Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
Stars Anna-Katharina Schwabroh, Martin Rapold, Regula Grauwiller, Yangzom Brauen,
Pierre Semmler | Written by Arnold Bucher, Ivan Engler, Patrik Steinmann & Thilo Roscheisen
UK Certification 12 | UK RRP £15.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 107 minutes | Directed by Ivan Engler & Ralph Etter
Cargo is a strong and well-made sci-fi film from Switzerland that takes you right back, albeit in glossier fashion, to the style of genre film-making from the '60s and '70s. In fact, the first quarter of the film feels a lot like Ridley Scott's Alien, whereas the rest of it is very reminiscent of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, no doubt through heavy inspiration from both films rather than pure stylistic coincidence. So, surely a combination of the two would make for an incredible cinematic journey? Well, you'd think so, but Cargo proves to be not nearly as compelling as Alien or 2001, though it is far from a throwaway title.
The plot revolves around the crew of a massive cargo ship in deep space who believe that the mission they are on is their last before they get to head over to Rhea, a paradise planet where they've never been, but is the main haven of humanity since Earth was made uninhabitable. However, things aren't quite what they seem, and soon loyalty and trust are pushed to their limits when various truths are uncovered about the spaceship, its crew and Rhea. Alas I cannot reveal even an inkling of what secrets are discovered aboard the ship as I'd immediately be entering spoiler territory.
The film begins in the slightly misleading direction of Alien to the point where it seems as though there is some kind of being on the ship that has broken out of the cargo hold, but this is soon put to rest and the story begins to unfold in a completely different way. Although we have seen countless monster-wreaking-havoc-in-space movies, a part of me was a little disappointed when it became clear that there was no bloodthirsty alien aboard, but that was most likely just the Alien/Roger Corman/Sunshine fan in me.
Cargo has a kind of central realism to it that makes it derivative of 2001, but it is no way near as intelligent, complex or interesting. The drama is slow-burning like the Kubrick film, but it's pretty uneventful and does drag on. Ultimately it's a nicely shot and artistic piece with decent CGI and a fitting sterility to its aesthetic, but it falls short of packing a punch and just trails off thinly towards the end.
EXTRAS ★ Only the trailer.