Cargo: Rolling down the river. Australia (and presumably the world) is stricken by a virus that turns people into zombies within 48 hours, Andy (Martin Freeman) and Kay (Susie Porter), and their baby daughter, Rosie, are travelling on a houseboat in rural Australia. Supplies are running short, Andy forages canned food from a derelict yacht but when Kay goes back for more she is bitten by a Zombie. They go ashore to seek help but Kay turns and bites Andy, he now has 48 hours to find someone to care for Rosie.
In a parallel narrative, Thoomi (Simone Landers), an Aboriginal girl, is drawing in a sketchbook and on stones. She leaves her shelter with a dead rabbit which she throws into a pit. Munching noises are heard and she covers her ears. We learn that she is feeding her father who is now a Zombie and she takes him out on a leash. She longs to give him a proper burial.
Andy rescues Vic (Anthony Hayes) whose leg is trapped under a gas cylinder and together they kill a Zombie pack. Vic promises Andy shelter but he has a dark side, fencing off wells and caging Aborigines who try to access them, using them as live bait to attract Zombies. Thoomi and Daku (David Gulpilil) an Aboriginal Shaman are imprisoned in this manner.
This film travels through a devastated Outback, where only the Aborigines are likely to thrive due to their lore and understanding of Nature. They use fire to cleanse the Earth of the Zombies and Hunting Parties efficiently despatch the Undead. Vic hopes to build up his holdings for a future after the Apocalypse has passed but is there a future for him?
This is a dark tale and at times there seems to be little room for redemption or hope, parts of it bring to mind The Mist (film) and On The Beach, in theme at least. It may be the end for one culture but the revival of another or it may be a synthesis of both.
Ably co-directed by Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke with a spare but illuminating script by Ramke. A superior Zombie Film with an original slant. 8.5/10