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);
Running time	116 minutes
Country	Spain
Language	Spanish
Budget	€3.5 million

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.^[2]^[3]

Cast

Silke as Sara^[4]
Adrià Collado as Víctor^[4]
Diana Lázaro [es] as Thaïs^[4]
Unax Ugalde as Iván^[4]
Andrés Gertrúdix as Edgar^[4]
Mustafa Jawara as Drui^[2]
Lluís Homar as Capitán^[4]
Juan Fernández as Salomón^[4]
Josep M. Domènech [ca] as Antón^[4]

Production

The film is an Iris Star, Manga Films, and Estudios Picasso production and it had the participation of Telecinco and TVC.^[3]^[2] It boasted a €3.5 million budget.^[3] Shooting locations included Vilanova i la Geltrú.^[5]

Release

Deadly Cargo screened out of competition as the opening film of the 36th Sitges Film Festival on 27 November 2003.^[6]^[7] Distributed by Manga Films,^[2] it was released theatrically in Spain on 27 August 2004.^[8]

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".^[2]

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.^[9]

References

↑ "Cámara oscura (Deadly Cargo)". ICAA Film Database. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
1 2 3 4 5 Holland, Jonathan (2 September 2004). "Dark Chamber". Variety.
1 2 3 Mateo Ruiz-Gálvez, Juan José (27 August 2004). "Unax Ugalde y Silke se unen para sobrevivir". El País.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "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.

[1] "Cámara oscura (Deadly Cargo)". ICAA Film Database. Retrieved 20 July 2026.

[holland-2] 1 2 3 4 5 Holland, Jonathan (2 September 2004). "Dark Chamber". Variety.

[mateo-3] 1 2 3 Mateo Ruiz-Gálvez, Juan José (27 August 2004). "Unax Ugalde y Silke se unen para sobrevivir". El País.

[icaa-4] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Cámara oscura" (PDF). ICAA. Retrieved 25 September 2023.

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

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

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

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

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

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