As the world confronts the spread of COVID-19, interest in epidemic-themed movies and TV series has exploded, with curious viewers turning to disaster flicks for answers and ways to cope. Brilliant disease thrillers are tales of human spirit and how it can be compromised by fear and panic. Here we present you a list of great epidemic-themed movies which you can watch on licensed Chinese video apps. ‘Contagion’ (2011) Plot: Soon after her return from a business trip to Hong Kong, Beth Emhoff dies from what is thought to be the flu. Thus begins the spread of a deadly infection. U.S. doctors and administrators must first identify the virus in question and then find a means of combating it. Cast: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law Language: English Player apps: iQiyi, Youku, Tencent, Bilibili, Migu ‘The Flu’ (2013) Plot: “The Flu” concerns a deadly strain of an avian influenza virus that is spreading like wildfire across Bundang and threatens Seoul. A firefighter and a doctor race against time to find a cure by searching for the host. Meanwhile in a secure bunker, politicians, international clinical experts and military tacticians try to develop a strategy of containment, cognizant of the disastrous ramifications should the virus spread beyond the borders of South Korea. Cast: Jang Hyuk, Soo Ae, Roxanne Aparicio Language: Korean Player app: iQiyi ‘I Am Legend’ (2007) Plot: Robert Neville is a military scientist and the lone survivor of a biochemical disease which was supposed to cure cancer three years previous. With only blood-thirsty zombies as his neighbors and his trusty dog, Samantha, he is trying to discover a cure for this disease and to find out any other people who might have also survived. Cast: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan Language: English Player apps: iQiyi, Tencent, Migu ‘The Cassandra Crossing’ (1976) Plot: Passengers on a European train have been exposed to a deadly disease. Nobody will let them off the train. So what happens next? Cast: Sophia Loren, Richard Harris, Martin Sheen Language: English Player apps: Tencent, 1905 ‘28 Days Later’ (2002) Plot: A powerful virus escapes from a British research facility. Transmitted in a drop of blood and devastating within seconds, the virus locks those infected into a permanent state of murderous rage. Within 28 days the country is overwhelmed and a handful of survivors begin their attempts to salvage a future, little realizing that the deadly virus is not the only thing that threatens them. Cast: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris Language: English Player apps: iQiyi, Tencent, Migu ‘Outbreak’ (1995) Plot: When a disease in Africa is discovered, U.S. colonel Sam Daniels is sent to investigate. When he reports back to his superior officer General Ford and tells him that they should put out an alert on this disease, the general holds that the disease is so far away that it can’t possibly reach the United States. However, a monkey from that part of Africa is captured and brought to the United States, and the disease is set loose. Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman Language: English Player apps: iQiyi, Tencent ‘Love for Life’ (2011) Plot: Set in a small Chinese village, where an illegal trade in human blood has caused the spread of HIV, two AIDS patients fall in love with each other in quarantine and decide to risk everything to pursue their last chance at happiness. Cast: Zhang Ziyi, Aaron Kwok Language: Chinese Player apps: Tencent, Youku, Migu, 1905 ‘Dawn of the Dead’ (2004) Plot: A nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall. Cast: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer Language: English Player app: Tencent ‘The Painted Veil’ (2006) Plot: Set in the 1920s, “The Painted Veil,” adapted from W. Somerset Maugham’s novel, centers on a young British couple. When Dr. Walter Fane discovers his wife’s adulterous affair, he volunteers to fight a cholera epidemic in a Chinese village and forces her to accompany him as revenge. Will the difficult journey bring meaning to their relationship and give them purpose in the beautiful remote village? Cast: Naomi Watts, Edward Norton Language: English Player app: 1905 ‘12 Monkeys’ (1995) Plot: When Cole, a convict volunteer, is sent back in time to find information on a deadly virus that will destroy 5 billion members of the human race in 1996, he mistakenly arrives in 1990. After explaining his plea to Dr. Railly, he is placed in a mental institution. In 1996, he kidnaps Railly, using her to find the 12 Monkeys, a group of revolutionists that are planning to release the virus into select cities. Cast: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt Language: English Player apps: iQiyi, Tencent(SD News) | 