Contracted: Phase II has contracted many of the same problems with the first film – it’s plagued with pacing and character issues – but still has enough gags for the home video audience.
Eric England steps away from the sequel to his indie Contracted, leaving the reigns to newcomer Josh Forbes from a screenplay by Craig Walendziak.
Forbes does what he can with Contracted: Phase II, which begins immediately following England’s first film in which Samantha (Najarra Townsend) is full-blown infected and running through the streets of Los Angeles. That movie ended where it should have begun, which is interestingly how the sequel kicks off. In a weird way, the viewer can sort of pretend Contracted never existed, and kick back and try and enjoy Phase II.
Once Samantha is left for dead, Phase II focuses on Riley (Matt Mercer), another returning character from Contracted. He’s been infected by the sex he allegedly had with Samantha (I cannot confirm this as it was never shown on screen), and now is the centerpiece of Phase II. Much like Samantha, he struggles with the changes to his body, with zero panic, in an attempt to find a cure.
Much like the first film, the screenplay is unfocused, chaotic and all over the place, with the biggest issue once again being the characters’ lack of urgency. An infection is spreading and nobody seems all that worried that they’re either going to get infected, or even are infected. Riley even takes the time to go and purchase some guns from his drug dealer, which results in another chatty exposition heavy sequence.
One thing that nagged at me was the introduction of an interesting character – BJ (Morgan Peter Brown) – who vanishes until the film’s flaccid and hacked together finale.
If anything, Contracted: Phase II does in fact up the ante with the gore and gags, but ultimately feels like a series of good ideas that are underdeveloped.
Contracted felt like a first act to a movie, while Phase II feels like the second. Thankfully (*big, sarcastic sigh*), Phase II sets up a Phase III, giving us the grand finale we are so desperately (are we?) seeking.
