Cargo Trailer: Martin Freeman Fights To Protect His Daughter From Zombies

Martin Freeman is a father desperately trying to find a home for his infant daughter in the upcoming zombie movie Cargo. Stories about zombies are a dime a dozen nowadays, what with The Walking Dead still among the most popular franchises pulling audiences in on television and in comics. While that series has gotten a little long in the tooth, the genre itself seems one filmmakers want to turn to again and again, sometimes adding little touches here and there to make the story stand out amidst the wave of projects about the undead and the ostensible end of the world.


Cargo is one of those films with just enough of a twist on the usual zombie movie setup to warrant a watch. The new film starring Freeman sees him as a father racing against time after being infected with he virus that’s wiping out humanity. Set in rural Australia, Cargo sets the stage for its relatively simple conceit, making it less about a fight for survival against hordes of hungry zombies than it is in discovering the humanity in others when it seems as though all hope is lost. In that regard, the film reads like a refreshing counterpoint to the nihilism of The Walking Dead.


As far as trailers go, Cargo’s is fairly expansive and might even give too much away, as it delivers what looks to be the majority of the major beats in the film, from the death of Freeman’s wife to his infection to his search for people who might look after his child when he finally turns. It’s more elegiac take on what is typically a genre ruled by bloody violence and gore, but one that adds an intriguing ticking-clock element to the narrative as Freeman only has 48 hours to secure his daughter’s future before he falls victim to the infection.


The film hails from directors Yolanda Ramke and Ben Howling, who are expanding their short film of the same name from 2013. From the look of it, Cargo has more in common with Australian-set films like Rabbit-Proof Fence, Walkabout, and even Wake In Fright, than it does popular entries in the zombie movie canon. There’s also a hint of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road well, which should shake up its genre trappings quite nicely and perhaps put it more on par with movies like The Girl With All the Gifts or Maggie.


The film will premiere at the Tribecca Film Festival next month, though Netflix scooped up its rights so expect it to be available sometime soon after. Knowing Netflix, the streaming service will release an announcement trailer just a few days before it’s available to subscribers. If you’re in the market for a somber father-daughter story with a zombie twist, Cargo is probably the movie for you.