COLLECTOR'S CRYPT - "BLACK CAB" (ACORN MEDIA BLU-RAY)
There just aren’t enough horror movies that take place in taxis. Maybe it’s on account of rideshare services such as Uber, but then again, those are essentially taxis that found loopholes to not have to pay their workers fair wages, but we digress. There are countless stories of riders being on the receiving end of creepy drivers and in the worst cases assault or death. The threat of a taxi seems lesser these days considering that some rideshare services don’t require background checks, and one of the largest didn’t until recently making the experience of getting in a stranger's car more harrowing than that of someone licensed, bonded, and tracked by a company. The fear of taxis is at the forefront in “Black Cab,” a Shudder Original that has recently received a Blu-Ray release from Acorn Media starring one of our favorite actors, Nick Frost. Is this a cab ride worth hailing or one worth passing on?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A worried father attempts to uncover a controversial psychologist's unconventional therapy techniques on his institutionalized wife, amidst a series of horrific murders that seem to be targeting those closest to him.
HOW IS IT?
Nick Frost is something of a rare breed in that no matter what he does, he seems to do it really well. While he’s most known for his work with Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, specifically The Cornetto Trilogy, Frost has been breaking out into more genre work. While a great actor can carry a mediocre film, they can’t carry a boring one no matter how charismatic they are, and such is the case with “Black Cab” where Frost turns in the best performance possible while the film struggles to maintain interest and have a cohesive story. In some ways, “Black Cab” feels like a film that was once two ideas then merged into one, and the mixture of supernatural horror and tense-maniacal thriller doesn’t blend as well as one would hope even if Frost’s performance is engaging and effective.
Anne (Synnove Karlsen) and Patrick (Luke Norris) are on the outs, and when they enter Ian’s (Frost) cab their night goes from bad to worse. What starts out as Ian negging Patrick for how downright awful he is to Anne turns into Ian kidnapping the couple as he drives them around one of the UK's most haunted highways with a motive that even at the end remains murky. “Black Cab” is the kind of movie that tries to do two very different things at once and doesn’t stick either one of them well. As Ian drives the couple around, with Patrick mostly incapacitated for the duration of the film, Anne is seeing ghosts and she isn’t sure if Ian can see them or not. All of this leads to Ian taking them to what is most likely his place out in the middle of nowhere, where we forget mostly about those ghosts and focus on the cat and mouse between Ian and Anne as the latter tries to escape. It’s not really clear what Ian wants from them, and there are some allusions to his wife, or ex-wife and children, which plays into Anne discovering in the cab that she’s pregnant, but these all feel like first-draft ideas that don’t serve a purpose and are put in just to fill time. It’s a shame too, because the effective use of the cab location and Frost’s unhinged cabbie could be put to much better use than this.
“Black Cab” also feels like a missed opportunity to take the premise of an unhinged cab driver on a haunted highway and use it as bookends for an anthology. One where each ghost represents a person that Ian has kidnapped and killed over the years, and where the current patrons would be the supposed next victim as the conclusion of the wraparound. At 87 minutes it isn’t as if the film overstays its welcome, but it does commit the cardinal sin of horror; it’s just not very interesting. Frost’s character is the only one compelling enough to pay attention to, while Karlsen does the best with what she is given playing the helpless and redeemed captive female. Norris doesn’t do much once he’s incapacitated, and the redemption arc he gets at the end is far from earned considering he spends most of the time passed out and not talking. All in all, “Black Cab” waffles on trying to do two different things without committing fully to either leaving the viewer to try and parse out what is going on and more importantly why they should care.
HOW DOES IT LOOK?
Acorn Media, the UK distribution arm of RLJE and AMC Networks brings “Black Cab” to Blu-ray, and overall, the film looks great. Considering it was made in 2024, there’s no need for restoration, and Adam Etherington’s cinematography looks great in a dark, dreary, and claustrophobic setting like the cab. The 1080p HD presentation is pristine and retains the 2.35:1 aspect ratio same as viewing it when streaming on Shudder. Images from this release are used throughout this review.
HOW DOES IT SOUND?
There are two mixes available, one is a 2.0 DTS-HD stereo and the other is a 5.1 DTS-HD surround sound mix. We opted for the 5.1 and it was quite effective even though there wasn’t much action on screen, but it does make the music from Gazelle Twin the highlight and takes full advantage of the front and rear channels. Also, an English subtitle track is included, although there are a few instances where it seems to capture the words incorrectly.
ANYTHING SPECIAL?
This is a bare-bones release and the only special feature is a BTS picture gallery.
Special Features
Behind-the-Scenes picture gallery
LAST RITES
“Black Cab” has the potential to be something far more compelling while not wasting a genuinely creepy and endearing performance from Nick Frost. If you’re a fan of the actor and want to see him take on something more out of his normal affable funnyman, this will entertain you just enough, but for all others, there isn’t enough fare to want to take this taxi ride.
THE GORY DETAILS
Thank you to the fine fiends over at AIM Publicity for providing a review copy for the crypt! Black Cab is available NOW and can be ordered via Amazon UK!
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