The genre of ‘thriller’ is a particularly difficult one to classify, with many film producers taking the liberty to sell their movie using this genre title, when in reality other genres such as, horror, suspense, or sci-fi might better fit the bill. To me, a ‘thriller’ is simply a genre that makes your hair stand on edge. And by that criterion Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion is, without question, the best ‘thriller’ I’ve seen in years.

Contagion recounts the days immediately following the breakout of an unidentified new virus strain that simultaneously takes the lives of three victims across two continents. It’s only after an autopsy of one of the first victims, Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow), that the severity of this new strand is first flagged to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC). The only problem is, by then, the virus is four days old, and the rate at which the virus is spreading it already reaching pandemic proportions. At this point, I know what you’re thinking. Haven’t you heard this story before? The truth is, yes you have. But not like this.

Contagion is not your conventional virus takes over the world film. It’s not even your traditional disaster film. And that’s where the true success of this film lies. For a story that has been done before – more times than anyone would care to remember – Contagion is surprisingly original. There is no adorable young girl whose family is in the middle of the outbreak desperately trying to escape the virus. There is no bloody gore where the victims all suffer violent and shocking deaths. And there are no cheap suspense building tricks to make you jump out of your seat. Instead, director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns use their time to study the nature of fear and how, as humans, each of us deal with the uncertainty incumbent in that emotion. And to their credit, they do this not by sensationalizing these factors, but by underplaying them.

To achieve this, Soderbergh and Burns spread the plot out across a large, often disconnected, ensemble of characters, many of whom grace the screen for barely ten minutes apiece. Thankfully the talented cast, which includes the likes of Laurence Fishburne, Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Marion Cotillard, make the most of their limited screen time to present rounded characters that in the hands of others could easily have been two dimensional. Don’t get me wrong, the limited screen time does make it difficult to feel much empathy towards the characters these talented actors portray, but that is, I believe, precisely Soderbergh’s intention. Instead of showing you how these characters emote to the tragedy unfolding around them, he leaves that emotion for his audience to interpret themselves. And with at least ten possible routes on how to deal with fear presented to the viewer by Soderbergh and Burns, it’s not difficult to find at least one you can see yourself travelling down under similar circumstances. The result can be particularly unsettling. Or at least it was for me.

All in all, it’s near impossible to fault Contagion, and that’s a fantastic statement for a film reviewer to make. Having said this however, I have no doubt this film will not resonate with all viewers, and to be honest, it likely won’t be a film I’ll be re-watching over and over again either. But as a study in fear, I’m hard pressed to think of another film that succeeds as admirably as this one does. It might not be comfortable to watch, and it might make your hair stand on edge for 100 minutes, but for those willing to confront their own fears in a time of tragedy and turmoil, then Contagion will not disappoint.