Exclusive: We Visit the Set of Contracted: Phase II

A visit to the set of Contracted: Phase II

A virus is spreading. It takes out everyone in its path, regardless of age, race, or gender. This seems like the plot for any one of a number of movies – including Contagion. But in this case I am talking about the flu, wiping out the cast and crew of Contracted: Phase II. 

It is a cold, grey day in December; normal winter weather for most of the country; a rarity in Los Angeles. But it is the perfect setting for Contracted: Phase II, which is more than halfway through its seventeen day shoot. Despite the dreary weather and poor health of the cast and crew, producer J.D. Lifshitz can barely contain his excitement for the project. “We wanted to take this one to the next level, create an event picture. The ultimate midnight movie,” Lifshitz enthuses. 

As is normally the case on a set visit, plot details are being kept very close to the vest. We know the story follows Riley, one of the last people to come into contact with Samantha from the first film. Riley is trying to track down the origin of the disease to stop it before it becomes a full-blown outbreak. Lifshitz promises that Phase II will explore some of the questions left unanswered about the first film. “We take what worked about the first one – this virus scare, this paranoia, this characteristic intimacy – and paint it on a wider canvas.

“We took a lot of the mistakes people found with the first one, issues people had, and we tried to have fun with them, fix them,” says Lifshitz. “Like the fact that Samantha is clearly, deathly ill in the first one. You don’t have time to take her to the CDC in the first one. So she’s just coasting along and no one is questioning it. The doctor tells her everything is fine and she doesn’t think to go get a second opinion. There are a lot of issues in the first film. The first film takes itself very seriously, and because of that, some stuff plays comedically with the audience, and that wasn’t the intention. Here, I think we are more keen on letting the audience know we are trying to be very deliberate.”

“We know Riley is infected,” says actor Matt Mercer of his character. “We know what this thing is. The next step is to broaden the implications of where it comes from and what it is. The first one is so great in terms of discovering what is happening. I think it is largely about youthful apathy. At a certain point in [‘Phase II’] the switch is flipped and [Riley] changes to a certain degree. There is an active change. This one is bigger so it is more in your face. It’s a more self-aware movie.” Lifshitz likens the tone to Scream, which Mercer elaborates on: “We sort of lampoon the hero-type. Riley is a hero, while also making fun of that type of guy. It lets you laugh before sucker-punching you.” 

Lifshitz continues, saying that the punches hit much harder. “I would say it is a darker movie than the first one, but it is simultaneously lighter. It’s having fun with itself but when it wants you to feel, hopefully it makes you feel.” Lifshitz promises that it is not a spoof or satire. “It’s a straight horror film that happens to have elements of comedy.”

One of the other new elements for Phase II is the director. Josh Forbes helms the sequel, taking the reigns from Eric England. Phase II is Forbes’s feature directorial debut. “It’s going a lot smoother than I thought,” he says. “I’ve been directing for ten years so I feel very comfortable in this position. I’m just a big horror geek,” Forbes admits. “I’m always trying to pitch horror ideas in my music videos and commercials, but no one wants that.” A video about hipsters making crystal meth caught Lifshitz’s attention. It was too gory for Forbes’s commercial agents to show around, but it got a Vimeo staff pick, and the attention of the Phase II producers. “Josh ‘gets’ it. He is such a fan, says Lifshitz. “The ending of this movie is insane, and that’s Josh. Josh really helped bring Riley’s arc full-circle. If we get it right, it will be a true crowd-pleaser.”

“The first film was very elegantly constructed,” says Forbes. “It’s very simple, one girl’s story with this crazy twist ending where it kind of explodes into ‘where is this world going to go?’ ‘Phase II’ shows where this world goes. We have a similar trajectory with Riley, but it kind of blows out the world.”

Lifshitz and Forbes butt heads frequently, but the producer promises it is in the best way possible. “We should all be questioning each other to make the best movie possible, and that’s what Josh does. That’s why I think the movie is going to be as great as its gonna be.” Both men want a business relationship where those involved are questioning each other’s decisions. “If I’m going to make this movie, it needs to have my stamp on it,” Forbes says. “All you have as a director is your taste and your instincts.”

Lifshitz promises plenty of action and gore. “Every single day on this shoot has an FX shot, but there are three in particular that I think will really steal the show.” Since this film isn’t a story about rape, the goal was to create something “relentlessly entertaining.” There is a pregnancy in the movie, and Lifshitz promises it will “pay off in a big way.” Forbes remembers several “exploding heads” and an eyeball gag. I got to watch a scene with maggots eating flesh. They were puppeted maggots, but Lifshitz told me they did have real maggots on call.

Mercer was very excited for the massive FX job that was done on him. “They are using innovative and new techniques,” he says. “Two days ago was my first day with nearly the full getup on. It’s unlike the first one; it’s full-body.” He spent five hours undergoing the full transformation. “It ups the ante tenfold.”

When you make a film, most people just want a return on their investment. If it does well enough, and it has a good critical response, you might do a sequel. If the sequel does well, a franchise is the next step. Does Lifshitz have a franchise planned? “We are planting seeds for a larger story,” he admits. “If people like this one and they want another one, we will make another one. We definitely have an idea of where to take it.”

Contracted: Phase II will be released on September 4th.