Viral outbreaks are not new fodder for Hollywood. Zombie movies and dystopian films often feature some kind of virus running rampant among the populace, leaving it up to our heroes to try and stem the tide…or, more often than not, fail to do anything about it. But the upcoming film I.Q. 83 takes the “virus run amok” trope and gives it a new, interesting spin: what if the virus actually began slowly lowering everyone’s IQ, including the people working to find a cure?
Steve Carell has just signed on to appear in I.Q. 83 as a scientist attempting to find a cure for a virus that slowly but surely lowers the population’s IQs. He’s in a race against the spread of the disease, for with every day that passes his own mental abilities are reduced and with them his chances of finding the cure. As he watches his wife, his friends, and even the President of the United States succumb, he must discover the cure before the world descends into total chaos.
The original book was written by Arthur Herzog, but is being adapted by none other than Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation). The film has been described as a Dr. Strangelove-esque satire, so this will not be a serious examination of a dystopian future. It will be far more disturbing than that.
