Smallpox

Original title: Smallpox 2002: Silent Weapon

TV Movie
2002
TV-14
2h

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

A docu-drama that reports on a (fictitious) attack made by terrorist using the disease of small pox to attack the world. Starting in New York the attack is ruthlessly carried out by one man ... Read allA docu-drama that reports on a (fictitious) attack made by terrorist using the disease of small pox to attack the world. Starting in New York the attack is ruthlessly carried out by one man travelling around the city infecting people as he goes. Using hindsight and video diaries ... Read allA docu-drama that reports on a (fictitious) attack made by terrorist using the disease of small pox to attack the world. Starting in New York the attack is ruthlessly carried out by one man travelling around the city infecting people as he goes. Using hindsight and video diaries the film looks back on the global impact of a silent attack that affected the world.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

224

YOUR RATING

8User reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

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Trivia
FX acquired the rights to the film in 2004 from the UK-based production company Wall to Wall Productions. It then re-shot sequences involving the impact of the titular smallpox epidemic on an average British family, substituting an American family living in London.

Goofs
About one out of every 30 Americans live in New York City. We are told 30,000 people died from Smallpox in New York City, and a further 1.5 million died in the United States (a ratio of one out of every 50 American deaths taking place in New York City). The number of New York fatalities therefore appears disproportionately low, particularly since infectious diseases spread more comprehensively in densely populated areas.

Quotes
Kathleen O'Reilly: We used to believe that the greatest threat to the United States were the nuclear arsenals of a rogue state, but in this world today, a terrorist with the will to sacrifice his own life, armed only with a penknife and a pilot's license, is capable of anything... The greatest threat, as we now know, is a single individual with a $50 chemistry set and the will to decimate the planet.

Crazy credits
Three of the interview subjects play themselves in the movie, and are revealed in clips during the credits. All of them offer an opinion on how the fictional documentary could reflect actual events.

User reviews8

Review

Featured review

inaccurate Scaremongering.

I saw this a while ago and to be honest, I reckon that Messrs Chinn and Perceval have a lot to answer for.

This was broadcast a while after 9/11 and it's obviously scaremongering to whip tension (especially in the wake of the Anthrax scare) so In that way, I take a particularly dim view of this fake documentary.

Besides, why smallpox? If it was as contagious as it sounds then it would have run rampant during the middle ages onwards. (The most likely way to catch it would have been close and dare I say, irresponsible contact with a victim) This would have been better if it was made as a feature film as it would be more appropriate and responsible, besides, its out of date now isn't it? However, it was not without it's upsides as the drama was well portrayed, well documented and well thought up (despite it's plot holes and controversies).