'Contagion' Filmmakers Promise Psychological Scares

By Michael Lopez

You may want to bring an extra container of Purell when watching the new movie Contagion. Based on the premise of a viral outbreak, it's got terrifying moments that will put Fright Night to shame. Despite very little gore and bloodshed, Contagion will scare you to the core. And that's just what writer Scott Z. Burns and director Steven Soderbergh are excited about.

"I thought about the concept of a pandemic movie, but one that was more rooted in reality," Burns said at the film's press junket.

With recent warnings about diseases like SARS and cholera, there is quite a bit of reality behind a deadly global virus. And seeing how "outbreak movies" are few and far between these days, the filmmakers felt the timing was just right to share Contagion with the world.

"Everyone felt there was a place for an ultra realistic film about this subject," Steven said.

Clearly much of the entertainment biz agreed with him. Contagion has the backing of a major Hollywood studio and a prominent A-list cast. Stars like Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, and Jude Law all have integral roles in the film.

Interestingly, Scott claims to have gotten the idea for the film after working with Damon and Soderbergh on 2009's The Informant!

"We had just finished The Informant! and there's a scene in there where someone sneezes and gives the phone to Matt Damon's character. Then he goes on a rant," Burns explained. "I was kind of fascinated by that scene."

Steven also said he was quite intrigued by the subject matter, but decided to approach the film making process from a much simpler perspective. Rather than go with the angle of big budget disaster movie, he went for subtle scares.

"We wanted this movie to be epic and intimate at the same time," he said. "I was trying to keep it very simple."

Nevertheless, Contagion is quite jarring and will make you think twice about shaking hands with strangers. Scott explained how interesting it was to see the impact it had on the test screening audience.

"It was fun during the previews to see the lights go up and 400 people realize that they're next to a bunch of strangers," he said. "They just realized that they've touched everything [in the theater] and you could tell they weren't happy about it."

If you've got a surgical mask handy, we highly recommend checking out Contagion when it hits theaters next Friday.

Are you freaked out by killer disease movies? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Blogger: Michael Lopez, Contagion, Epidemic, Exclusive Entrevistas, Health, MAtt Damon, Movies & CineMás, Scott Z. Burns, Steven Soderbergh, Tr3s Exclusives