Contracted

A satisfactory film. I watched it on Netflix after finding nothing else and came in with low expectations. While I wasn't blown away, I also wasn't disappointed. The main character is really the only developed one. Her dialogue and actions are interesting, but the other characters can simply be ignored. If you are looking for a movie with a good plot, look elsewhere. If you are looking for a movie that shows an interesting take on how one person can change in a short time in intense situations, look no further. "Contracted" is a good character profile, but is severely lacking in everything else. Character development here is great, but it's all that stands out in this movie. There are definitely better things to watch, but if you enjoy character analyzation and depth, "Contracted" is worth a look.

The movie pulls the viewer in right from the get go with a dose of necrophilia, leaving you wondering just what you actually saw. Then we find ourselves following the main character Samantha as she makes her way to a party, minus her better half. While at the party she tries to be a good girl but things go wrong as she falls to pressure and drinks her sorrows away. Before you know it she finds herself in trouble with a guy at the party, and wakes the next morning bloodied, sore, not too sure of what happened the night before. Samantha makes her way to the doctor with various symptoms, and tries to blow off her discomfort since the doctor doesn't seem concerned. Samantha's condition however wont let her ignore it. We watch in disbelief as she gets sicker in the most creepy and uncomfortable of ways, while her life falls apart around her. All of this becomes too much for Samantha to bear, as her body withers so does her mind, until she finally succumbs to violent madness pulling you along for the ride!

I have to say this movie started off really strongly. I was pulled right into the story and although parts were predictable it didn't matter too much as the tension and creepiness of the movie more than made up for it. Samantha's mental breakdown led to some unexpected fun that was a nice change of pace for the film,and helped keep the story moving. The effects are done really well too, making for some cringe worthy moments! Viewers will find it almost hard to watch parts of this film as the symptoms ravage Samantha's body. There were a lot of things that worked in this movie to make it very watch worthy!

While many things worked for this film, some did not. This film really takes a high level of "suspension of disbelief" to really be able to get into. Samantha's condition gets to a point where it makes no sense why she isn't, either voluntarily or by force of the doctor who is treating her, at the hospital for treatment and quarantine purposes. The fact that neither happen are truly a hard sell to the viewer. Samantha's mother (Caroline Williams) is also a bit of a hard sell as she seems completely oblivious to her daughters medical demise in front of her eyes choosing instead to believe drugs are the issue, which is fairly ridiculous given her symptoms. However, if you can overlook those two glaring points the rest of the story is pretty good, with some decent twists.

I mostly enjoyed this one. Contracted was tense, interesting and aside from the disbelief issue, pretty absorbing. The ending of the film was a bit of a disappointment for me. It felt like a cop out of sorts. I really wish they had done something different, but I wont pan an otherwise good film for the final 5 minutes. All in all, this is worth a view, I'd definitely recommend renting this one, but I won't be adding it to my collection any time soon.

*HeatherOmen* TheHorrorNation.net

'Not your average one night stand'.

They've got that completely right. 'Contracted' is the latest feature from Eric England, the director of 2011's 'Madison County'. This is a truly disgusting body horror opus. Did it make my skin crawl? Yeah. But does that mean it's a good film? Not necessarily.

If you consider gore scary, you'll be freaked out. Hands down. I, on the other hand, was among the majority of film-goers. Grossed out but infuriated. One might ask, "Why were you infuriated?" The characters were completely irrational and unrealistic. It was a total turn-off from the film and it's interesting concept. Eric England could have taken this film into such disturbing heights with what Samantha was contracted with but instead, the film overstayed its welcome in a boring place. If the characters were more realistic, the film would have probably been much better.

The effects in the film are really well done, however. Also, I enjoyed the ending and Najarra Townsend's acting was definitely a plus. Her transformation in character was truly a shocking performance.

If you're into body horror and gross-out flicks, then Contracted is for you. If you're looking for a good plot with smart characters, look elsewhere.

Contracted: harsh reviews so far, therefore I'll be the first to change the pace a little.

I've watched horror ever since I can remember, love it, all types, slashers, zombies, ghosts and so on. I graded this one with a 6, maybe a little more than I should, but it definitely has to be over 5, and I'll give you the reasons: 1) the plot was pretty OK, more complex than you see at others 2) characters were divert, one of that, one of this, pretty much natural people 3) dialogue: seems dumb sometimes, might be OK if you consider the nature of the situation each time 4) the ending: did not see that one coming, I for one thought it was heading to a different conclusion.

I actually was drawn into it, I will not criticize the fact that it didn't rely on gore, blood or nudity, always loved diversity. So, to this strange little movie, that shows how a girl can change over the days, I say: bravo! It was not great, but it does move you slowly to the edge of the seat.

Contracted: worth a shot!

Cheers!

I can understand why there are so many poor reviews for this film, but I'm giving it a 5 purely and simply for the effort and hard work that Najarra Townsend clearly put into this movie. She actually put in a good shift as Samantha, putting lots of energy and emotion into her part, the talent ultimately outweighed the script.

In brief, Samantha is at the party of her friend Alice. Let down by her absent girlfriend she hits the drink hard. An anonymous man BJ gives her a spiked drink, and ends up making out in his car with her. The next morning Sam wakes up pale, with flu like symptoms and cramps. The following day things get a whole lot worse.

Now I'm a bit on the squeamish side, and a movie like this isn't particularly up my alley, but I braved it out, if you've got a weak stomach ignore, as some of it's a bit nasty, it does however reach a point where all reality is lost, she got so bad at one stage it became easier to watch. Poor girl had a rather useless mum, a dreadful girlfriend, who managed to be from Australia, South Africa, The USA and somewhere near Scunthorpe all with her multiple accents. As for her GP, bless him he must have trained at Hogwarts.

The soundtrack was a little irritating for the first 10 minutes, it was a little dated.

Surprisingly well acted I thought, the moral is never have a one night stand with a man with a fuzzy face :-) 5/10 (come on she deserves that for at least trying.)