Rich Flu – Movie Review (2/5)

RICH FLU is a social thriller from the director of The Platform, which I loved. For his latest movie, the plot is intriguing, and the idea is good, but the execution is all wrong. It should have been a miniseries, not this mess with a choppy story carried only by strong performances by the actors. Read our full Rich Flu movie review here!

RICH FLU is a thriller with a sci-fi element that plays out like a social commentary. I had really high hopes for this one due to the cast, the director, and the official plot. However, with this movie being from 2024 and getting released in 2026, I was also nervous. Had this been a low-budget production, I would’ve known not to be, but this one should be an easy sell.

Then I watched it and understood all too well why it had been shelved for some time. This is an extremely poorly executed movie, and I almost got sad watching it. Not due to the story (which should have done the trick), but because the editing was weirdly choppy, the characters seemed one-dimensional, and the message came across as ham-fisted.

An important message that was flawed from the outset and evolved in ways that felt far too forced.

Continue reading our Rich Flu movie review below. Find it on digital now.

Look out for those bluish-bright teeth

Rich Flu is the story of a strange virus that seems to only affect rich people. A “fun” idea for an apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, but also one that is not explained at all. How does the virus know who is rich? It is because they feel rich or exude some sort of wealth adrenaline that we normal people don’t?

A small detail, you may think, but it’s one that you will probably find yourself wondering about as the story progresses.

Before we get that far, we meet Laura (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) just as her career reaches its peak. With this peak comes wealth, which is really poor (pun intended) timing as a mysterious virus begins killing the richest people in the world. Sure, she isn’t quite at that level, but she might soon be.

Not just because this contagion appears to spread quickly down the ladder of wealth, but also because being rich is now a death sentence. As a result, the affluent begin abandoning their fortunes overnight. If you’re “too rich”, the rich flu will get you, and your teeth will start glowing in a bluish-bright way.

And yes, this did remind me of the Friends episode, where Ross tries to whiten his teeth.

Running off to Africa?

As a result, Laura embarks on a desperate journey to protect her family: An estranged ex-husband (Rafe Spall) and their 16-year-old daughter, over whom they are in a custody battle, while neither of them is actually present for her birthday. Yeah, they both suck, but only she is truly successful.

The white family apparently comes from Spain, where Laura’s mom (Lorraine Bracco) lives now, though this is never really addressed. Why are they speaking British and American English while others speak Spanish? I don’t know, and it’s just one more strange element of this story.

Anyway, the family is now European refugees going to Africa to seek asylum. Why? Well, because in Europe, they are rounding up the rich to avoid the flu spreading… so they run off to the countries they have long ignored.

Who am I supposed to root for here? Well, as Rich Flu evolves, I have no idea, but I am not feeling sorry for the rich white people.

Strangely, I loved the final moments of Rich Flu

As Rich Flu progressed, I realized that this was a lost cause. The movie had evolved in such strange ways to force a relevant and important message into a feature-length runtime. With its three chapters and an epilogue, Rich Flu should clearly have been made into a miniseries, where the character-driven storyline had enough room to evolve organically.

Instead, we get a chopped-up version, put together again in strange, mismatched ways, that takes way too much focus away from the core message. Human beings are greedy and awful when we focus on maintaining our own wealth and refuse to help, even when it would take nothing away from ourselves.

We cry for famous actors who die of old age, but ignore the thousands dying of famine or in war-torn countries. Hey, I can fall victim to this as well, but at least I am aware of it. When you know better, you do better, and I try to do better. Those who have more than they could ever need throw cars out into space after pledging to end world hunger with their spare change.

Anyway, my point is simply that the Rich Flu ending finally got something right. It hit the nail on its proverbial head when it showed us Laura trying to get back on her feet. Which lessons had she learned? What were her priorities? Who was she truly as a person? The answer would surprise most people… probably even herself!

Watch Rich Flu on digital now

This 2024 social thriller from director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia had the potential for so much more. Especially with this director at the helm, as we experienced a similar social thriller sci-fi horror movie directed by him already. The Netflix movie The Platform on Netflix, which was pure brilliance in my opinion.

I can’t fault the actors for the issues with this movie, as they all deliver incredibly strong performances. Especially Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who was also amazing in Kate, 10 Cloverfield Lane, and the new The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. There was nothing she could have done to improve this movie. It’s the story and execution that ruin it.

The screenplay was written by Pedro Riverto Aurre, director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia Munitxa, Sam Steiner, and David Desola, which seems like a few too many writers. It was based on an idea by David Desola and Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia Munitxa, and I’m wondering if maybe they should have just written the screenplay. Or maybe Desola and Riverto, who co-wrote The Platform.

Honestly, I don’t know exactly what went wrong, as it’s obvious from The Platform and its sequel that the director and some of the writers can create magic. Maybe too many producers or distributors had too many “good” ideas, or others forced changes in the runtime, which is 106 minutes. It is too short for the story told, but that is far from the only problem.

Rich Flu had a limited theater release on May 29, and then it was quickly released on digital on June 5, 2026.

Details

Directed by: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia Munitxa
Written by: Pedro Riverto Aurre, Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia Munitxa, Sam Steiner, and David Desola, based on an idea by David Desola and Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia Munitxa
Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rafe Spall, Lorraine Bracco, Dixie Egerickx, Dayana Esebe, César Domboy, Jonah Hauer-King, and Timothy Spall