As the ongoing health scare keeps audiences away from cinemas, and major blockbusters like No Time to Die postpone their release dates, we have diagnosed a dozen of the best outbreak thrillers, from some of the world’s most accomplished filmmakers, that can be enjoyed from the self-quarantined safety of your own homes.

1. Panic in the Streets (1950)

Elia Kazan takes us through the docks and immigrant communities of post-war New Orleans, after a murder suspect infected with pneumonic plague goes on the run from Richard Wydmark’s health official.

Shot on location and employing a cast of non-professional actors alongside a youthful Jack Palance and Zero Mostel, Kazan highlights the dangers of infected patients not seeking immediate medical attention, and the speed at which an epidemic can spiral out of control.

2. The Andromeda Strain (1971)

Robert Wise’s groundbreaking science fiction thriller, adapted from the bestselling novel by Michael Crichton, follows a small team of scientists as they investigate a deadly extraterrestrial virus brought to Earth by a crashed satellite.

From the sleek design of the secret underground research facility, to the stylish visuals from special effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull, the film oozes retro-tech chic and claustrophobic tension as the team races against the clock to neutralise the threat.

3. Virus: Day of Resurrection (1980)

Kinji Fukasaku’s hugely ambitious disaster epic opens with the near-total annihilation of the human race by an accidentally released biochemical weapon, and things only get worse from there.

Masao Kusakari heads up an international cast that includes George Kennedy, Glenn Ford and Bo Svenson, as a surviving team of Antarctic-based scientists attempt to find a cure and re-establish civilisation, while contending with earthquakes, nuclear attacks, and in-house mutinies.

4. Outbreak (1995)

When a nasty flesh-eating virus is accidentally brought into the US by a monkey, Donald Sutherland’s military chief is more invested in securing it as a potential weapon, than offering aid to the infected Californian community.

It falls to Dustin Hoffman and Rene Russo’s army doctors, caught in the midst of an acrimonious divorce, to track down the primate, and anyone who came into contact with it, before the outbreak becomes a nationwide epidemic.

5. Twelve Monkeys (1995)

Bruce Willis is on peak form as a reluctant volunteer from the future, sent back in time to trace the source of a deadly virus that wiped out most of the Earth’s population.

Either that, or he is just another crazy patient in a Baltimore mental institution.

Director Terry Gilliam creates some delightfully weird set designs as he explores the psychological fallout of time travel, in this bold reinterpretation of Chris Marker’s legendary short film, La Jetée.

6. Ebola Syndrome (1996)

Herman Yau Lai-to’s Category III exploitation classic casts Anthony Wong Chau-sang as a murderer in exile in South Africa, who rapes a villager infected with Ebola. Unaffected by the virus, he becomes a deadly carrier, spreading the disease to his restaurant guests, where he serves up murder victims as “African char siu bao”, and then flees back in Hong Kong.

Morally reprehensible and racially questionable, Yau’s gleefully grisly black comedy is also lots of fun.

7. The Hole (1998)

Tsai Ming-liang’s peculiar tale of festering premillennial angst sees Taipei on lockdown, after a mysterious virus spread by cockroaches drives everyone into hiding.

Yang Kuei-mei wiles away the days hoarding toilet paper and lip-synching to the hits of Hong Kong crooner Grace Chang. Upstairs, Lee Kang-sheng spies on her through a hole in his floor. At first they irritate one another, but as the plague closes in, the hole becomes their only escape.

8. Blindness (2008)

An unexplained epidemic deprives the residents of an unnamed city of their sight, in Fernando Meirelles’ bold adaptation of José Saramago’s celebrated novel.

Julianne Moore plays the only character to escape the affliction, but when her husband (Mark Ruffalo) is incarcerated along with everybody else, she stays by his side. What follows is a rapid, distressing collapse of social structures, moral boundaries, and interpersonal relationships, as the patients are left to fend for themselves.

9. Contagion (2011)

Probably the most realistic chronicling of a viral epidemic on film, Steven Soderbergh’s methodical exploration of cause and effect serves as a chilling reminder of just how vulnerable we all are to contamination.

From its terrifying opening montage, an A-list ensemble that includes Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, and Gwyneth Paltrow as patient zero, details precisely how a corona-like virus could be contracted and spread without our knowledge, while championing the fearless frontline responders who put themselves at risk.

10. Perfect Sense (2011)

An unidentified virus causes the world’s population to lose their senses one by one, as witnessed by a chef (Ewan McGregor) and a scientist (Eva Green). With no preventive measures available, society has no alternative but to adapt as best they can, as everyone loses first their sense of smell, then taste, hearing, and eventually sight.

The central romance adds a layer of tragic intimacy, as two people who are just discovering one another, lose their ability to interact.

11. The Flu (2013)

A worst-case scenario epidemic in every sense of the word, as director Kim Sung-soo infects the melodramatic with the bombastic in this hysteria-fuelled thriller.

An illegal immigrant unleashes a deadly virus into the densely populated suburb of Bundang, causing widespread panic from residents, politicians, and a trigger-happy military.

Jang Hyuk’s first responder and Soo Ae’s doctor find love amid the melee, after they are brought together by Park Min-ha’s contagious youngster.

12. Mayhem (2017)

In this off-the-hook horror comedy, all-out chaos ensues when a law firm becomes infected by a virus that removes our moral inhibitions.

Steven Yeun (Burning) and Samara Weaving (Ready or Not), as a just-fired executive and disgruntled client, embark on a bloody rampage to the top floor, to demand compensation from the strung-out boss (Steven Brand). In their way is an endless procession of crazed colleagues, all looking for a little payback.