saxyandiknowit Contracted is an attempt at an edgy and original body horror film, but ends up looking like a C-level student film. I found myself laughing out loud during points in this film because of how little sense it made. Samantha is a young woman who is going through a rough patch with her girlfriend. (Although it is made clear in the film that Samantha is bisexual, she and the other characters regularly go around referring to her as a "lesbian." No idea there). She gets drunk at a friend's party and starts talking to an unknown man there, "BJ" (what a name), who is kept out of focus to make him appear more mysterious, which instead comes off very forced and obvious. He ends up drugging and raping her (despite the film's tagline of a "one night stand") and is never heard from again, nor is anyrhing more learned from him (save for one thing, more on that later). She wakes up the next morning at home with little recollection of what happened, but soon begins experiencing increasingly more disturbing symptoms, such as bloody discharge, headaches, and peeling/rotting skin, among other grotesqueries. While observing the dark and raised veins in her pubic region, one doctor makes the educated diagnosis of a "head cold and a rash." Somebody revoke his license. The main problem with this film is the script. despite a mildly interesting premise, the story suffers from atrocious dialogue and story points that go nowhere. The problems with Samantha and Nicole's relationship are only spoken of in vague terms and never explored. At a point in the film, BJ is being searched for by the police for, as Samantha'a friend puts it, "some child molester shit." Nothing else is spoken of him from then on. Samantha'a mother notices the deteriorating physical state of her daughter, and instead of immediately calling 911, angrily assumes Samantha is relapsing into a poorly explained drug habit. These plot elements don't have to be explained in detail, but the characters and their dynamics have to be compelling enough to make you want to know the answers. It is painfully obvious what is being intentionally unexplained, and the entirely unconvincing performances and horrible dialogue just add to the misery. The ending is so bizarre it's hard to explain. After separately murdering her girlfriend and friend by strangling them, with no physical struggle at all (is it that hard to roll over when you're being straddled by a decaying girl?) and infecting the boy that had been creepily crushing on her, she gets into a car wreck. Upon exiting the vehicle to the audience of police, bystanders, and her mother, she begins growing and flinging her arms at approaching pedestrians, before attacking her mother, where the screen cuts to black and the film abruptly and confusingly ends. I was genuinely laughing out loud during this whole sequence. To the credit of the cast, most of them are trying. With a better script, the actresses for Nicole and the mother could pull a convincing performance. The main actress, although entirely unconvincing in her delivery, is trying her best, and with some training and better direction, she could do better. The problem is that so little makes sense and the characters are so flat and unmemorable that there's no way to get into the illusion. Overall, bland, underwhelming, and shot through and through with confoundingly nonsensical plot points. Definitely good for a few laughs here and there though.

stellbread Most times when you see a horror film with excessive blood and gore, that tends to be its only strong point. But in Contracted, the f/x add to what is an intriguing story, centered on a young woman whose one night of carelessness leads to extraordinary consequences. This is a film stronger than its rating suggests. In an era of slack servings concerning horror, this one offers a heaping helping of plot, pacing, and performance. Najarra Townsend heads the no-name cast, and while she has been in numerous films, none of them was a star- turning vehicle. This one won't put her on the A-list, but her portrayal of the panicked young women is solid. The film is well-paced, will keep you locked in, and presents an ending that not only sewed things up nicely and left wiggle room for the sequel. For fans of horror, who don't mind some liberal bloodshed, I recommend this one.

milena-trajcevska10 No plot,no story,no ending,nothing explained...this movie was awful.What happened to Samanta?How did she turn into zombie at the end or whatever that was?What disease did she have?Why did she kill her friends?What happened to the guy that gave her this disease? Also this girl had the worst mother ever. Poor acting,didn't't like the make up,so unreal... The trailer gives a false hope,even the movie itself.At the beginning i was interested but after that i found out what a horrible movie this is.Don't bother watching it.

Nigel P Samantha (Najarra Townsend) is a somewhat prickly, somewhat supercilious, usually unimpressed party girl who only has eyes (and smiles) for assured posh girlfriend Nikki (Katie Stegeman) – who is even less pleasant that she is! After being stood up at a party, Samantha has unprotected sex with BJ (Simon Barrett) – who may or may not have spiked her drink - only deciding against the idea once he is on top of her in the back of his car, the windows having had time to heavily steam up.Seemingly as a result of this, Samantha begins to suffer a series of increasingly harrowing afflictions – heavy loss of blood, tinnitus, disorientation, cramps, heightened veins, hair-loss etc. Despite Samantha's lofty characteristics, Townsend plays her very well and it is impossible not to empathise with her when her illness spirals out of control. What helps our empathy is the furthering reveal of Nikki's character as utterly self-absorbed, and try as she might, Samantha will never figure in her life because she (Nikki) is always entirely preoccupied with herself and her sexuality.To discuss the character of BJ– 'Contracted' opens with a scene of him having sex with a corpse in the mortuary where he works. It's actually quite difficult to work out what is happening, which is a shame as the whole reason for Samantha's decline is based on this detail. It is interesting that, for all his notoriety, we never clearly see his face (in the sequel, he is even played by a different actor).Another slight issue I have is that the unfortunate girl's physical decline is not always entirely consistent- sometimes her teeth are blackened, sometimes not; her eyes deteriorate into whiteness only to improve before deteriorating in the next scene. This isn't a major problem by any means; it just means her transition from living to 'other' isn't always a smooth one! As a diary of what happens when pretty people are not so pretty anymore, this is interested and wince-inducingly watchable. It reminds me of 2012's 'Thanatomorphose', which also features a young woman becoming increasingly decomposed and attempting to handle the situation alone. Here, the attitude of Samantha's unsympathetic doctor (who judgementally suspects an STD) and mother appears to explain her reticence to seek further outside help.Written and directed by Eric England, the first sequel ('Phase II') was released in 2015, and a further instalment is due for late 2017. I thoroughly enjoyed this, not ever knowing where the story was headed – instead, just 'enjoying' Samantha's turmoil. Whether any explanations as to the nature of the malady will be revealed doesn't really matter as long as the story is this horrifying and enjoyable.