Deadly Cargo

Deadly Cargo or Dark Chamber is a 2003 Spanish psychological horror thriller film directed by from a screenplay by Freixas and which stars Silke and Unax Ugalde.

Plot

The plot follows the members of an underwater diving expedition hiding on a gloomy hulk used for people trafficking after being left afloat for a while in the wake of their vessel enduring a wreck off the West African coast.

Cast

Production

The film is an Iris Star, Manga Films, and Estudios Picasso production and it had the participation of Telecinco and TVC. It boasted a €3.5 million budget. Shooting locations included Vilanova i la Geltrú.

Release

Deadly Cargo screened out of competition as the opening film of the 36th Sitges Film Festival on 27 November 2003. Distributed by Manga Films, it was released theatrically in Spain on 27 August 2004.

Reception

Jonathan Holland of Variety considered that "far the best of a recent crop of Spanish teen thrillers", the "stylish" film manages to exploit "a decent budget, good perfs and self-assured helming".
Alberto Bermejo of El Mundo rated the film 2 out of 5 stars, praising the "steady pace and believability of the characters' harrowing wanderings on the boat" but also writing about the sailors' characters exposing "the lack of entity" of a script and a mise-en-scène both lacking the necessary depth.