Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- eerie
- paranoid
- austere
- late night arthouse viewing
- horror discovery night
What critics said
Critics generally find the film formally intriguing and revealing of Lars von Trier's emerging obsessions, while acknowledging that its slow, experimental construction is uneven.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Lars von Trier and Niels Vørsel play versions of themselves writing a screenplay while the screenplay's epidemic begins to mirror reality.
The imagined epidemic and the developing real epidemic unfold around the filmmakers without their awareness.
Critical discussion specifically notes the interplay of different film stocks as part of the film's formal design.
The worldwide epidemic functions as both screenplay subject and encroaching reality, confronting the characters with unseen catastrophe.
Films like Epidemic, and why
The Kingdom
self-reflexive filmmaking, formal experimentation, and unsettling psychological horror
8½
meta-cinematic structure, existential unease, and fractured reality
Possession
stylized horror, artistic ambition, and disturbing atmosphere
The Tenant
European arthouse horror, ambiguous reality, and escalating dread
Movie Details
- Director
- Lars von Trier
- Release Date
- 1987-09-11
- Runtime
- 106 min
- Rating
- 5.7 / 10 (142)
Cast
- Lars von Trier
- Niels Vørsel
- Claes Kastholm Hansen
- Udo Kier
- Svend Ali Hamann
- Gitte Lind
- Susanne Ottesen
- Leif Sabro
- Allan De Waal
- Ole Ernst
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Epidemic about?
- A Danish filmmaker and writer turn an imagined worldwide epidemic into a self-reflexive descent where fiction quietly overtakes reality.
- What is Epidemic like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Epidemic as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Epidemic violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Epidemic as mild.
- What did critics think of Epidemic?
- Critics generally find the film formally intriguing and revealing of Lars von Trier's emerging obsessions, while acknowledging that its slow, experimental construction is uneven.
- Which films are like Epidemic?
- Films with a similar feel include The Kingdom, 8½, Possession, and The Tenant.
- How long is Epidemic?
- Epidemic runs 106 minutes.
- Where can I watch Epidemic?
- In United States, Epidemic streams on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel.
