Hollywood producers often think of the apocalypse as the basis of a movie. In “2012” and “Independence Day,” the end of the world came by way of earthquakes or alien attacks.  But a more deadly — and a more likely— killer could strike.

The new blockbuster film “Contagion” explores the possibility of a world-wide pandemic. In the movie, a woman contracts a deadly bacterial infection after eating a plate of pork in Hong Kong, and through a series of unfortunate events, the virus ends up spreading throughout the world. In just under 150 days, nearly nine percent of the world’s population is dead.

The star-studded cast includes Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and Gwyneth Paltrow. The actors do a superb job of realistically portraying the terror and uncertainty of a world in which touching an infected door handle can lead to death in just a few days.

But the scariest part of the movie is it could all come true. With the increase in globalization, the chances of a virus spreading from continent to continent have recently increased exponentially. The world has faced multiple serious chances of a global influenza outbreak in the past few years, meaning that an eventual global viral epidemic is almost a certainty, according to the World Health Organization.

The film consulted neurologists W. Ian Lipkin and Laurie Garret, among other researchers, in order to make the film as accurate as possible. The script went through thirty drafts before it was deemed as true-to-life as possible, according to the Washington Post.

In addition to sticking to scientific fact, the movie also captured the response such an epidemic would have. An epidemic would cause a wake of fear to wash over the world, causing people to overreact and try anything they can to stay healthy.

One of the central characters is a blogger named Alan Krumwiede, who wreaks havoc across the globe by pushing forsythia, a holistic cure that isn’t proven to be effective. People, desperate to get the untested drug, riot in shops, causing destruction and pillaging once-peaceful pharmacies and offices.

“Contagion” will leave viewers reaching for the Purell bottle and covering their mouths when they sneeze. It’ll also bring to mind the 1918 Spanish Influenza, the AIDS epidemic in Africa, the SARS virus in Hong Kong and the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. It’s important to remember that not only is “Contagion” a real possibility, but it is also one that has already happened — albeit on a far smaller scale.