RunPee

The app that tells you the best time to

run and pee during a movie without missing the best scenes.

100% free (donation supported) Apple App Store | Google Play Store

Read Time:3 Minute, 35 Second
outbreak-dustin-hoffman
Outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics, oh my!

I recently rewatched the 1994 disaster film Outbreak, because 1. I always loved that movie, 2. kind of dig diseases (I like science, okay?), and 3. there’s a real global pandemic happening right now.

You’ve probably heard about that.

Also, 4. I needed to get Peetimes for Outbreak, because I’m not the only person currently watching or rewatching that film, and some people like to use RunPee with old movies. It’s up on Netflix now if you’re interested; you can even host a Netflix Watch Party. That is, if you and your Netflix friends have a strong stomach.

—–Content continues below——

The World’s Most
Indispensable Movie App

The RunPee app tells you the best times to
run & pee during a movie
so you don't miss the best scenes.


As seen on

Download the RunPee app.
100% free (donation supported)

Get the RunPee app at the Google Play Store       Get the RunPee app at the Google Play Store

Read more about the RunPee app.



I say that because while it’s not a horror movie, it’s a bit scary right now in the massive wake of CoVid-19. Keep in mind the virus in Outbreak is a Marburg variant they call Motaba, which is like Ebola. It kills you by replicating until it “explodes” your cells — all your cells — and in essence (as the movie eloquently puts it), liquefying your organs. While Outbreak uses mostly discretionary shots to show the virus’ effects, it’s still as nasty as it sounds.

Motaba also has a 100% death rate, is airborne, and moves extremely quickly through the human population.

To be clear, the novel Coronavirus we’re experiencing is nothing like Motaba, except in the both-being-a-virus sense. CoVid-19 has a low kill rate (between 1-3%), is NOT airborne (it spreads via droplet dispersal, which is very different), and while also highly contagious, moves slowly through populations (with a 2 week latency period).

What people are saying
about the RunPee app.

dd33803, 07/05/2023

This is a great app. I wish more people would support it

This app provides info about movies, reviews, ratings from people who have seen it before and after viewing. It has links to info about the movies. It let’s you know when there will be a lull in the action and how long it will last. If you want to know what happens during that time, you can check the brief synopsis (you have to click a link, so no accidental spoilers). It has a timer you can set (silent) to alert you to a break. It also tells you whether there is anything extra during or after the credits. It’s really a wonderful app. I’ve subscribed for a couple of years to support the developers, but I noticed some of the links to provide feedback didn’t seem to work today. They also made it free, with voluntary donations to see the pee-times. If you haven’t tried it, I encourage you to do so, and subscribe if you like it. I really hope the app is supported so it can continue to be maintained!

Developers note: RunPee doesn’t make much money but it supports itself nicely. Donations are appreciated, but not required. We’ll add as many movies to the database as we can until there are no more movie theaters.

View all reviews: Apple App Store | Google Play Store

Get the RunPee app at the Google Play Store     Get the RunPee app at the Google Play Store

This is both good for us…and less good. 

The good news about CoVid-19 vs Outbreak’s Motaba Virus

  • CoVid-19 has far less deaths (by percentage), and actual patient recovery is possible, frequently with no medical intervention needed.
  • The novel coronavirus doesn’t kill you directly — complications from respiratory distress and organ failure kill you (small consolation it seems, but still very fortunate in that we can, with enough respirators, save most badly ill patients).
  • The real virus is not airborne! (Want to know the difference between airborne transmission and droplet dispersal? Droplets fall to the ground quite quickly after someone sneezes or coughs. In a true airborne situation, the virus attaches to dust and pollen, and stays floating in the air, virulent as long as it can survive outside of a host. This is exponentially, nightmarishly worse than our situation.)
  • Nobody will be bleeding from their eyes.
  • The government won’t firebomb your town to contain CoVid-19.
  • Outbreak is a work of fiction.

The bad news about CoVid-19 vs the Outbreak virus

  • Since Motaba works so quickly, it’s a lot easier to trace from patient to patient. With CoVid-19, you can infect a lot of people in the 14 days the illness takes to present symptoms. This is why it’s such a nightmare for the world to flatten the curve.
  • Since Motaba kills so quickly, so completely (100% death rate, remember?), it’s a lot easier to contain. Essentially, this (fake) virus kills itself, by destroying every human host within three days. CoVid-19 doesn’t kill itself off, making it a virus with longevity. CoVid-19 might be with us for years — or forever. It might become as ubiquitous as the flu (which is itself part of a suite of coronaviruses).
  • The CoVid-19 disease is pandemic (as in world-wide), instead of a outbreak (limited to a hot zone) or an epidemic (limited to one geographical area or country).
  • CoVid-19 is real.

Also, the Outbreak virus originated in Africa via monkeys. Our new virus is more like a scenario from the 2011 flick Contagion, using a bat-based vector — both originating from China.  In both reality and Outbreak, illegal smuggling of animals was involved (that monkey in Outbreak; a poached pangolin in China). And in case you’re wondering, in Contagion no illegal activity was involved, but someone didn’t wash their hands after handling raw meat. This is never a good idea.

Now, go wash your hands again.

Disease Expert Breaks Down Pandemic Scenes From Film & TV

Contagion Cast Creates CoVid-19 PSAs

Does Contagion have an Extra Scene: A Chilling End Note

Don’t miss your favorite movie moments because you have to pee or need a snack. Use the RunPee app (Androidor iPhone) when you go to the movies. We have Peetimes for all wide release films every week, including DUNE part II, King Fu Panda, The American Society of Magical Negroes and coming soon Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, and Godzilla x Kong: The new Empire  and many others. We have literally thousands of Peetimes—from classic movies through today’s blockbusters. You can also keep up with movie news and reviews on our blog, or by following us on Twitter @RunPee. If there’s a new film out there, we’ve got your bladder covered.

Movie Reviews

Movie Review – The American Society of Magical Negroes

“Welcome to the American Society of Magical Negroes!” is said to Aren (Justice Smith) as his world…

Movie Review – Love Lies Bleeding

Love Lies and Bleeding was bloody awful. I’ve become quite the fan of A24 Productions and they…

Movie Review – Knox Goes Away

Knox Goes Away was a fantastic movie. It kept you engaged for almost two hours. It gives you hope…

Movie Review – Arthur the King

If you’ve seen the trailer for this movie then you know pretty much everything you need to…

Movie Review – One Life

The first thing that struck me is the magnificent job Johnny Flynn does as a young Anthony Hopkins…

Movie Review – Imaginary

Imaginary is an aptly named movie. It’s a storyline we haven’t seen much of in years…

An Animated Kid’s Movie That Brilliantly Predicted The Future

Seemingly, every day, we learn that Mitchells vs. the Machines predicted a subtle but important…

Movie Review – Cabrini

I was proven wrong yet again; another movie I dreaded that I absolutely loved. It was totally…

Comments

7 responses to “Watching Outbreak in the time of CoVid-19”

  1. Rob Williams Avatar
    Rob Williams

    I think I’ve found my quarantine movie buddy! Outbreak is one of my go to, can’t be bothered thinking too hard, something cosy and familiar films. Maybe we should all come up with a Desert Island Discs type selection. You’re stranded on a desert island with a solar powered DVD player and eight discs… which ones do you take? Outbreak would definitely be one of my choices! And Contact… and Runaway Jury!

  2. Rob! You’re my new best friend!

    I’m going to do a legitimate rewatch review of Outbreak later this week, but I agree, a desert-island list would be fun right now. And like you, Contact is on my list. Dan and I bonded over Contact… 20 years ago (has it been that long? sheesh)

    Send me ([email protected]) your short list, please. I’m going to ask/pester everyone to add to this. Its’s a great idea. Especially now: a great time to re-examine the movies that shaped us and are eminently rewatchable.

    The best part of Outbreak is where we see the people walk from BL1-4, and how each room is sooo different than the last, listing onscreen which microbes fall into which category. Salmonella is scary enough… but as a BL1, it’s nothing compared to Hanta (which I used to work with in college, and that’s another post in the making).

    Hoffman really has great chemistry with everyone here, doesn’t he? He puts Freeman to shame, actually. What are your favorite scenes?

  3. Do you guys remember a movie that began with, or showed fairly early on, peope watching a movie in a theater, and someone coughs? It shows the virus (?) spreading through the air. Help, please. Thanks!

  4. Rob Williams Avatar
    Rob Williams

    There is a scene like that in “Outbreak”; at 0:41:13 a couple walk into a cinema and there’s an on screen message ‘State Theatre. Cedar Creek, California.’ Then it cuts to them in the audience and the guy starts coughing. The camera then focuses on the atomised particles that he coughs up and follows them around a bit until it pulls out just in time to see the bits going into a woman’s mouth as she’s laughing.

    Is this what you’re thinking of?

  5. Thanks, Rob. Yeah, that’s the one. It’s extra scary watching that now.

    Which is why the theaters are closed. 🙁

    With all seats at AMC being reserved now, they could certainly regulate/enforce social distancing.

    A few movies are going to try this in July. It’s my next article to write. I sincerely hope it goes well.

  6. “I must not fear.
    Fear is the mind-killer.
    Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
    I will face my fear.
    I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
    And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
    Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

  7. David, that is awesome. I guess you haven’t seen this article I wrote about the Litany Against Fear?

    https://howditgo.app/dune-what-is-the-litany-against-fear/

Leave a Reply

RunPee