PSA: Netflix Are About To Drop ‘Cargo’ – An Aussie Zombie Film By The Producer Of ‘The Babadook’
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The first Aussie made Netflix Original film is about to drop and it’s a killer Zombie flick by some of the brains behind psychological thriller ‘The Babadook.’
Netflix picked up global rights to the Aussie horror earlier this year after watching a 3 minute promo – so you know it must be bloody epic. The film is set in rural Australia and follows the lead character, played by The Hobbit’s Martin Freeman. Freeman is standard in the bush with 48 hours to find a new home for his baby daughter after he’s infected by a violent pandemic *cough~Zombies~cough*.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because Cargo was originally a 7 minute short film and finalist at Tropfest 2013 directed by Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke. Since then it’s gone on to surpass 13 million views. Check it out here.
The full length narrative now has The Babdook’s Kristina Ceyton and Samantha Jennings at the helm of production, Howling and Ramke continuing to call the directorial shots while Freeman leads the screen time. From what we’ve seen, it’s guaranteed to be tense, exciting and probably horrific in the best of ways. With all that said, Freeman doesn’t want to admit it’s a Zombie film. He recently told Fairfax in an interview:
“I wouldn’t have come here to do a zombie film.”
“I think it’s a film with some zombies in it, that’s the absolute truth of it.”
Fun fact: it’s a zombie film bur to some extent there’s a degree of truth to his sentiment. Cargo looks raw, honest and realist compared to the Hollywood Zombie cleché. It’s more an emotional post apocalyptic thriller that will mess with your brain compared to the CGI-fests that dominate the genre (a’la ‘World War Z’). So call it what you want Freeman, either way it looks awesome.
Ahead of the release of Cargo Yolanda Ramke and Ben Howling are embarking on Sydney for ‘Video Junkee‘ our festival for all lovers of film, TV, streaming and online video. The Cargo directors are going to be chatting with Screen Australia investment manager Sally Regan about the challenges of leaping from shorts to features, pitching the idea of Martin Freeman in a zombie thriller, and how they got noticed by Netflix. It’s pretty valuable insight for anyone interested in dominating the film and TV space. You can check out the Facebook event here for more info and announcements.
Love film and TV? We’re holding our inaugural Video Junkee festival in July, a new annual event for lovers and creators of online video. Video Junkee is on July 28 & 29 at Carriageworks in Sydney, featuring keynotes, masterclasses, screenings, interviews and more. Tickets are on sale now.