[CliffARobinson]

This movie's biggest problem, commercially, was ineffective marketing. To this day, there are people I talk to about this movie who still think it is a zombie flick.

If it were a zombie movie, I wouldn't be inclined to pay the $12 for more of the same, but, this was a horror movie of a different sort - one that can, and according to the experts, will come true.

[CliffARobinson]

The scenario played out in this movie was based on the Nipah Virus. The first outbreak of this nasty disease was discovered in 1999 with Malaysian pig farmers.

Nipah is a zoonotic virus, (transmitted from animals to humans), it begins in the fruit bat, and the hypothesis is that pigs end up eating fruit chewed on by infected fruit bats. The pigs go to slaughter and enters the food chain.

There have been a total of 13 outbreaks of this virus, all in south Asia, since 1999. While the global pandemic depicted in the movie has not occurred, just about everything that happens in the flick is scientifically plausible, which makes the story so much more frightening.

The symptoms include anything from flu-like all the way up to encephalitis and coma. 20% of those that survive the virus have residual complications like personality changes and neurological defects.

Worse still, the fatality rate in south Asia has been from 40% to 75%, depending on medical and monitoring resources. 4 to 7 out of 10 people who contracted it, died.

[CliffARobinson]

Consider I told you a virus was spreading around the world and about 30 to 40 percent of the people who came down with the virus died? What would happen to our society?

Think about that scenario. Imagine hospitals swamped. Hysteria. Looting. Basic city services ending. Fires. No one going to work. Home from school. No food. No clean water.

What would you do? Go see the movie and see for yourself.

Directed with technical and artistic efficiency, acted with precision by a fantastic cast, Contagion is on my top 10 list of Oscar-worthy films of 2010, and, right now, my favorite for Best Picture.

Go see it while it's still in theaters. You won't be disappointed, and you might end up going to the survivalist store the next day to stock up.