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A Zombie Movie About the Human Spirit


Well that was way better than Anon or Fullmetal Alchemist!
Directed by newcomers Yolanda Ramke and Ben Howling, written by Ramke, and based off their 2013 short, Cargo is an Australian zombie apocalypse movie on Netflix that’s one of the platforms’ best original movies so far this year. While it may seem like a traditional zombie movie, it actually does a lot to set itself apart, aiming to be a greater story of survival, endurance, and human nature.
In the aftermath of a typical zombie outbreak, Andy (Martin Freeman) and Katy (Susie Porter) are living on a houseboat in Australia with their infant daughter Rosie. But when an accident leads to Katy becoming infected, it falls on Andy to get their daughter to safety before he too succumbs. Meanwhile, an Aboriginal girl called Thoomi (Simone Landers) whose father is infected, is journeying to her ancestral homeland to reunite with her people, inevitably to meet Andy along the way.
The living dead have very little screen-time in this movie. That’s because Ramke and Howling know their suggestion is more frightening than their presence. But also because the zombies are really incidental to this film. Even the threat to the main characters comes more often from humans -whether in the form or antagonists Andy or Thoomi meet on their journey, or their own instability. The infected people contribute more to a looming terror and as an excuse for how this world operates than anything else. Despite being pretty standard in just how it depicts this breakdown of society, it does try to touch on the baser impulses, both noble and dark, cataclysmic circumstances awaken in human beings. This is reminiscent of course of 28 Days Later, and while Cargo certainly borrows elements from that film and other zombie media including The Walking Dead, where it’s a little bit different is that in addition to portraying people devolving into savagery and abusiveness in an apocalyptic scenario it also shows a person motivated by similar hidden impulses to instinctively do whatever it takes to protect his only child.
Fairly early on in the movie Andy becomes infected by the virus. So for most of the story he’s a dead man walking and he knows it. Because of that, he constantly looks for survivors to take care of Rosie. As his symptoms worsen with each progressive night it becomes more of a struggle to carry on. You vividly feel his pain and determination in all this, his fear he might accidentally hurt his daughter, and of course his suicidal urges. All are illustrated well through the visuals and atmosphere, but Martin Freeman is also just excellent in this film, giving easily one of his best performances. Cargo is a character-driven story, and with this responsibility Freeman more than capably carries the grim emotion and urgency with intensity and compassion. He has a wonderful on-screen partner too in Simone Landers, who’s likewise giving a great performance that compliments his very well. Thoomi’s character is tied very closely to Aboriginal belief and culture as it forms a major part of her own convictions and persistence to save her father. And the movie handles it with a deftness that shows a genuine understanding of her spirituality and values.
There aren’t a lot of surprises in this movie though. It is still a zombie movie after all and hits most of the familiar beats. However the vast Australian wilderness is a compellingly different if slightly unoriginal place to situate it (I mean ever since Mad Max, our go-to apocalypse environment has looked like Australia). But it is a real Australia presented by real Australians concerned with Australian identity. The movie stays fixed in that corner of the world and emphasizes its beauty and desolation alike through great cinematography. I also admire the creativity in the effects of the zombie infection. They’re gory without being typically so, and perhaps a little more unsettling.
Cargo is plodding in places and some of its conventions, even quite dark scenes, aren’t new to zombie fiction. It’s not going to be a staple film of the genre, but it’s nice to have something from that genre feel fresh again. It does have a few unique ideas, a unique lens with which it views this kind of apocalypse, a simple but compelling drive, and a couple performances that keep you invested in the characters’ journey -an especially impressive feat given we know the fate of one of them. It’s a zombie movie that is actually optimistic, and not in a way that we know the main characters are safe at the end, or the virus will be reversed or the infected contained, or anything else that contrived. It’s optimistic in its outlook on humanity, which may be the most refreshing thing Cargo offers. If you like horror movies that double as engaging character dramas, give it a watch.

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