[Mini Review] Contracted (2013)

DIRECTED BY: Eric England
STARRING: Najarra Townsend, Caroline Williams, Alice Macdonald, Katie Stegeman
RATING: 3.5/5 stars

After what is implied as a fight with her girlfriend Samantha decide to attend a friend's party to drown her sorrows where she is drugged and raped by a mysterious stranger and contracts what she thinks to be a very aggressive sexually transmitted disease.

Contracted is directed by American filmmaker Eric England, who I am not familiar with but has directed a number of horror films and is definitely a rising starts in the world of horror if this particular film is anything to go by.

I quite enjoyed Contracted and it's really refreshing to see something different. It's a pretty disgusting film to watch; in fact some scenes were quite difficult to watch. I was often reminded of Jeff Goldblum in The Fly, it was on that same level which was just so insanely gross. It's pretty horrifying watching this poor woman who appears to be almost rotting from the inside out, she’s trying to hold it together whilst facing other pressures in her life. The plot itself is pretty simple and I thought it was clever how we never really see this mysterious stranger although he is mentioned constantly throughout the film which makes for a very unsettling sub-plot, not knowing if he'll make another appearance.

Najarra Townsend as Samantha is very good; she really portrays the torment and sheer pain that her character endures. I was often in two minds about Samantha; what happened to her and what's happening to her as a result is just horrible but she's a very meek person which made it difficult for me at times to feel sympathy towards. She struck me as a person who is their own worst enemy and the obvious psychical transformation she undergoes is perhaps symbolic of an ugliness that’s deep within her. A fascinating characters none the less.

I found the abrupt ending a little disappointing; it wasn't very creative in my opinion compared to the film's overall concept but that aside it's well worth seeing if you're a horror fan.