May 19, 2018
Welcome back to Streaming Saturdays. Today we’ve got another zombie film, which is one of my preferred genres for movies. We’ve also got another zombie film for tomorrow, although it’s not very good (spoiler alert). If you’re a fan of zombie films, check out the archives for Episode #066 “Ravenous” (2017), and keep a look out for a few more coming later this year, including the 50thAnniversary of “Night of the Living Dead” (1968) and the first credited zombie film, “White Zombie” (1932) featuring the incredible Bela Lugosi. And if you have any suggestions for films, hit me up on the website at onemoviepunch.com or on Twitter or Facebook. I’ll let you know if I’ve seen it, and if not, maybe it’ll show up on our schedule!
And now...
Today’s movie is “Cargo” (2017), the Netflix Original thriller written by Yolanda Ramke and directed for the screen in collaboration with Ben Howling. The film follows Andy (Martin Freeman) and Kay (Susie Porter), as they flee a violent pandemic into the Australian outback with their one-year old daughter Josie (Natasha Wanganeen). However, an accident leaves Kay dead and Andy infected, with 48 hours to find someone else to care for his daughter before succumbing to the disease, with the aid of a young girl named Thoomi (Simone Landers).
Spoilers ahead.
I’d like to think we’ve reached peak zombie film, likely with the last few productions green-lit after the immense success of “The Walking Dead”. You can head over to Wikipedia if you want to look up a list of all the zombie and zombie-adjacent films, and I check the list every now and again for Worldwide Wednesdays or Film Buff Fridays. I’d also like to think we’ve seen just about every scenario in every situation, but then along comes a film like “Cargo” (2017) with a new twist.
My main concern with the film is its predictability. Once you understand the setup, then there is only one direction the film can follow without pissing off the entire audience, namely that Andy finds a community to raise his daughter before he turns into a digger. That’s what they call the zombies in this world, as before they turn, they dig a hole and stick their heads in, an obvious metaphor for some of humanity’s way of looking at crisis, most notably, the climate collapse on the way. It’s a little too on-the-nose for me.
Predictability and obvious metaphors aside, however, I did appreciate the location-specific challenges with setting this journey in the outback. If you’re not a fan of series such as “Glitch” or “Cleverman”, you may not appreciate the subtle and not-so-subtle relationships between the indigenous and colonist populations, particularly on the edges of the outback. Or how while the white folks see everything as the end of the world, the indigenous population – the longest continuous indigenous population in the world – sees it as just another phase.
“Cargo” (2017) is a predictable, but unique addition to the zombie canon, including location-specific elements and structures surrounding a standard zombie outbreak premise. While a bit heavy-handed with the message, and sometimes a bit slow, the film delivers a complete story with a great cast. Fans of the zombie genre, or anyone who likes to watch just how far that parents will go to predict their children, will definitely enjoy this film.
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
Metacritic: 67
One Movie Punch: 7.6/10
“Cargo” (2017) is rated TV-MA and is currently streaming on Netflix.