The Netflix zombie flick CARGO that came out in 2017 (that I somehow missed) is not your typical zombie flick.
Cause it’s got heart!
Cargo stars Martin Freeman as Andy, a man traveling down a river in Australia with his wife (played by Susie Porter) and their daughter Rosie trying to survive the epidemic that is sweeping through Australia. After losing his wife and becoming infected himself, Andy has just 48 hours to find a safe haven for his infant daughter before he succumbs to the disease.
I’m not into zombie flicks. with the exception of Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland which were humorous and not totally gross depresh fests. This means that I don’t have a lot of experience with Zombie movie culture but I think Cargo is a good one though different than what I expected in a few ways.
#1: It doesn’t take place in a major city. Yes! Finally.
Andy is actually traversing the Australian outback which, if don’t know what you’re doing, can be deadly. I mean, everything in Australia is already trying to kill you and now there’s Zombies.
#2: CARGO is not really a gory film. It has the appropriate grossness factor that goes along with a zombie epidemic (like how the body reacts and degrades with the infection) but not a lot of time is spent on the zombies themselves, their actions, how many people they’ve eaten, etc. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a serious creepiness factor surrounding the zombies because there is. But the stakes are realistic and already very high for Andy and I think a lot of gore would have distracted from that.
#3: CARGO spotlights Aboriginals who, in this film, have returned to their traditional ways and are cleansing the outback of the infected.
Although no definite reason is given for the cause of the infection, there are some not so subtle hints placed in the film that fracking and other man-made interventions have somehow caused this epidemic by...making the land sick. At least in the eyes of the Aboriginals. Because the Aboriginals have that physical & spiritual connection to the land, it makes sense that they would be the ones to cleanse the land of its ills and bring it back into balance. I mean, the government is doing jack squat but that’s not at all surprising.
#4: The focus isn’t on the zombie outbreak but the personal struggles of Andy trying to save his daughter from the horrors of the outbreak.
Having the life and well being of a baby hanging in the balance in this film is what made the film even harder for me to watch. As a mother, I understand the sense of desperation that Andy must be feeling as time ticks closer and closer to him losing his mind. There are moments in the film when Andy nearly succumbs to the virus (which is expedited by loss of blood) but is brought back from the brink because of Rosie. His love for his daughter and paternal instinct to protect her is what kept him from turning too soon and harming his little girl and Thoomi, the aboriginal girl that Andy rescues from certain death.
I don’t want to go into any more details or spoilers about Cargo because you need to watch it for yourself. Cargo is slow paced but the pace is worth the pay off in the end. CARGO is a zombie flick with heart and definitely worth your time.
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