Clarke M Smith gives us a follow up to his earlier film Contamination. 1998 sees cascading problems with water in Contamination 2. It may be a sequel or even a prequel to the 1987 8 minute short. In terms of story, there is a lot more happening here. Smith says that “2” can be viewed as being independent of the first science fiction offering and I agree.
The Story
Contamination 2 sees water that will make plants live longer still being misused. People drinking it are paying the ultimate price. One man tries to stop the spread of death and destruction and the water company fights back.
The Cast
Peter Beam is Victor.
Contamination 2 Works
The tagline: “Fear comes in a bottle” is pretty appropriate. This follow up to the first story is much more ambitious in terms of sheer ambition. There are more players, more subplots and more involved characters.
The “whistle blower” has a significant other. However, he also has morals and a conscience. He wants the problems to stop. Sadly, fate is against him here.
“C2” is busy. We have board meetings and flashbacks to the fates of the two men in Contamination. There is a baring of the soul with the fiance that could have gone better. All, in all, the second version of this film opens a pretty wide door.
Kudos.
Contamination 2 is a Labor of Love
Smith does it all here and in many of his other films. For most of his movies he is the DP, the director proper, editor, and writer. I guessing he also controls the score as well. Everything he puts his hand to, he does very well.
This second film boasts a downright huge budget of $10K vs the $300 of Contamination. Smith shot the film on good old Super VHS, and the quality shows. I remember “Super 8” very well. *It was going to be the future.*
Smith, once again, pays homage to the legend that is John Carpenter. The music at the end of the film will sound familiar to many. Once again, “If you know, you know.”
The Verdict
The very scope of Contamination 2 pulls this one into 4 star territory. I got pulled into the story. It was an irony that the Netflix documentary on the Titan was on my mind. Some of the 1998 whistle blower’s dialogue was eerily familiar to those true life events.
The ending of “C2” feels, like a nod to The Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Contamination 2 is streaming on YouTube.
