Movies
[Tribeca Review] ‘Cargo’ Is An Uneven Emotional Roller Coaster
Produced on a modest budget and set in a zombie-infested Southern Australia, the heart-wrenching short film Cargo was kind of a big deal when it first hit the internet a few years back. Naturally, there was interest in adapting the short into a feature film, so the directing duo of Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke eventually returned with an updated version of their poignant undead drama, once again titled Cargo.
Starring the ever-charismatic Martin Freeman, Cargo tells the story of an unfortunate father tasked with keeping his young daughter safe in the post-apocalyptic Australian wilds after his wife succumbs to a zombie virus, biting him in the process. Driven only by his love for his daughter, Andy must journey through the wasteland in the hopes of securing a better future for his child before he inevitably joins the ranks of the undead.
Like the original short, this is an extremely versatile premise, allowing for hard-hitting dramatic moments as well as traditional zombie thrills without losing sight of the underlying human element. However, those familiar with the source material will likely become frustrated with some of the new additions to the story (especially a few unnecessary characters), which can at times make the experience downright boring.
Luckily, Freeman brings a lot to the table with his compelling portrayal of Andy, turning him into more than just a tragic father figure, and becoming a fully realized character that’s easy to root for. The accompanying cast also does a decent job, but the script obviously favors Andy’s development, with some minor characters feeling like an afterthought. That being said, the most important character here might actually be Cargo’s interpretation of the Australian countryside itself.
Despite what couldn’t have been a very large budget, the scenic locations and cinematography enhance the scope of the film, making up for a few moments of questionable production value. The blistering heat and desert-like landscape really help sell Andy’s desperation to a point that, had it been set anywhere else, the film would have been way less interesting. This is why, at least visually, Cargo is more than worth the price of admission if you can stomach a few instances of fake-looking zombie make up and gore effects.
It’s unfortunate that the script isn’t as polished as the visuals, with the film feeling more like an artificially extended version of the short rather than a proper feature. Even with the movie’s relatively brief runtime, several scenes feel like unnecessarily-long filler, and many of the sub-plots aren’t given the same attention as the rest of the story.
Ultimately, Cargo isn’t quite the same emotional roller-coaster as its predecessor, but it’s still a satisfying experience. The use of Aboriginal folklore added an interesting new element to the story, and the main narrative’s conclusion still packs a punch, even if it’s less impactful this time around. While there are certainly better zombie flicks out there, Cargo is still worth a watch.
Cargo will be available on Netflix on May 18th!
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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