🎬 Contracted

Samantha (Najarra Townsend) is a young woman struggling to repair her relationship with her overbearing mother and her girlfriend, Nikki (Katie Stegeman). Reluctantly attending a party hosted by a friend, Samantha is drugged and sexually assaulted in the backseat of a car by a mysterious stranger (Simon Barrett).

Over the next three days, Samantha suffers a horrific, rapid physical and mental breakdown. What she initially assumes is a severe sexually transmitted infection turns out to be a terrifying, flesh-rotting virus. As her body decomposes—losing fingernails, hair, and eyesight—her psychological stability collapses, transforming her into a patient zero for a deadly, zombifying plague.

💡 Did you know?
Subverting Zombie Tropes: Director Eric England conceived the film as a grounded "prequel" to a zombie outbreak, choosing to focus entirely on the agonizing, realistic progression of patient zero before the apocalypse hits.

IFC Midnight Horror Circuit: The film became a prominent title for IFC Midnight, earning a dedicated cult following on VOD platforms for its visceral, uncompromising practical body-horror effects.

Sequel Expansion: The success of the film led to a 2015 sequel, Contracted: Phase II, directed by Josh Forbes, which picks up immediately after the events of the first film to explore the spread of the virus.

⭐ Film Evaluation & Ratings 📈
⭐ Global Critical Consensus: 5.4 / 10 (53% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes / 5.3 IMDb)

Polarizing due to its bleak tone and disturbing premise, but widely praised for Najarra Townsend's brave lead performance and effective practical makeup effects.

🎨 Practical & Visual FX Craft: 7.4 / 10

Uses gruesome body horror techniques to make Samantha’s physical deterioration painfully claustrophobic and difficult to watch.

📝 Portal Recommendation:

A notable inclusion for Body Horror Spotlights, Indie Virus Thriller Archives, and IFC Midnight Retrospectives. Pairs naturally with titles like Starry Eyes (2014), Bite (2015), or Thanatomorphose (2012).

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