Cargo

"Cargo" manages to deliver high production value, a 3 act script and great acting in less than 10 minutes. It's the epitome of a great short, and deserves all the accolades it received. A must watch for any short film fan.

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.

Cargo (2013) is the short film that inspired the fantastic Cargo (2017) starring Martin Freeman and is a hugely condensed version essentially of the same plot.

It in 7 minutes tells the story of one mans desperate attempt at finding help for his baby daughter during the zombie apocalypse after he himself is bitten and has mere hours before he turns.

If you have watched the feature first then you will likely go in with expectations that couldn't possibly be met. However if you take it for what it is, a simple hyper quick short version of the story with a quaint modified version of the features finale then you may find enjoyment.

This was also written/directed by the same people who would go onto do the feature movie four years later and honestly it shows.

The Good:

Heart wrenching

The Bad:

Finale was stretched out a bit far

Oddly paced

Things I Learnt From This Short:

Moral of the story, don't have kids. Though honestly that's the moral of every story including the tale of life itself!

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

I recommend this film to viewers who are interested in character development, great cinematography, a well written script, and a solid meaningful ending. Please don't come into this movie expecting The Walking Dead/ Zombieland type of action film because this isn't it.