Contracted: Phase II

Now I get that when you like someone you're willing to put up with a little bit, but Riley bless him, it's fair to say Samantha wasn't looking her best when he made out with her, it's all i'm saying, everyone around poor Samantha was a little dense.

The sequel in some ways is a step up from the original, even more scenes to shock and gross you out, but as a film it's done on a much bigger scale, the first one was fairly insular, the second is similar but on a much bigger scale. It does somewhat turn into the typical Zombie movie, shocks, gore, cops etc, but it's worth watching.

It picks up exactly where the last one left off, after Sam infected Riley it concentrates on his story, his degeneration and battle to save himself and expose what's caused it. The scenes of Riley's degeneration are gross, don't have a hot dog watching this movie.

It's not on the Christmas wish list, but if this is your kind of film, you'll enjoy it to a point, i think we were left knowing that there'll be a third. 6/10

The moral, never lie to your Doctor!!

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.

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.

Having thoroughly enjoyed the first installment, I wasn't sure that a sequel could really add much to the general plot line. I'm happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the impressive acting, well rounded characters and introduction of a whole back-story to the original film. This movie works well as both a sequel and a stand alone feature, so you don't have to have seen the first film to enjoy this one. Although lacking the shocking impact of the first, this film is an explanation of the protagonist and their motives, as well as exploring what people have 'Contracted' in more detail and depth. A great new spin on the usual offerings within this genre and well worth an evenings viewing.

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