Movie review: Contracted: Phase II

Contracted: Phase II takes over where the first film ended. With Sam now gone, Riley searches for a cure to the virus that killed her before it can do the same to him and the rest of the world. But hunting down a sexually transmitted zombie virus might be harder than it sounds.

Matt Mercer (Riley), Marianna Palka (Crystal), Morgan Brown (BJ), Anna Lore (Harper), Laurel Vail (Brenda), Peter Cilella (James), Najarra Townsend (Sam), Suzanne Voss (Margie), Charley Koontz (Zain).

In the first film Sam is consumed by the zombie virus so in Contracted: Phase II the storyline follows Riley who apparently caught the virus from Sam before she died. With a few flashbacks to help with context, we follow along as Riley is ravaged by the disease in various ways. At the same time he is trying to find a cure without letting anyone know he has a zombie STD. The result is an extravaganza of gore but not much else.

Acting was okay with Mercer doing reasonably well. Lore was mildly interesting and seemed to work well with Mercer. The remainder of the supporting cast was decent but never felt like they had much energy behind this one.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds left a bit to be desired with quite a lot of darker scenes that were a challenge. Sets and backgrounds were pretty good even if some did feel cheap and easy. Special effects however were pretty good with nice makeup, costuming, and plenty of gruesome gore. Dialogue was frequently bland, as was the soundtrack.

If you are a hardcore horror fan who thrives on gore you will probably enjoy this one. If however you are hoping for a new approach to zombies you may be slightly disappointed as this is more about Riley and the gore than it is about zombies.

With gore, gore, gore, sexuality, mild nudity, foul language, and some drug use, save this one for older teens and above.

Released: 2015
Reviewed: 2.29.16
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Horror, Zombies, Thrillers, Sci-Fi Horror, Independent Horror

copyright ©2016 Dave Riedel