Deadly Cargo

Deadly Cargo
Deadly Cargo
	Theatrical release poster
Spanish	Cámara oscura
Directed by	Pau Freixas
Screenplay by	Pau Freixas; Héctor Claramunt;
Produced by	Joan Bosch
Starring	Silke; Unax Ugalde;
Cinematography	Julián Elizalde
Edited by	Jaume Martí
Music by	Manel Gil; Rudy Gnutti;
Production; companies	Iris Star; Manga Films; Estudios Picasso;
Distributed by	Manga Films
Release dates	27 November 2003 (Sitges); 27 August 2004 (Spain);
Country	Spain
Language	Spanish
Budget	€3.5 million

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Deadly Cargo or Dark Chamber (Spanish: Cámara oscura) is a 2003 Spanish psychological horror thriller film directed by Pau Freixas [es] from a screenplay by Freixas and Héctor Claramunt [ca] which stars Silke and Unax Ugalde.

Plot

The plot follows the members of an underwater diving expedition (including freelance photographer Sara and instructor Iván) 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.^[1]^[2]

Cast

Silke as Sara^[3]
Adrià Collado as Víctor^[3]
Diana Lázaro [es] as Thaïs^[3]
Unax Ugalde as Iván^[3]
Andrés Gertrúdix as Edgar^[3]
Mustafa Jawara as Drui^[1]
Lluís Homar as Capitán^[3]
Juan Fernández as Salomón^[3]
Josep M. Domènech [ca] as Antón^[3]

Production

The film is an Iris Star, Manga Films, and Estudios Picasso production and it had the participation of Telecinco and TVC.^[2]^[1] It boasted a €3.5 million budget.^[2] Shooting locations included Vilanova i la Geltrú.^[4]

Release

Deadly Cargo screened out of competition as the opening film of the 36th Sitges Film Festival on 27 November 2003.^[5]^[6] Distributed by Manga Films,^[1] it was released theatrically in Spain on 27 August 2004.^[7]

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".^[1]

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.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Holland, Jonathan (2 September 2004). "Dark Chamber". Variety.
^ ^a ^b ^c Mateo Ruiz-Gálvez, Juan José (27 August 2004). "Unax Ugalde y Silke se unen para sobrevivir". El País.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Cámara oscura" (PDF). ICAA. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
^ Ramos Martín, Manuel (23 May 2003). "Silke y Unax Ugalde se embarcan en una pesadilla en alta mar". El País.
^ ""Cámara oscura" y un frío aterrador abrieron ayer el Festival de Cine de Sitges". ABC. 28 November 2003.
^ Torreiro, Casimiro (28 November 2003). "Sitges inicia con un irregular 'thriller' su edición más terrorífica". El País.
^ "Cámara oscura". Fotogramas. 29 May 2008.
^ Bermejo, Alberto (8 September 2004). "Turistas en peligro". El Mundo.

[holland-1] Holland, Jonathan (2 September 2004). "Dark Chamber". Variety.

[mateo-2] Mateo Ruiz-Gálvez, Juan José (27 August 2004). "Unax Ugalde y Silke se unen para sobrevivir". El País.

[icaa-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Cámara oscura" (PDF). ICAA. Retrieved 25 September 2023.

[4] Ramos Martín, Manuel (23 May 2003). "Silke y Unax Ugalde se embarcan en una pesadilla en alta mar". El País.

[5] ""Cámara oscura" y un frío aterrador abrieron ayer el Festival de Cine de Sitges". ABC. 28 November 2003.

[6] Torreiro, Casimiro (28 November 2003). "Sitges inicia con un irregular 'thriller' su edición más terrorífica". El País.

[7] "Cámara oscura". Fotogramas. 29 May 2008.

[8] Bermejo, Alberto (8 September 2004). "Turistas en peligro". El Mundo.

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