Whether it’s an unbalanced centrifuge or a modified rabies-like “rage” virus, the science fiction depicted in media can send a chill down viewers’ spines. For microbiologist and TV and film buff Elaine Cloutman-Green, however, horror has become more than entertainment. It is a tool for understanding and communicating about infections.
“I have never been able to really watch horror movies, but apparently if you make me watch them for science, they're fine,” she said.
Cloutman-Green works as an infection control scientist at Great Ormond Street Hospital, where she develops techniques to investigate outbreaks and helps inform clinical decisions. Her work also involves speaking with families and helping them understand infection risks.
“You want to be able to talk to them about the latest thing that they saw on TV and put what they're seeing in terms of what they're experiencing rather than… walking into the room and telling you bad news or whatever it is,” she said. “I watch bad reality TV and cheesy horror movies just like you do. This is how we can use it to have a different conversation about the things that [patients] are worried about.”
Using Fiction to Talk About Infection
This motivated her to write her upcoming book, Don’t Open That Door: A Microbiologist’s Guide to Infection in Movies and TV. In her book, she breaks down each film and shows’ portrayal of infection from mode of transmission, interventions such as personal protective equipment and vaccines, and diagnostics.
For her book, Cloutman-Green crowdsourced suggestions for her ultimate infection-based watchlist, which grew to a whopping 138 films and TV shows. The list spans international media from the 1960s to the present day, with genres ranging from horror and science fiction to thrillers. Since last Halloween, she and her husband began watching shows and movies—some, multiple times. She reviewed each piece of media on how well it handles and describes scientific principles across infections linked to viral, fungal, parasitic, and bacterial causes. Other considerations include accessibility, such as viewing availability, language options, and being based on fiction.
“It's been a bit iterative to work out the best way to show all of the different interesting aspects of infection,” said Cloutman-Green. Of the 138, she’s pared down her final book to include 22, such as the outbreak thriller Contagion and the horror film The Girl with All the Gifts.
The Changing Face of Infection on TV and Film Screens
Notably, Cloutman-Green has observed a shift in the types of infectious threats portrayed on screen. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, the once-popular trope of viral organisms has increasingly given way to fungi. Some fundamentals of responding to outbreaks, however, remain the same, such as recording key patient details and clinic symptoms. “I still make paper contact-tracing forms when I [work with patients],” she said.
She also plans to include honorable mentions in a ‘Hall of Fame’, ‘Hall of Shame’, and ‘Science House of Horrors’ section within the final chapters of the book. The latter highlights scientific details in films that can frustrate viewers, from unrealistically fast turnaround times to the unusually common use of metal syringes.
While there are plenty more infection-based examples, Cloutman-Green remarked that watching media with a more critical eye for the nuances and scientific details embedded in the story has changed the way she views the work.
