · 22 August 2018]

Truly, one of the worst films I have ever seen. Although it's never mentioned directly, the entire film seems to be set somewhere in Canada. Dead give-aways are the fake-looking money, RCMP uniforms and squeaky clean streets.

Everything about this movie seems designed to put the viewer to sleep. There is no action, excitement or even real concern about this "plague" that is spreading around the world. It's like they are talking about an outbreak of allergies instead of a disease that is killing people.

Besides the horrible acting and ridiculous plot, this film has so many contradictions and inaccuracies that it is impossible to take seriously. The film starts off with a screen crawl talking about the dangers of human DNA testing, but there is nothing whatsoever relating to DNA research in the film. It's all about a bacteria that escapes from a lab due to plumbers hooking up the ventilation system backwards at a laboratory. Why the warnings about DNA research? I doubt that even the producers know.

Throughout the film there is this crazy background music playing that sounds as if someone was banging on piano keys at random. Seriously, a three year old could have written this stuff for all I know.

I would have guessed that this was a made for TV movie, were it not for the fact that swear words were thrown around at random and I know that the CBC would never allow any of those words on-air. So, this film must have been made in Canada for Canadians, I'm guessing. Also, I've never heard of ANY of the actors in this movie, so I'm guessing that they are all Canadian as well.

The Canadian military is called out at one point to quarantine an area, but the entire Canadian military seems to be made up of about six guys with rifles. At least that part made sense. The rest of the film is filled with bad acting, characters that act ridiculous and that I have zero sympathy for, bad lighting, bad direction, cheesy lines and people who act way, way too nice to each other. In America, people would be shooting, looting, becoming hysterical, blowing things up and getting into fights with each other. We wouldn't be that polite. We may have a messed-up society here in the United States, but at least we have action films that won't put you to sleep.

The Swiss-Cheese model.

[Coventry · 6/10 · 9 March 2024]

In my actual job (unfortunately, writing user-comments here on IMDb isn't my job), yours truly is active in the safety & prevention department of large multinational. Most of my job exists of investigating incidents, determining root causes and develop learnings. Why this piece of seemingly irrelevant and personal information? Well, solely to be able to claim that the events unfolding in "Plague" follow a certain pattern that is very typical for harsh and large-scaled incidents. And, even though fictional and seemingly far-fetched and surreal, the plot is reasonable accurate not as outdated as you might think...

Everybody is familiar with the principle of "Murphy's Law", right? Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Within the fine profession of incident investigation, there exists a similar theory called the "Swiss Cheese Model". Explained as simply as possible: each process or mechanism has a series of protective barriers and built-in preventive measures to ensure that, in the event or a calamity, serious or even disastrous consequences are avoided. But, as in Murphy's Law, you'll always see that these barriers can and will fail when you need them most. And, to make matters worse, multiple barriers will fail at the same time and the hazard will always find a way through the mazes of the net. To visualize it: the hazard always finds a new hole in the Swiss cheese through which it can pass.

Why is this relevant in the context of a review for a cheap & cheesy late-70s horror flick like "Plague"? Well, to illustrate the plot of the film is not that exaggeratedly far-fetched. Unlikely things happen and usually solid barriers do fail. The ventilation pipes of air-conditioning systems will inexplicably blow in the opposite direction. Carriers of a virus will sadly be the ones to escape from quarantine. People that usually wear hygienic gloves to prepare sandwiches will exceptionally not wear them on the fatal day the should, etc. It's the painful truth of Murphy's Law or the Swiss-Cheese model. In many reviews, even by acclaimed critics, I noticed these plot elements being referred to as dire clichés, but they are truthful.

There are two eras to look at film titles like "Plague", or at better and more known movies of the same type, like "The China Syndrome" or "Outbreak". There's pre-Covid and post-Covid. Nobody really believed scenarios like these were realistic in pre-Covid times, but we're not so sure anymore now. Even in this low-budgeted and practically forgotten 1979 flick, there are sequences where newscasters spread messages like "stay inside your house" and "avoid contact with other people as much as possible". Those warnings have an entirely different impact now, after the year 2020, than they had in 1979.

Even purely talking in terms of entertainment and horror/cult value. I enjoyed "Plague". True, it's extremely slow-paced and overly talkative, but writer/director Ed Hunt manages to maintain an uncomfortable atmosphere of fear and tension throughout. The footage of dying school children, violent riots between militaries and ordinary petrified people trying to leave the city to save themselves, or infected scientists locking themselves inside their laboratories to prevent further spreading of a virus are unsettling. The fairly unknown (to me, at least) cast members give believable performances and the minimal use of music and noises (like chiming bells) are effective. On a more personal note, I'm also a follower of the curious director Ed Hunt. He made one of my favorite early 80 horror flicks, with the uniquely original and creepy "Bloody Birthday", but also two of the worst - but nevertheless amusing - Sci-Fi/horror flicks with "Starship Invasions" and "The Brain". In terms of quality and amusement value "Plague" neatly ranks in the middle of his oeuvre.

strange stuff indeed

[elmondomacabro · 4/10 · 6 November 2005]

its sometimes funny how old crappy movies turn out to be signs of the future, a flu like plague carried by birds?????? who would have thought.......

like Zombie Creeping Flesh, this Canadian flick levels the spread of an epidemic directly at the Powers That Be, and i like it for that. I didn't know this movie was available on DVD and happen to own the original VHS release under the title 'Induced Syndrome', boasting on of the greatest covers of all time - a poor rip off of Iron Maiden's Eddie bursting out of planet Earth, misleading to say the least as I was expecting a zombie film and instead got this. Also a little like Rabid, with the infected woman roaming around passing the virus.

All in all quite an OK waste of hour and a half, i'd save the money for the DVD though and get something else.

Scientist to blame for new plague

[neil-douglas2010 · 6/10 · 8 September 2022]

Trying to cut corners for creating a new bacterium a scientist unwittingly creates a new. Bacteria called M3. Bad move as this new bacteria is lethal and before we know it people are dropping like flies.

Bill Fuller works tirelessly trying to find an antedote and tells his wife and child to fly to London to protect themselves. More bad news a fellow passenger on the plane has the virus and dies.

Whilst this is happening one of the people being put in quarantine escapes and starts spreading the disease like wildfire. With the virus now outside the country the city is cordened off to stop it getting any further, people try to leave but are stopped by the military. Bill finds the antedote and tries it on his colleague who has the virus. It works, but soon after his colleague tells him that they are both now in quarantine after being in contact with the new bacteria M4. Thats gratification for you.

Made like a TV movie, but could've been better with a superior script.

plague has plaque

[godspellgroupie · 4/10 · 8 April 2009]

A low budget,murky filmed "thriller" A virus escapes from a compound and threatens to wipe out the entire population.It is spread by an escaped quarantined women who infects everyone she comes in contact with,air vents etc. The acting in this film is so bad that the best performance is by a Hertz rent-a car lady who does not speak but registers the most emotion-slight impatience waiting for the escaped lady to find her credit card,a smile when she finds it,and confusion when she comes back to the counter to find the lady has disappeared{she sees a police car pull up outside}.The fugitive lady smirks throughout the the film ,totally ignorant of what shes done. This film is in need of a panacea

Classic 70's Trashy Horror Movie

[retrogames · 10/10 · 18 April 2002]

First off this movie won't please everybody, only fans of this sort of stuff. If you like Cheesy 70's Flicks then you can do a lot worse than this. From the Director who brought you the Films BLOODY BIRTHDAY and THE BRAIN. An interesting fact about this movie is that one of the stars (Kate Reid) also starred in the classic Andromena Strain Sci Fi Flick which has a similar plot to this (Killer Virus sort of thing).

Truly a waste of time

[graham-harvey · 1/10 · 17 November 2021]

A couple of other reviewers gave this a 1/10. There reasons match mine. Poor quality schlock. Poor storyline. No sense of world challenge emerging. Quite a confusing storyline actually. For a brilliant film on pandemic, check out 'Contagion'. Brilliant acting, storyline & a story that unfolds with genuine drama.

"Nothing's Foolproof, And There's Always A Fool Around To Prove It!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 3 September 2022]

Scientists develop a bacteria that could boost nitrogen levels in plants, thus increasing food production. Unfortunately, human error (aka: idiocy) causes a leak, resulting in the titular catastrophe. In no time, people are violently convulsing their way to their deaths.

PLAGUE is a Canadian horror-sci-fi / disaster film that bears a passing resemblance to earlier "infection" movies from David Cronenberg, especially his film RABID. There's even a young woman on the run after breaking quarantine, ala Marilyn Chambers' character in RABID.

There are also elements similar to THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, not in substance, but in atmosphere. This is rather interesting, since Kate Reid plays about the same role here that she played in that film!

Still, PLAGUE isn't bad on its own merit. It's a fairly low budget production, with a boom mic visible a few times and the sign for the research facility flapping in the breeze. The acting is adequate, but a bit stiff in places. Overall, not a total waste of time...

Not bad, not good

[neilor-1 · 5/10 · 1 March 2024]

Plague is a film without special qualities - average director, script, actors. It's not bad though. The action, although standard for this type of films, holds the viewer's interest. Of course, the whole "scientific" part of the movie only sounds scientific and can only mislead a person who has no concept of bacteriology, but this is also standard for this type of films. The so called bacteria in the videos is in fact Paramecium - you can get it in the nearest swamp and studi it in a standart microscope. Don't expect action, don't look for special effects. Actors play average and you won't see known faces.

All in all, if you like 70s thrillers, you won't regret it.

Quite possibly the worst film I have ever seen

[CJ_076 · 26 December 2002]

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.