VOD Reviews: Josh Forbes ‘s CONTRACTED: PHASE II is a satisfying cautionary tale of the potential zombie effects of not having same sex
Josh Forbes ‘s CONTRACTED: PHASE II is a satisfying cautionary tale of the potential zombie effects of not having same sex
Josh Forbes’s CONTRACTED: PHASE II, is the sequel to CONTRACTED, in which a young woman acquired a sexually transmitted disease that is much more serious than the worst case of syphilis you could imagine, following an impulsive decision to have sex with a stranger at a party.
In this film, we pick up immediately after the fate of Samantha, that film’s central figure, with her friend, and her partner in the next impulsive sex encounter, Riley, now showing very similar symptoms.
As Riley deals with the encroaching virus which turns its victims into zombie-like beings, he decides that he needs to track down the person who first infected Samantha, BJ, in the hopes of gaining a cure.
However, at the same time we are discovering that BJ has an apocalyptic agenda in his desire to spread the disease, Riley unwittingly begins to do his work for him as the disease is no longer limited to sexual contact in order to spread.
CONTRACTED: PHASE II almost succeeds to a T in satisfying Joe Bob Briggs’s assessment of making a good sequel, which to paraphrase, basically said you should repeat the first film as completely as you can. Riley’s journey in this film, his realization, denial, acceptance, decision to act, etc. all mirrors what happened in the first film almost beat by beat.
So, the key questions for the viewer (or prospective viewer) is; Did you see the first film and liked it or were entertained?
And, if you did not – do you gravitate toward any film playing with the idea of zombies? Again, CONTRACTED: PHASE II is pure and simple – a continuation of the first film, answering some questions about the origin of the zombie-virus, as well as escalating the scope and reach of the threat, and even tragedy of the first film.
As far as the uninitiated to this particular zombie universe, but lover of the sub-genre, CONTRACTED: PHASE II offers up the basic dilemmas and dread and scares one hopes for in a zombie film with enough different spins on the tropes to satisfy.
For the jaded or more critical zombie film connoisseur, neither film would likely keep any one of them up at night, but for the film fan that IS up at night, it would be an entertaining diversion.
Josh Forbes ‘s CONTRACTED: PHASE II is a satisfying cautionary tale of the potential zombie effects of not having same sex