Cargo (2017)

CARGO is an often tense story of a father's quest to get his infant daughter to safety, set in a post-apocalyptic Australian outback ravaged by an untreatable and highly infectious disease. A couple and their baby daughter are on a houseboat on the River Murray in South Australia, but running low on food as they are surrounded by people who have succumbed to a fast-acting disease that leaves its victims as flesh-eating, slow-moving, un-dead. Desperate to find a foster-carer for baby Rose, a glimmer of hope arrives when a young Aboriginal girl who is trying to save her own father comes on the scene.

The landscape is a spectacular mixture of red dirt scrub smoldering with spotfires, the broad river with its cliff banks and majestic rocks and the mountains of the Flinders Ranges. As well as the slow-roaming but relentless zombies who live by the well-established rules of the genre, there are occasional whitefella survivors and a fierce resistance being waged by Aboriginal people who have returned to the bush and formed safe communities.

CARGO was written by Yolanda Ramke and directed by Ramke and Ben Howling with images supplied by master cinematographer Geoffrey Simpson (Shine, The Navigator, Fried Green Tomatoes). CARGO features an outstanding cast led by Brit, Martin Freeman, joined by Susie Porter, David Gulpilil, Natasha Wanganeen and luminous youngster, Simone Landers.

The theme of a deadly disease brings to mind the AIDS epidemic and also new threats such as antibiotic resistance and evolving viruses. The main theme however, is of race relations and respect for the ancient cultures of Australia's first people. The plot plays with reversals of our history to this point, but despite its intelligence and sincerity, always maintains the suspense of the horror genre.

CARGO releases in Australian cinemas on May 17 2018 while, in an Australian-first, the rest of the world will be able to stream CARGO from May 18 via NETFLIX. Cargo is recommended for lovers of horror and Australiana. 4 stars

Andrew Bunney Let's Go to the Pictures 9-11 AM Thursday 3D Radio, Adelaide 937FM & Digital Radio

Fmovies: When I saw the trailer I was a little weary about this film. I wasn't sure if it would suck like many other indie epidemic survival movies that have been released in the last 5 years. But thankfully I was not right, this film was very good and not your typical infection film. Its about a couple and their infant child dealing with the end of civilization, where a massive epidemic sweeps across the land. I found this to be less about the disease and more about the relationship between parent and child, and the parent doing absolutely anything to help there baby. This really comes through in the film, you really feel the desperation and love, that often is very intense. Very emotional and had me on the edge of my seat a few times. Not to mention the great acting that only adds to the intensity of any given scene. I've always loved Martin Freeman, another great performance from him.

The cinematography is absolutely wonderfully done, and is complemented by the beautiful Australian outback. Whoever did the location scouting for this deserves more than A+. You could almost feel the heat, the thirst, the dryness. I cant describe how well the film portrays helplessness and desperation in such times as a massive epidemic, the emotions come through perfectly. I felt connected to the characters, as little as they are, and I was interested until the end of the film. I also worried it may become too slow, but even in the "slow" parts were interesting and kept me invested in the story and characters. I really was surprised how much I liked this film, it was a welcome change of pace from the typical Walking Dead rip-off junk.

Watch it.

This is not your run of the mill typical zombie flick. It's much more than that.

All cast performed exceptionally well especially the Rosie twin babies Finlay and Nova Sjoberg, and newcomer young actress Simone Landers who portrayed Thoomi.

The directing by Ben Howling was great, the original concept story by novice writer/director Yolanda Ramke was awesome, but her screenwriting was a little weak with some obvious plot issues and omissions or maybe just bad editing.

Nevertheless, it was a very enjoyable and refreshing take on the zombie genre and considering this was an non-Hollywood production but instead a low budget Aussie film.

A well deserved 8/10 from me.

Cargo fmovies. I love zombie movies. I've seen 'em all.

But this is not a horror movie.

If you're looking for a horror movie, nope. All the bad reviews are from people who expected one. Fair enough.

This is not a horror movie.

This movie is about a father, a wife, and a baby trying to survive.

I cried my ass off at the end. I don't like drama movies, I don't like pishposh movies. I'm a full grown man that likes his zombies rotten and dangerous.

This, however, is not a horror movie, made me cry like a baby, and I absolutely loved it.

This movie is amazing. 10/10.

Unless you want a horror movie, which it isn't.

As much as I usually enjoy horror movies, the zombie sub-genre has never been one I'm particularly fond of. Except for classic films such as "Night of the Living Dead" and Raimi's "Evil Dead" movies, or modern entries into the genre such as "Shaun of the Dead" or "Train to Busan", I have never seen any outstanding zombie films which stood out from the crowd. However, this year's "Cargo", an Australian indie based on a 2013 short film and starring Martin Freeman, succeeded in its attempt to do just that: stand out from the crowd.

With a tense atmosphere, a well-written plot and breathtaking cinematography, "Cargo" is better than the average thriller in the way it focuses on its main character and creates sympathy with him to allow the viewer to actually become interested in the film's eventual outcome. The premise, featuring zombies in a post-apocalyptic Australia, is as important as the development of Martin Freeman's character, and the combination of both aspects ultimately allowed this film to turn into something surprisingly original in a genre which I thought had nothing original left anymore.

Some sloppy editing now and then might be my only criticism about the film. Freeman was a great choice for the leading actor; the film was visually gorgeous to watch; the plot was filled with interesting and unpredictable twists (even if you've seen the short film) - in short, I loved the experience I had while watching it. I don't think everybody will; "Cargo" surely is restricted by the limitations of its genre and will leave some viewers disappointed, and that's completely fine - I only hope its Netflix release will allow "Cargo" to see the wide audience it absolutely deserves.

Hey, you.Yes,you, stop reading the reviews and watch the damn movie :) it's not an Oscar movie ,but it's pretty good.