Cargo (film) : A refreshingly different approach to zombie films (Spoiler-Free)

Just like everyone else, I liked the whole zombie apocalypse genre when it first started. Then, just as the film industry tends to, they made entirely too many of them. A couple dozen zombie series later, I simply tend to avoid anything zombie related because well, it has all been done before. You could say that I loathe zombie apocalypse films, and tend to avoid them.

I started watching Cargo not realizing this was what it was about because the brief explanation on Netflix doesn't indicate anything about the undead and that's a good thing because I would have likely not started it.

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The thing i liked best about this film is that it doesn't start out being terribly obvious that the major problem in Australia is in fact the undead. All we know is that a family is living on a houseboat and for some reason they can't go to shore. I like this element of mystery and the way that instead of focusing on the dread of the impending horde, we are focused on the emotions of the characters and the bonds they have with one another.

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I wouldn't even say that I am a fan of the star of the show, Martin Freeman. The films that he is involved in seem to be very "hit or miss" in my book. The locations are rural Australian outback as well, which since a vast majority of the people in Australia never stray very far from the coast, is likely a place that a vast majority of people are completely unfamiliar with even if they are Australian.

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_{one of the few "nasty" moments in the film}

The film doesn't rely on jump scares or gore and in all actuality very little of this exists in the movie at all. It isn't a typical zombie film I suppose is what I am trying to say. Instead we are shown the emotions, good and bad, that ends up coming to the forefront in people that are some of the few remaining in the country. Rather than rapid pursuits and dark corners that are hiding the undead, we are mostly focused on the human aspect of the population.

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_{It was also nice to see some Aboriginal actors in the movie. As a non-Australian I have not been exposed to really anything about the native inhabitants of the country}

The twists that occur in the film are unexpected, and the music and direction are spot on. If this had just for a little while taken on the usual "done to death" aspects that we have come to expect from zombie apocalypse films, i would have likely stopped watching. Unlike virtually every other zombie film i have seen, nobody ever does something profoundly stupid at any point in the film either. It is all, very sensible.

_{From the official Netflix channel}

Basically, if you are looking for an action-fest filled with zombie gore this is not the right film for you but honestly, is anyone really looking for that anymore? I know I certainly am not. Cargo was a pleasant and completely unexpected surprise to me and is likely the only zombie film I have enjoyed since 28 days later ... and that was a long time ago.

Although it might be a bit slow moving for some, I think that the very different approach to the "end of the world by zombies" was refreshing and for me anyway, very appealing. Therefore, if you think as I do, this one is a winner.

_{If this review seems very vague, that is only because I am trying to avoid spoilers since someone complained about that recently.... ooopsie!}