Cargo (2013 film)


Cargo is a 2013 Australian short film directed by Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke, written by Ramke, and starring Andy Rodoreda as a father who must protect his young daughter during a zombie apocalypse. It was made for the Tropfest short film festival, where it was a finalist. It went viral after it was uploaded to YouTube, and it was featured on many web sites. By 2018 it had been viewed over 14 million times.

Plot

After a car crash knocks him unconscious, a man wakes up to find that his wife has died and turned into a zombie. He leaves the car, grabs his young daughter from the back seat, and realizes that his wife bit him while he was unconscious. After an emotional goodbye to his wife, he sets off to find survivors.
Knowing that he does not have much time left before he turns into a zombie, he puts his daughter in a baby back-pack, binds his hands to a pole, and attaches carrion to the end of the pole. After he collapses, he rises again as a zombie, and, drawn by the lure of the carrion on the pole, continues his journey.
After a point, he notices the balloon he inflated for his daughter and is distracted by it. He is then shot by a sniper, and a group of survivors investigate his corpse, almost leaving before one of them discovers his daughter, who has 'My Name is Rosie' written on her stomach in permanent marker.

Cast

Cargo was made for the Tropfest short film festival, where it was a finalist. After its release, it went viral and attracted millions of views on YouTube.

Reception

Cargo was featured on Die Zeit, The Week, CNET, IGN, Film School Rejects, and Bloody Disgusting.

Remake

Cargo was remade as a 2017 feature length film starring Martin Freeman. Netflix made the 2017 remake available in April 2018.