• Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket

Movie Review – Cargo (2018)

June 7, 2018 by Rafael Motamayor

Cargo, 2018.

Directed by Yolanda Ramke and Ben Howling.
Starring Martin Freeman, Simone Landers, Susie Porter, Anthony Hayes, Caren Pistorius, David Gulpilil, Kris McQuade, Bruce R. Carter, and Natasha Wanganeen.

SYNOPSIS:

Amid a terrifying pandemic, a father searches the wilds of Australia for someone willing to protect and care for his infant daughter.

There has been an overabundance of zombie movies in the wake of The Walking Dead, and while they still manage to do the usual “should you kill the people you love once they are infected or leave them behind to slowly turn into monsters” conundrum with grace, we all know by now how to survive the apocalypse. So unless you make the film self-aware á la Zombieland or a comedy like Shaun of the Dead, it becomes next to impossible to stand out among the crowd of undead films.

Thankfully, co-directors Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke manage to make Cargo shine by taking a page from Train to Busan – or The Last of Us, or Telltale’s The Walking Dead – and focus on a much personal father-daughter relationship instead of the usual “humans are worse that the zombies” trope.

Martin Freeman stars as Andy, a man trying his best to float down a river with his wife Kay (Susie Porter) and daughter Rosie (Lily Anna/Marlee Jane McPherson-Dobbins as well as Nova and Finlay Sjoberg) and reach a hopefully still safe military base in the houseboat which they live in. Their quiet river life is suddenly shattered by an attack which sees Kay die and Andy get infected. He is left with only 48 hours to get his daughter to safety before turning into one of the monsters he’s been fighting to evade.

It should come as no surprise that Cargo is bleak as hell. Even beyond the fact that the world has turned to shit and that an infection/plague/catastrophe/flu (just like many other recent films, this film follows the “don’t even dare mentioning the Z word approach”) has turned people into monsters, right from the start you know there is no chance for a happy ending in this film. Right from the get-go you are thrown into a race against the clock where you know the protagonist is not going to make it, but he will make damn sure he gets his daughter to a safe place. Martin Freeman gives one hell of a performance, as he pretty much carries the film and the baby on his shoulders. It’s also a good thing that the baby is not used as a plot device to start crying at the wrong time and attract zombies (sorry, “infected”), but she’s here to further develop Andy as a character and as a father, and to be adorably delightful. Really, I have never seen a baby be this tame during the apocalypse.

Ramke and Howling don’t just stop at making this a zombie film with a different focus, they also add some unique changes to the zombie mythos. Gone are the gaping wounds, the hanging viscera and the ragged flesh. Instead, the infected get some jelly-like yellow goo that grows from the bites and ends up pouring from their eyes once they fully turn.

Like the George A. Romero classics, Cargo also leans into social commentary among the zombie gore. Among the human faces Andy meets, we see a man blaming the zombie apocalypse on fracking and the environment. There’s also an underlying theme of Australia’s history of colonization and the use of indigenous people, and those who stood by in silence. If you are looking for an action-packed zombie movie, or a The Walking Dead bore-fest, look elsewhere. If you want a heartfelt survivalist story about a father and his daughter, with zombies on the fringe and the vastness of the Australian Outback, then Cargo will be right up your alley.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

Rafael Motamayor is a journalist and movie geek based in Norway. You can follow him on Twitter.

Filed Under: Movies, Rafael Motamayor, Reviews Tagged With: Anthony Hayes, Ben Howling, Bruce R Carter, Caren Pistorius, Cargo, David Gulpilil, Kris McQuade, Martin Freeman, Natasha Wanganeen, Simone Landers, Susie Porter, Yolanda Ramke

FMTV – Watch Our Latest Video Here

WATCH OUR MOVIE NOW FOR FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

20 Epic Car Chases That Will Drive You Wild

Movies That Actually Really Need A Remake!

The Essential Action Movies of the 1980s

Not for the Faint of Heart: The Most Shocking Movies of All Time

The Most Overhated Modern Superhero Movies

The Prisoner: The Classic British TV Series Revisited

8 Great Recent Films You Really Need To See

The Essential Richard Norton Movies

Lifeforce at 40: A Film Only Cannon Could Have Made

10 Creepy Horror Movies Jump Scares

Top Stories:

Crazy Cult 80s Movies You May Have Missed

Movie Review – Superman (2025)

4K Ultra HD Review – Quatermass 2 (1957)

Movie Review – Sovereign (2025)

“Dexter In Space” – Michael C. Hall talks 20 years of Dexter and where the killer will go next

Movie Review – Abraham’s Boys (2025)

Matilda Lutz is Red Sonja in trailer for long-delayed fantasy reboot

Great Tarantino-esque Movies You Need To See

STREAM FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

FEATURED POSTS:

The Most Terrifying Movie Psychopaths of the 1990s

15 Movies To Watch On Tubi UK

A Better Tomorrow: Why Superman & Lois is among the best representations of the Man of Steel

The Essential Horror Movie Threequels

Our Partners

  • Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

© Flickering Myth Limited. All rights reserved. The reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of the content without permission is strictly prohibited. Movie titles, images, etc. are registered trademarks / copyright their respective rights holders. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you can read this, you don't need glasses.


 

Flickering MythLogo Header Menu
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket