Contracted: Phase II
| Contracted: Phase II | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Josh Forbes |
| Written by | Craig Walendziak |
| Starring | Matt Mercer Marianna Palka Morgan Peter Brown |
| Cinematography | Mike Testin |
| Edited by | Ruben Sebban |
Release date |
|
Running time | 78 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Contracted: Phase II is a 2015 zombie body horror film and the sequel to the 2013 film Contracted. The movie was directed by Josh Forbes, based on a script written by Craig Walendziak, and Eric England, who wrote and directed the first film.
Phase II follows the character of Riley (Matt Mercer) as he tries to find a cure for the zombie virus.[1] The film had its world premiere on July 5, 2015 at the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival.
Synopsis
After the events in the previous film Riley (Matt Mercer) has begun showing symptoms of the same illness that caused Samantha (Najarra Townsend) to turn into a zombie. Panicking, Riley decides that he needs to track down the person who first infected Samantha, BJ (Morgan Peter Brown), in the hopes of gaining a cure. However BJ has his own agenda, as he is more than willing to continue to spread the disease to other victims.
Cast
- Matt Mercer as Riley McCormick
- Marianna Palka as Detective Crystal Young
- Morgan Peter Brown as BJ
- Anna Lore as Harper
- Laurel Vail as Brenda
- Peter Cilella as James
- John Ennis as Special Agent Dalton
- Najarra Townsend as Samantha Williams
- Richard Riehle as Deuge Gelman
- Suzanne Voss as Margie
- Charley Koontz as Zain
- Alice Macdonald as Alice Patrick (archive footage)
- Ruben Pla as Doctor
- Caroline Williams as Sam's Mom (archive footage)
- Joanna Sotomura as Debbie
Reception
Critical reception for Phase II has been negative and the film holds a rating of 33% "rotten" on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 11 reviews.[2] Variety criticized the film, stating "Despite a couple of brief closing-credit epilogues suggesting future narrative directions, “Contracted: Phase II” feels too hurriedly conceived to expand on the original’s premise in more than perfunctory fashion."[3] Rogerebert.com heavily panned Phase II and compared it unfavorably to its predecessor, writing that "Pointless body horror sequel "Contracted: Phase II" doesn't develop its predecessor's concepts so much as it resolves all of the questions you never needed answered."[4] In contrast The Hollywood Reporter and New York Times were more positive,[5] and the Times praised Forbe's direction and visual effects.[6]
References
- ^ Collis, Clark. "Contracted: Phase II director talks about his horror sequel -- and 'surreal' VMAs experience". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ^ "CONTRACTED: PHASE II (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ^ Harvey, Dennis. "Film Review: 'Contracted: Phase II'". Variety. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ^ Abrams, Simon. "CONTRACTED: PHASE II". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ^ Scheck, Frank. "'Contracted: Phase II': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ^ Webster, Andy. "Review: In 'Contracted: Phase II' Misfortune Multiples an Encounter at a Time". New York Times. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
