Netflix's 'Cargo' Looks Like an Australian 'Children of Men' With Zombies
If you loved Children of Men back in 2006 but thought it could’ve used some zombies, then boy does Netflix have the movie for you.
Netflix released the first trailer for the feature-length film Cargo on Tuesday, and in it, Martin Freeman stars as a man stranded in the middle of Australia during a zombie apocalypse. After he’s infected, has to protect his baby not only from the many zombies out there but also from himself. Protecting a baby in the apocalypse is Children of Men in a nutshell, but Cargo trades in dystopia riddled with mass infertility for straight-up zombies. And instead of dreary England, we’re treated to the beautiful Australian outback. Cargo looks tragic, heartbreaking, and it’s amazing to see Martin Freeman in this kind of role.
In the trailer, Freeman’s Andy Rose is in some kind of car accident with his wife and child. He’s seemingly bitten by his wife after she turns into a zombie, which means that he has almost exactly 48 hours before he turns. As he struggles to figure out what to do with his adorable baby, he meets an assortment of dangerous-looking characters. As he struggles to figure out what to do with his adorable baby, he meets an assortment of dangerous-looking characters.
'Cargo' brings new meaning to the phrase "precious cargo."
The story’s actually based on a 2013 Australian short film of the same name written by Yolanda Ramke and directed by Ramke and Ben Howling for the Tropfest film festival, in which it became a finalist. The video went viral on YouTube with over 14.1 million views so far. But this extended feature-length version comes to us courtesy of [The Babadook producer.
Spoiler Warning: The short film version of Cargo has a deeply tragic, depressing ending, and despite a fatalistic premise in Netflix’s version, the mention of the Cleverman offers this one more of an optimistic outlook.
Here’s the video it’s based on if you want to see it:
Feature-length zombie films building off of short YouTube films is actually a quickly emerging trend. The Irish zombie film called The Cured that was released earlier this year began as a short film posted to YouTube that writer-director David Freyne used to launch the film’s universe.
Cargo hits Netflix on May 18.
