Critics generally found the film to be a more energetic but less focused "pointless sequel" that favored gore over the original's character-driven horror .
: The ending suggests the virus has become airborne after a breach in a high-tech lab, hinting at a global outbreak. Contracted: Phase II
: Riley spends the film scrambling to find the source of the virus—and the man behind it—in a desperate attempt to find a cure before he and the world succumb to mass contagion . Visual and Narrative Evolution Critics generally found the film to be a
: Unlike the first film, which kept the infection's cause ambiguous, Phase II attempts to explain the contagion's origins. It reveals a crazed individual named BJ (recast as Morgan Peter Brown ) who is intentionally infecting people to "obliterate mankind". Visual and Narrative Evolution : Unlike the first
: Directed by Josh Forbes, the sequel moves away from the intimate psychological tension of the original and toward higher body counts , "gross-out" makeup effects , and a police procedural aesthetic.
: The film picks up immediately after the first movie, shifting focus from Samantha to Riley ( Matt Mercer ), who has contracted the same rapidly putrefying, zombie-like disease after having unprotected sex with her.