While director James Dylan manages to put a few original spins on an otherwise borrowed premise, his lack of experience shows. Technical issues, overacting, and budget limitations dampen what could have been a memorable debut.
![[Cargo] (2018) Poster](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZGQ4NTdjMjctZDdhZC00YjllLWEzOTUtZDI1ODhlZjBjN2NjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDk5NDkzOQ@@._V1_UY98_CR0,0,67,98_AL_.jpg)
30 Reviews
Career killer!
shontemc21 July 2019
My Review Of "Cargo"
ASouthernHorrorFan28 December 2018
The story is a high concept suspense told in a minimalist, claustrophobic manner. The idea is familiar and novel. Dylan plays on those familiar tropes with creativity and style. The dark, often close-framed shots create an atmosphere of suspense and tension. It gives a physical representation to the dire circumstances and loss of control both in situation and emotion.
The single actor drama is a risky choice that can, at times, seem tedious. Putting more constraint on the ability for an organic flow. And for the most part "Cargo" falls into this trap. The unseen antagonist offers some relief, providing a catalyst for both the story motion, and the character study. However the execution of the one-man show often feels forced and looses momentum periodically. Not by any fault of the actor, Ron Thompson, he gives a great performance.
The cinematography is quality, keeping the scenes, and setting interesting throughout the movie. The soundtrack is also good and seems to compliment the journey of this tortured, kidnapped (bad man). Still at times "Cargo" did loose my attention, and to finish did require dedication. Check it out but the high concept and uniqueness will only really speak to a select audience.
The single actor drama is a risky choice that can, at times, seem tedious. Putting more constraint on the ability for an organic flow. And for the most part "Cargo" falls into this trap. The unseen antagonist offers some relief, providing a catalyst for both the story motion, and the character study. However the execution of the one-man show often feels forced and looses momentum periodically. Not by any fault of the actor, Ron Thompson, he gives a great performance.
The cinematography is quality, keeping the scenes, and setting interesting throughout the movie. The soundtrack is also good and seems to compliment the journey of this tortured, kidnapped (bad man). Still at times "Cargo" did loose my attention, and to finish did require dedication. Check it out but the high concept and uniqueness will only really speak to a select audience.
Could've been a 3 minute short
queeroid17 October 2019
Honestly, fast forward precisely 74 minutes. The entirety of the film gets explained in a few short sentences at that point. It ends 3 minutes later, just as ridiculously and nonsensically as everything that came before it.
The Worst Movie I have ever seen
subhodeepthakur16 February 2019
Pass this one up - Terrible Acting!
aaronfrench129 November 2018
why not just ring the police?
mikeos37 January 2020
This could've been a good audiobook but they preferred to make a bad movie.
krdnetco29 November 2018
Two hours of watching a single actor doing a very bad acting job inside of a cargo container . I was really hoping for something interesting to happen right till the end of this movie, being fooled by a 6.8 rating.
Unfortunately this movie wouldn't even get a C+ as a project for a junior in a film academy. Characters are exaggerated, plot full of holes. I guess the positive ratings come from the makers of the movie Don't waste your time.
Unfortunately this movie wouldn't even get a C+ as a project for a junior in a film academy. Characters are exaggerated, plot full of holes. I guess the positive ratings come from the makers of the movie Don't waste your time.
Just bad....
randerson-176824 December 2018
Really Over The Top & Entertaining!
redsrabbitead-0134530 November 2018
I felt compelled to review this thriller. It's a concept similar to movies like Locke and All is Lost and Buried. About one man trapped in an impossible situation as he tries to wile his way out of it. Ron Thompson gives a solid performance as antihero Anthony Peterson trapped in a metal cargo container and being held for ransom by, I'm guessing, terrorists. I liked a lot of the supporting voice over actors as well. The insanity and dark comedy of the film at times reminded me of Hong Kong cinema. Certainly not a film for everyone yet if you dig one man movies you'll probably like this one!
Over the top
tashikitten17 November 2018
I watched this because I'm a huge fan of Ron Thompson's work as Tony and Pete in the magnificent, underrated Ralph Bakshi film American Pop. I'm not a fan of horror thrillers. So why am I giving it a high rating? Because I appreciate what the filmmakers did here. This is an independent film through and through. No big budget. No fancy locations. But they came up with an interesting premise: Crappy, wealthy guy Anthony Peterson is being held in a cargo container for ransom. All the action takes place in the cargo container. Peterson doesn't know where he is. The only link to the outside world is a cell phone that cannot be traced. Peterson has to call anyone he can think of to convince them to transfer money to his abductors and secure his release. The voice acting of the folks with whom our "hero" Peterson interacts was problematic for me at first, but then I leaned into it, as I realized it was intentionally exaggerated, and it contributed to the over-the-top ride. Add to that the creative use of space, wild camera angles, and a stellar score from Thorsten Quaeschning of Tangerine Dream, and you've got a solid horror thriller. If you're into horror thrillers, you'll dig this movie.
Utter dross....
baldy_man29 November 2018
Very bad good movie
princesspupuce12 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I don't even know where to start with this movie. The worst thing about it is the overacting, at one point it gets a little ridiculous. The voices on the phone are so bad that all you can picture is the actors just standing reading their script. The police sounds and the car chase sounds are all the same on repetition and it sounds just like grand theft auto video game, they don't sound real at all wich is sad because the movie itself is pretty good, the story is good. The only thing is that everything happens too quickly as if everything was already planned , like when the main character decides what to do next and he tells his friend what to do, he does everything and fast as if it was all scripted (of course it was but were not suppose to know it) . And everything is developping too conveniently like everything and everyone was at the right place at the right time throughout the movie. My review sounds bad but if you can put aside the "fakeness" you can enjoy it, it still a good one.
Holy smokes this is unwatchable
On_The_Mark16 October 2021
A guy finds himself in a metal cargo container and finds out his wife is kidnapped and he has to come up with ten million dollars. The fact the kidnappers think a guy can get ten million dollars on the phone in one night just like that is ridiculous. And a sign of how bad this is written.
To do a film like this, you need two things - a great actor and a great script. This has neither. The "actor" is unbearable. Terrible. The script is terrible.
He's talking to an associate to get the money and the associate says "good thing you can keep your sense of humor" and other things that no one would ever say in a situation like this. Every other piece of dialog is ridiculous.
Once the guy on the phone is driving a fast car and we hear the car like it's outside (not on the phone) I stopped. Couldn't take it.
This was terrible.
To do a film like this, you need two things - a great actor and a great script. This has neither. The "actor" is unbearable. Terrible. The script is terrible.
He's talking to an associate to get the money and the associate says "good thing you can keep your sense of humor" and other things that no one would ever say in a situation like this. Every other piece of dialog is ridiculous.
Once the guy on the phone is driving a fast car and we hear the car like it's outside (not on the phone) I stopped. Couldn't take it.
This was terrible.
Worst film ever
davemw-2054129 November 2018
No one thinks they are a bad person, even a monster
nogodnomasters27 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Anthony Peterson (Ron Thompson) is a millionaire who has been kidnapped and inside a shipping container that is not moving. He has a phone in order to raise his own ransom, no police etc. So for over an hour, we watch only one person on the screen as he talks to people on the phone. The script was sophomoric with an inane attempt at creating drama with bad dialogue.
Now if we didn't have to listen to the idiot at the other end of the phone, and say had Bob Newhart do the talking...
"Are you okay? Oh, you took some acid. But it was light blotter just to calm your nerves...I see how this is going to end already "
Or...
"You're going to kill my wife? Um, which wife is this? You could have taken my ex-wife."
That would have been much more entertaining, leaving the other end of the conservation a blank.
"Sully? You know you're dead. That doesn't matter to you, you wanted to call me just to laugh at me. "
Is there an instructor at film school making its students "write and submit a bad one-person script and see if you can get funding?"
Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity. There was a discussion of gang rape.
Now if we didn't have to listen to the idiot at the other end of the phone, and say had Bob Newhart do the talking...
"Are you okay? Oh, you took some acid. But it was light blotter just to calm your nerves...I see how this is going to end already "
Or...
"You're going to kill my wife? Um, which wife is this? You could have taken my ex-wife."
That would have been much more entertaining, leaving the other end of the conservation a blank.
"Sully? You know you're dead. That doesn't matter to you, you wanted to call me just to laugh at me. "
Is there an instructor at film school making its students "write and submit a bad one-person script and see if you can get funding?"
Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity. There was a discussion of gang rape.
My kid could have done better with $100 and a Cricket camera phone.
bob_james93975 December 2018
In the opening scene the first thing I thought was "Oh Sh%t? I accidentally downloaded the wrong movie" , Because of course there is another movie called "Cargo" but without the brackets. That's the good cargo, this cargo, very very bad. The very first thing you notice in this film is the walls of this room/container have been spray painted black. It literally took a person or people hours to spray paint the inside of this thing. Enough said.
Absolute dross
jacquelinesage-160727 December 2018
If you are restricting your "action" to one actor and scene, ensure your actor can act and that tension is believably built. Never sat through such rubbish purely hoping there would be something redeeming. There isn't.
Bad bad bad
brunofane7 December 2018
Bad
saleen-052534 December 2018
Cool Thriller Film
dayt-679651 December 2018
One of the better thrillers I've seen in a long time. The concept is fresh, the look of the film is stark and engaging, a very good storyline overall. I love the synthesizer soundtrack as well. Flawed? Sure. Yet all in all a good thriller that's worth seeing.
Ron Thompson is a scene stealer
Sylviastel18 July 2022
This film is an independent low budget production. Ron Thompson is an experienced veteran actor who did a terrific job in the role. He played anthony Peterson, a California businessman. The only other characters are on the phone with him as he pleads to get the ransom. He doesn't come across as a sympathetic character. He is not a good man. We learn about him from his conversations with his son, colleague, kidnapper and best friend. For a low budget film, it's satisfactory.
I just lost over one hour of my life
christina318930 November 2018
Interesting Ideas
godzillaface5 December 2018
Quite Amazing
terrazygotes-3088125 November 2019
A movie consisting of one man in a box, talking on the telephone with the disembodied voices of the other characters. So it's a bit more like a radio play. The acting of the one man cast is really amazing and the tension is powerfully sustained for the length of the film. The film has pathos and even over-the-top dark humour. I was enthralled the whole length of the film, as if it was a "page-turner" paperback thriller, from the good old days. It does have "dark" content, but nothing that a modern horror fan would flinch at. A very well-done little melodrama.
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