‘Cargo’ Brings a Human Dimension to Zombie Apocalypse

Alci Rengifo

“Cargo” manages to bring some pathos to the zombie apocalypse genre. This thriller, streaming on Netflix, elevates the premise of brain-munchers wrecking havoc to the level of arthouse drama. When a certain storyline has been explored to death in film and television, a stripped down approach focused on a good narrative can make it feel fresh again. “Cargo” has drooling, grotesque zombies, and scenes of slight carnage, but at its core it isn’t about the monsters. This is a survivalist movie about individuals trying to survive amid harsh times.

The story is set in the Australian outback sometime in the near future. A viral outbreak has collapsed civilization, turning victims into twitching, wandering zombies hungry for blood. A couple, Andy (Martin Freeman) and Kay (Susie Porter), are traveling down a river on a boat with their infant daughter. They spend their time seeking supplies and finding adequate shelter. They soon come across an abandoned boat and rummage around for its contents. Kay is attacked and bitten by what is surely a zombie. It takes about 48 hours for the effects to become apparent, so Andy tries to rush her to a hospital. But it is too late and after tragedy strikes, Andy is left alone with his daughter, traveling the wilderness. He soon comes across a well-armed survivor named Vic (Anthony Hayes), who has built quite the shelter for himself and a woman named Lorraine (Caren Pistorius). It soon dawns on Andy that Vic is a bit crazed and dangerous, he likes to cage locals to lure zombies in order to shoot them down and collect any valuables they might carry. Andy has to figure out how to find better shelter for him and his daughter. Also seeking help is a young Aboriginal boy named Thoomi (Simone Landers), whose father has been infected with the zombie virus. Thoomi is convinced there must be a cure.

“Cargo” harkens back to an earlier time of simpler, effective thrillers that used horror as allegory. The rugged, Australian landscapes, devoid of any human life and the wandering survivors symbolize a future where civilization as we know it has collapsed. In one scene an Aboriginal man named Daku (David Gulpilil) tells Thoomi that this catastrophe is a result of humans having poisoned the air and water. The message is that if we don’t care for the earth, then we will be responsible for coming plagues that will ravage it. In the tradition of movies like “Dawn of the Dead” and “Island of Lost Souls,” this is horror inspired by some of our most prescient worries and moods. A good zombie movie knows that the snarling, blood-licking ghouls are symbolism for whatever fears plague our age. Vic is portrayed as the ultimate, gun-toting extremist who would walk over everybody else in a moment of crisis to survive. Andy and Lorraine demonstrate that not everyone would lose their sense of humanity amid chaos.

As a survivalist movie “Cargo” builds good tension. Directors Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke create a setting of barren vistas where terror can suddenly appear on an open field or hilltop. Their trick here is that they don’t show you everything at once. This is not some gore fest with close ups of brains being eaten or bodies exploding. Instead they use geography to create an ominous atmosphere. Wide shots will show the silhouettes of zombies slowly approaching, or we will catch a glimpse of them appearing on top of a mountain. Suspense is generated from the urgency of having to get away before the creatures reach you. When we do get some gore it is done tactfully. Zombie fans need not worry, there are moments where someone will turn, their face a gooey mess of viral horror, or guts will be thrown into a cage to lure the doomed specters. There is also the unavoidable scene of desperate family members who will contemplate suicide. One brilliant detail is a kit issued by the government detailing the symptoms of zombie infection, complete with a needle device you can use to end it all with one quick stab at your brain. “Cargo” never uses these devices without purpose however. Instead it takes them to tell a story with more meaning. When a desperate survivor offers Andy his gun in case he might want to end it for himself and his daughter, the writing seriously ponders what someone should do if they feel entrapped. Maybe the zombie apocalypse won’t happen anytime soon, but there are currently people trapped in war zones forced to make very difficult choices. “Cargo” evokes that kind of mood with a low budget and sparse effects. Like “The Rover,” it conjures a vivid apocalyptic future without over the top visuals, instead focusing on how people in rural areas would deal with the end of it all.

The central performance is by Martin Freeman, who recently appeared in the mega blockbuster “Black Panther” as a good-hearted CIA official. Here he brings some real emotion and psychological strain to a genre where the acting could easily be cartoonish. We never think of him in “Cargo” as a guy in a zombie flick, he is instead a father desperate to protect his child in a harsh environment. Anthony Hayes as Vic is the more traditional end of the world character, stockpiling weapons and losing himself to paranoia. But he does a great job conjuring madness and selfish instinct.

“Cargo” is a skillfully done offering. It takes a classic horror idea and turns it into a rugged, survivalist drama where we care for the characters and feel involved in their plight. We still get the zombies, but this time there’s more effort at going beyond dining on brains.

“Cargo” is available to stream May 18 on Netflix.