Cargo

Cargo, a touching 7-minute Australian short by directors Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke, focuses on just one of the small-scale personal tragedies that occurs as a result of a zombie outbreak.

The film opens with a man (Andy Rodoreda) waking from a car crash to find that his wife (Alison Gallagher), still strapped in by her seat belt, has turned into a zombie, and that he has been bitten on the arm. His baby daughter (Ruth Venn) is in the back of the car, unharmed. How can he guarantee the safety of his child once he also becomes a zombie?

Without giving away the answer, his plan is both a little yucky and rather ingenious, leading to a satisfying conclusion that should pull on the heartstrings of even the most hardened zombie fans.

Never have I ever thought in my entire life a seven minute zombie film would make me cry and think as much as Cargo did. As a parent and as an avid zombie enthusiast it really did it for me. The simplicity and lack of lines made it seem so much more real than the top films in the genre. What I perceived from the film was this: Unconditional love never dies, no matter how much change we have in ourselves (for better or worse in this case becoming the undead) we can and will do anything to protect our children even from ourselves if we must. I'd really hope they could have won the award this was nominated for. I can't wait for more work from Yolanda. This this seven minute piece of art really made me think and of course cried. Thank you for Cargo.

Cargo is a 7 minute movie, so It's difficult to discuss much about the film without giving away too much of the story. What I can say is that this (short film) was crafted by very skilled hands by people who take film making seriously. The acting, concept, directing, script, special effects are all top notch. While shot on what I'm sure was a shoe string budget, It is more polished then a great deal of the movies coming out of Hollywood these days. The story is about a Father and his infant daughter who find themselves in a very dire situation and some quick thinking and a lot of luck are going to be required to see any kind of semblance of a happy ending. The film is free of Nudity, foul language, violence (on screen), or adult situations. Individuals 13 and older should have no real issues with watching this 7 minute film. I give it 10/10 because it truly is an example of great film making.

A father comes to in his car, strapped into the seat next to him his wife has become infected but in the back seat his baby daughter is fine. With a zone nearby known to be safe from infection, the father sets out to ensure safety for his baby girl no matter what the cost.

As Theo has already said, the zombie horror genre is a pretty regular one in the genre of short films and, although I personally get scared quite easily by them, it is a genre that can easily feel tired and overused. It is to Cargo's credit then, that it creates something that works really well and doesn't rely on the usual jump scares or clichés of the genre. Here our setting is a zombie apocalypse but really the film is about love of a father for his child and this aspect is what keeps the interest and ultimately moves. The simple idea is delivered without any dialogue but yet the determination and the fact that the father never thinks of himself is really nicely shown.

If I had a complaint it would be that the music is a bit too obviously tragic and the final shots of sitting on the hill with the baby is a little corny, but the concept delivers the feels even if the specifics such as these are not what I would have liked. The genre is used to deliver something more than the norm and it is moving and memorable for what it does.

A man awakens from a car crash to find that his wife has become a zombie . Exiting the car he rescues his baby daughter from the backseat then realises he has a bite mark which will almost certainly convert him in to being a zombie

Yet another film featuring a zombie apocalypse . You can understand why film makers keep visiting this sub genre of horror because it's relatively easy to stick a few extras on location with some make up and that's all you basically need . Like so many zombie shorts you feel you're watching a segment of a much longer feature and CARGO is no different . What this short does very well is bring a human element to the narrative . We know that the father has been bitten , that he has a baby to protect and our fears are for that baby should the father become one of the infected/undead . It possibly won't have a market outside the hard core horror market but it's nice to see a horror short that reflects upon the human element of a story