Contracted: Phase II

If you have seen the original, you kind of know where this is going. And I will continue as if you have seen it. This time around it's a man who has the issue. The viewer might have a different issue though: We go through almost all the same things we did in part 1. Then again, why change a winning formula? Exactly, if you can "continue" something by adding to it.

The acting is OK and one can generally say that if you liked the first movie, the same will be true for this one. Predictibility aside, this has its fair share of moments that will freak you out, something the first one was able to do to. There are "contracted" movies that actually have major issues, so I guess we should be thankful for the better ones

I was a big fan of the 2013 "Contracted" movie by director Eric England, and thus I was really anxious to see the continuation of the movie as the first movie left us with on a cliffhanger.

Right, well I must admit that my expectations were shot down quite fast here at the hands of director Josh Forbes. Whomever wrote the script for the sequel clearly weren't as intense in their creative writing as those working on the first movie.

This 2015 sequel was at best a mediocre movie that fumbled and stumbled all around as it tried to pick up the cliffhanger of the 2013 movie and then turned it into something that was nowhere as interesting or intense as the first movie. No, they took a very good idea and mashed it into something that was laughable and generic at best.

While the movie does continue on from where the first movie left, then the storyline in "Contracted: Phase II" just was a scrambled mess of trying to show more infections in people and trying to piece in some background of how this infection came into being at all.

The background story was just ludicrous, and it was actually infuriating that they opted for such a ridiculous approach to it all. Especially because it just unraveled everything that the first movie had built up so well.

It should be said that the effects in "Contracted: Phase II" are adequate, and they are actually the thing that keeps the movie afloat and saves it from sliding down into a level of being less than mediocre. But effects can only do so much, especially when the storyline is taking a nosedive.

The acting in "Contracted: Phase II" wasn't the most memorable of performances, and it certainly wasn't fully up to level with what was seen in the first movie. Perhaps it was because of the ludicrous storyline and script, because I do believe that the actors and actresses were doing fair enough jobs.

"Contracted: Phase II" is a very dissatisfying sequel, and somehow I wish that I hadn't seen it, because it really was a laughable movie, and it tainted everything built up by the first movie.

I will actually go as far as to say that watching "Contracted: Phase II" is definitely not a must, because letting the 2013 movie hang on a cliffhanger is a much more worthy ending to it. I was sorely disappointed with this movie, but stuck with it to the end to see it finished. And anything even remotely zombie is of interest to me.

"Contracted: Phase II" manages to land a very mediocre five out of ten stars rating from me.

I kind of liked the first Contracted and now got to see the second part too. I watched both tonight in a row.

I was a bit skeptical towards the idea of a sequel. First it was a girl who got a disease and when I noticed that there's a sequel where a guy gets the same thing, I wondered if there's any chance for it to be good. Will the character's gender be enough material to create something new?

To my surprise the sequel does not only do the same story over but adds new twists to the plot. There's a crime thriller element (think of Seven) that adds more excitement.

I think the first part was more "fun" and entertaining as a horror film, and my personal favorite, but the sequel was more genuinely scary and thrilling. Well... also the fact that I watched it when the corona virus pandemic is on the news every day, it kind of made watching this movie a bit heavy.

As a sequel Contacted Phase II is quite good. It continues the story but adds also new ideas and brings the thrill to a new level. If you still have appetite for movies about deadly viruses, well, check it out. Watch both parts in a row like I did, and have nice 3 hours of rotting bodies.

Contracted: Phase II (2015)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Riley (Matt Mercer) finds himself growing violently sick from the virus he contacted so he sets out to find the man he believes is spreading it around.

CONTRACTED: PHASE II is a sequel that picks up where the original film left off but to me this here is more of a remake than anything else. I enjoyed the first film a great deal and this one here is basically just a copy of it, although it's not nearly as good. With that said, if you enjoy these body harming horror films then there's enough violence and gore here for you.

I think the biggest issue with this film is that it really doesn't offer us anything we didn't see in the first film. I'd also argue that we don't care for Riley like we did Sam in the first film. However, this type of film is made to make your skin crawl and there are several disgusting scenes here. As with the first there's a lot of gore, blood vomiting and creepy things being dug out of flesh. The violence and gore certainly matches the first film and it will keep fans into the picture.

The performances were all good and especially Marianna Palka and Anna Lore. Director John Forbes does a good job with the material and delivers a well-made and professional looking film. CONTRACTED: PHASE II isn't a masterpiece but it delivers what you'd expect it to.

I liked the first one, so I was thinking the sequel would be tired. Although it didn't totally introduce anything nee, it was really enjoyable to watch. Holy cow, it was gross. There were up in your face gross out moments where you need to look away. But can't. But should.

Acting was pretty good, storyline was direct continuation of the first one, and they did it nicely. Don't expect it to be better than the first, but if you liked the first, then you'll like this.