Reviews: Contracted (2013) Movie Review / Ending Explained / FAQs
- Related: [ Movie Details for Contracted ]
Subgenres: Zombies, Body Horror, Featured Phobia, Phobia, Virus
Horror fans will enjoy our review of Contracted (2013), where we cover its story, scares, and how it ranks among modern horror classics.
Contracted (2013) – A Disturbing Descent Into Decay and Denial
Contracted (2013) is an unsettling body horror film that blends physical transformation with emotional unraveling. At its core, the story follows a young woman whose life spirals into chaos after a mysterious encounter at a party. As her condition worsens, those around her fail to recognize the severity of her situation—highlighting a chilling commentary on denial, neglect, and isolation.
When One Night Changes Everything, the Real Horror Creeps From Within
This film dares to focus on personal horror from the inside out. Instead of relying on a creature or external threat, Contracted builds dread by slowly turning its lead character into something unrecognizable. It’s uncomfortable, claustrophobic, and deeply disturbing—not because of jump scares, but because of the haunting realism behind her transformation.
Acting, Atmosphere, and Body Horror Execution
Najarra Townsend plays Samantha, a young woman caught in a vulnerable moment. Her performance grounds the film, capturing a spiral of confusion, desperation, and alienation. After an intoxicated one-night stand, Samantha wakes up feeling off—only to discover her body is deteriorating rapidly. What begins as subtle symptoms quickly accelerates into shocking, grotesque changes.
The film excels at building tension through physical unease. Makeup effects depict oozing sores, discoloration, hair loss, and far worse. Each stage of Samantha’s breakdown is portrayed with painful realism. The visuals are raw and gritty, serving as a metaphor for the way trauma, violation, and disease can be ignored or misread by others.
What makes the horror effective isn’t just the gore—it’s the silence around it. Friends downplay her illness. Medical professionals misdiagnose her symptoms. Even Samantha herself tries to hide what’s happening. The story becomes a bleak allegory for abandonment, societal failure, and the horrors people keep hidden under the surface.
Directing Style, Strengths, and Weaknesses
Director Eric England keeps the camera close and the atmosphere intimate, ensuring that viewers feel the progression of Samantha’s decline firsthand. The pace is tight, the visuals are unflinching, and the emotional breakdown mirrors the physical one beat for beat.
Strengths:
Strong, committed performance from the lead actress
Uncomfortable but effective body horror visuals
Subtle social commentary on isolation and neglect
Builds dread through realism instead of fantasy
Minimalist style enhances intimacy and tension
Weaknesses:
Supporting characters lack depth or emotional complexity
Some plot threads remain unresolved or ambiguous
Repetition of symptoms can slow pacing in the middle
The ending may divide audiences looking for closure
Final Verdict & Score: 5/10
Contracted earns a 5 out of 10, in line with its raw, indie-horror execution that delivers an unsettling experience without fully capitalizing on its themes. While the film’s lead performance and visceral visuals are undeniably impactful, the lack of narrative resolution and limited character arcs prevent it from reaching a higher tier. Still, it remains a noteworthy entry for fans of body horror with emotional depth.
Who Will Enjoy It
Fans of slow-burning body horror films
Viewers interested in psychological horror with real-world implications
Horror enthusiasts who appreciate independent, low-budget intensity
Audiences looking for discomforting transformation stories
Who Might Be Disappointed
Viewers expecting supernatural elements or traditional monsters
Fans of fast-paced horror or clean narrative resolution
Audiences sensitive to medical horror or trauma-related themes
Those seeking action-heavy scares or traditional scream moments
Contracted (2013) – Most Searched FAQs Answered
What is Contracted (2013) really about?
Contracted follows Samantha, a young woman who begins to suffer horrifying physical changes after a one-night encounter. What begins as flu-like symptoms escalates into full-body breakdown. The film explores personal horror through the lens of illness, mistrust, and the unraveling of identity.
Is Contracted a zombie movie?
Not in the traditional sense. While it includes transformation, decay, and infection themes often found in zombie films, Contracted is more of a slow-burn body horror experience. Samantha’s deterioration is intimate and emotional, not part of a typical outbreak scenario.
What causes Samantha’s condition in the film?
Samantha’s condition stems from an encounter with a mysterious man named BJ, who is later hinted to be the carrier of a highly aggressive infection. While the film never names the source explicitly, it’s portrayed as a rapidly mutating biological or supernatural agent that reanimates tissue post-mortem.
Is BJ alive or undead in the movie?
BJ appears briefly but ominously throughout the film. His pale appearance and strange behavior imply he’s not fully alive, suggesting that the infection he passes on may have already begun to transform him. He remains a mysterious figure left intentionally unexplained.
Is there a deeper message behind the film?
Yes. Contracted serves as a metaphor for social isolation, emotional neglect, and how others often fail to respond to cries for help. Samantha’s friends, family, and even medical professionals ignore her condition, leaving her to suffer alone. This narrative choice reinforces the film’s emotional impact.
Why doesn’t anyone help Samantha as she declines?
Samantha is surrounded by people who dismiss her symptoms or misread her pleas for help. Friends believe she’s exaggerating. A doctor offers a generic explanation. Her own mother accuses her of lying. This negligence is a major part of the horror—no one sees the truth until it’s too late.
Does Samantha infect anyone else?
Yes, but subtly. As her condition worsens, she continues to interact with others. In one key moment, she has a physical encounter with Riley, a friend who has feelings for her. The film implies that the infection may have been passed on, setting the stage for a possible spread.
Is there a sequel to Contracted?
Yes. Contracted: Phase II picks up immediately where the first film ends, following a new character while continuing the storyline of the infection and BJ’s role in its spread.
Contracted (2013) – Ending Explained
In the final moments of Contracted, Samantha’s body is barely functioning. Her skin peels, her eyes fade, and her motor functions collapse. Her condition isolates her completely. After a brutal confrontation at her home, she flees in a confused and aggressive state.
She eventually collapses in a parking lot, appearing lifeless—only to violently lurch back to life, screaming. The transformation is complete. The final scream isn’t just one of pain, but of something no longer human awakening inside her.
This ending suggests Samantha has become a vessel for a new kind of reanimated entity. The film closes with her first moment as something other than herself—leaving the audience disturbed, unsure if this is the start of an outbreak or the result of something even darker.
Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- Contracted Rating Scores
- Our Score: 5/10
- Overall Score: 4.96/10
- IMDB: 5.3/10
- MetaCritic: 4.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 4.7/10
Look here for more movies starting with C and here you can find 2013 movies to watch on your favorite streaming service.