Cargo

With a solid opening(effective storytelling defined; aspiring filmmakers, take notes. Make a list of just how many things are communicated by the start of this, if you want protips), this brings us into the middle of a zombie apocalypse, with a man determined to save his infant. But there's one huge problem - he's already been bitten.

When there is no more room for new takes on this subgenre, the crap will overload it. And in that situation, maybe the best thing to do is to focus on the characters, and give the audience a small-scale, personal story. It has been said that the way to determine if a monster story is good or not, is whether the creature could be removed, or at the very least replaced, and there would still be something compelling there. This, like many classical tales, succeeds that test, where many fail.

The 6 and a half minute(without credits, 7 with) running time flies by. If anything, it starts out on a high note, and only gains in traction. It gets increasingly devastating as it goes. While you won't realize immediately "what is going on"(what the man is actually doing and why), once you do, it's a fantastic idea, and you cheer in an earnest way that few current productions inspire. Production values are excellent, everything feels real, the Romero-esque setting is entirely credible.

There is constant disturbing content and a little bloody, brutal violence in this. I recommend this to everyone who likes undead horror. 8/10

Cargo, a touching 7-minute Australian short by directors Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke, focuses on just one of the small-scale personal tragedies that occurs as a result of a zombie outbreak.

The film opens with a man (Andy Rodoreda) waking from a car crash to find that his wife (Alison Gallagher), still strapped in by her seat belt, has turned into a zombie, and that he has been bitten on the arm. His baby daughter (Ruth Venn) is in the back of the car, unharmed. How can he guarantee the safety of his child once he also becomes a zombie?

Without giving away the answer, his plan is both a little yucky and rather ingenious, leading to a satisfying conclusion that should pull on the heartstrings of even the most hardened zombie fans.

Never have I ever thought in my entire life a seven minute zombie film would make me cry and think as much as Cargo did. As a parent and as an avid zombie enthusiast it really did it for me. The simplicity and lack of lines made it seem so much more real than the top films in the genre. What I perceived from the film was this: Unconditional love never dies, no matter how much change we have in ourselves (for better or worse in this case becoming the undead) we can and will do anything to protect our children even from ourselves if we must. I'd really hope they could have won the award this was nominated for. I can't wait for more work from Yolanda. This this seven minute piece of art really made me think and of course cried. Thank you for Cargo.

A father comes to in his car, strapped into the seat next to him his wife has become infected but in the back seat his baby daughter is fine. With a zone nearby known to be safe from infection, the father sets out to ensure safety for his baby girl no matter what the cost.

As Theo has already said, the zombie horror genre is a pretty regular one in the genre of short films and, although I personally get scared quite easily by them, it is a genre that can easily feel tired and overused. It is to Cargo's credit then, that it creates something that works really well and doesn't rely on the usual jump scares or clichés of the genre. Here our setting is a zombie apocalypse but really the film is about love of a father for his child and this aspect is what keeps the interest and ultimately moves. The simple idea is delivered without any dialogue but yet the determination and the fact that the father never thinks of himself is really nicely shown.

If I had a complaint it would be that the music is a bit too obviously tragic and the final shots of sitting on the hill with the baby is a little corny, but the concept delivers the feels even if the specifics such as these are not what I would have liked. The genre is used to deliver something more than the norm and it is moving and memorable for what it does.

"Cargo" manages to deliver high production value, a 3 act script and great acting in less than 10 minutes. It's the epitome of a great short, and deserves all the accolades it received. A must watch for any short film fan.