A Viewing Guide to the Pandemic: Depictions of Plague and Pandemic on Film and TV

A Viewing Guide to the Pandemic: Depictions of Plague and Pandemic on Film and TV by Richard Scheib, book review

In an era indelibly marked by the COVID-19 crisis, film critic Richard Scheib delivers a groundbreaking cultural artefact with A Viewing Guide to the Pandemic: Depictions of Plague and Pandemic on Film and TV. Published by Headpress in April 2025, this meticulously researched volume goes beyond conventional film criticism by weaving together cinematic analysis, historical context, and raw personal narrative. Scheib transforms what could have been a dry filmography into a meditation on how art anticipates, distorts, and mirrors our collective biological nightmares.

Beyond Contagion: Richard Scheib’s Cinematic Anatomy of Pandemic Fear

Scheib’s approach revolutionises genre studies through its intimate framing device: the book opens with “Covid and Me: Dispatches from Death’s Mailbox,” where the author recounts his own terrifying first-hand experiences during lockdown. This personal narrative, marked by pervasive dread and health anxieties, immediately establishes an emotional resonance that distinguishes it from academic film studies. Scheib acknowledges the grim irony of having committed to this project before COVID-19 transformed his scholarly pursuit into a lived reality. This convergence of research and lived experience creates an unparalleled perspective, allowing him to contrast speculative fiction with visceral truth in ways no previous film scholar could achieve.

The author’s background proves essential to the project’s success. As the creator and sole curator of Moria: Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review, the largest single-author film review website online since 1999, Scheib brings encyclopedic knowledge of genre cinema and a critic’s discerning eye to this sprawling subject. His experience as a print journalist further elevates the prose, balancing academic rigour with accessibility.

Scheib organizes his pandemic cinema exploration into four meticulously curated sections, demonstrating both historical breadth and conceptual depth:

Part One: The Essentials thoroughly establishes the foundational DNA of the pandemic film genre. Scheib identifies with precision Elia Kazan’s Panic in the Streets (1950) as the groundbreaking and foundational pandemic film, offering a deeply revelatory and insightful analysis of its noir-infused depiction of a pneumonic plague outbreak in New Orleans. His detailed dissection extends beyond mere plot points to include the film’s portrayal of public health procedural elements, highlighting its surprising lack of realistic contamination protocols.

This keen and sharp observation gains even greater clarity and resonance through our contemporary post-COVID perspective. Equally compelling and rich in analysis is his examination of the noir elements in The Killer That Stalked New York (1950), where Evelyn Keyes’s character becomes an unwitting vector for smallpox, adding layers of tension and dread. Scheib brilliantly contextualises these films within the broader framework of post-war anxieties and the emerging fears surrounding biowarfare, tracing how they collectively established core tropes: the heroic epidemiologist, the panicked populace, and the bureaucratic race against time, which have become staples of the genre ever since.

Part Two: Real World Pandemics showcases Scheib’s expansive global perspective, offering a detailed analysis of cinematic treatments of various historical catastrophes throughout history. His exploration covers a broad range, from medieval Black Death narratives to more recent and contemporary outbreaks such as Ebola and Bird Flu. Particularly insightful is his thorough critique of Hollywood’s frequent tendency toward sensationalism, as he contrasts the hyperbolic and often exaggerated outbreak narratives with the more measured, though still imperfect, approaches seen in made-for-TV productions. Scheib effectively demonstrates how these films tend to reveal more about the cultural and social context of the era in which they were produced than about the actual historical plagues they aim to portray.

Part Three: Pandemics of a More Outlandish Nature showcases Scheib’s deep expertise and insightful analysis within the realm of genre cinema. He convincingly argues that zombie apocalypses and vampirism serve as powerful metaphors reflecting cultural anxieties surrounding contagion and disease. His detailed examination of The Last Man on Earth (1924), often regarded as cinema’s very first post-pandemic narrative, is especially innovative and groundbreaking. This part of the work celebrates the imaginative and creative power of cinema, illustrating how fantastical storylines, from outbreaks of mass insanity to bizarre “exotic outbreaks”, effectively explore themes of societal collapse and biological fear through allegory and symbolism rather than straightforward realism.

Part Four: The Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic presents the book’s most urgent and profoundly impactful analysis to date. Scheib thoroughly explores films produced during the global lockdown, pandemic-themed storylines that were either hastened or significantly reshaped by the rapidly changing real-world circumstances, and the initial wave of artistic reactions responding to the aftermath of COVID-19. This section evolves beyond traditional film criticism into a form of cultural historiography, meticulously chronicling how filmmakers confronted and interpreted an ongoing catastrophe that eerily reflected the very fictional worlds they brought to life on screen.

Scheib’s analysis shines through several distinctive approaches. Throughout the book, Scheib systematically contrasts cinematic depictions with actual pandemic management. He notes how films like The Killer That Stalked New York presented idealized, efficient government responses (contrasted with real-world bureaucratic failures during COVID), while others exaggerated panic and societal breakdown. This analytical lens reaches its zenith when examining outbreak films like Outbreak (1995), where Hollywood’s dramatic license is measured against the chaotic reality of the 2020-2023 pandemic.

Drawing on his extensive reviewing experience at Moria, Scheib elevates overlooked made-for-TV movies and obscure independent films alongside major blockbusters. This inclusive approach to analysis uncovers unexpected thematic connections across various budget levels and formats, highlighting how pandemic fears influenced productions at every scale.

A Viewing Guide to the Pandemic stands out as both a comprehensive and authoritative scholarly resource and a deeply insightful cultural analysis. Scheib compellingly argues that pandemic cinema functions as our collective “rehearsal for catastrophe,” offering societies a crucial way to process and confront the primal fears tied to invisible threats and the risk of social collapse. His final, perceptive examination of COVID-era films provides sobering and thought-provoking insights: these movies expose not only immediate anxieties about contagion but also reveal deeper concerns about governmental trust, social inequality, and the fragile nature of human connection.

Richard Scheib has produced nothing short of a classic and essential work in film and cultural studies. This volume reaches far beyond cinephiles to engage anyone interested in how art anticipates and interprets collective trauma. Its timeliness is undeniable, while its rigorous research and analytical depth guarantee it will remain a cornerstone text for years to come. By weaving personal narrative with incisive criticism, Scheib reminds us that pandemics, whether real or imagined, unveil fundamental truths about society, governance, and the human condition. In documenting how filmmakers visualise our deepest biological fears, he ultimately holds up a mirror reflecting both our resilience and vulnerabilities in the face of the unseen.

A Viewing Guide to the Pandemic is available in paperback, special hardcover (direct from Headpress), and ebook formats. Its release marks not only an academic achievement but also a cathartic processing of our shared global trauma, demonstrating that sometimes it takes the lens of fiction to fully grasp the complexities of reality.

A Viewing Guide to the Pandemic: Depictions of Plague and Pandemic on Film and TV by Richard Scheib

A Viewing Guide to the Pandemic is a film book like no other. It opens with the author’s first-hand account of the Covid-19 pandemic and life in lockdown. His sense of dread, and anxiety about his state of health, were experiences shared with millions of others across the world.

For author Richard Scheib, already committed to writing a book about plagues and pandemics in popular culture, Covid-19 felt like a perverse twist of fate. Media depictions of deadly contagions had, to this point, been speculative and often off the mark; his book takes an in- depth look at what filmmakers imagined would happen and contrasts it with the reality. International in scope, A Viewing Guide to the Pandemic examines films in a wide variety of genres, from the silent era to the present day.

Black Death, Ebola, Mad Cow Disease, Bird Flu – it explores fictionalised accounts of plague and pestilence such as box-office hit Outbreak (1995), as well as documentary treatments of real-life incidents. Whether the threats depicted have a basis in reality – the biowarfare of the Cold War era, for instance – or are, like zombies and vampires, more fantastical, Scheib demonstrates how the fear of contagion has provided a wealth of inspiration for the big and small screen.

Further Reading

For fans of horror literature, The Ginger Nuts of Horror website is an essential destination that should not be overlooked. This platform offers a dedicated horror book review section that caters specifically to the needs of horror enthusiasts. With its unique blend of insightful critiques, expert recommendations, and a vibrant community, the site serves as a treasure trove for anyone seeking their next spine-chilling read.

One of the standout features of the horror book review section is its diversity. Readers can discover everything from classic horror novels to contemporary indie gems, ensuring that there’s something for everyone. Each review is thoughtfully penned, providing not just a summary but also a deep dive into the themes, writing style, and overall atmosphere of the works. This allows readers to gauge whether a particular book aligns with their preferences.

For those passionate about horror literature, checking out this section is a must!