The challenge of setting your movie inside a vehicle is inherently … nifty? Attention-grabby? Crazy enough to work? Bruce Goodison's Black Cab takes a swing at horror storytelling from a cabbie's backseat, with Cornetto trilogy favorite and accomplished actor Nick Frost at the wheel. Imagine this year's yellow cab confessional Daddio pit against supernatural snippets that recall 2003's Dead End, but it's a bumpy ride. Virginia Gilbert's story strives for the best of true crime thriller and haunted legend worlds, only to fumble both as scenes bounce off one another like bumper cars.
Frost's chatty driver (Ian) is one point in a triangle of lead performances. Synnove Karlsen stars as Anne and Luke Norris as her douchey boyfriend-slash-hopeful-fiancé, Patrick. After a public dinner with friends, where Patrick announces their (surprise) engagement, Anne visibly retreats before calling a cab. Anne and Patrick's tumultuous relationship hasn't stabilized, as evidenced by the nervous pit in her stomach — especially when Anne recalls Patrick's past transgressions. Ian chimes in from the front seat and starts asking personal questions, but before long, Anne and Patrick realize Ian's intentions reach beyond playing therapist.
4x4. Dash. H4Z4ARD. Filmmakers have tried exciting ways to repurpose the inside of zippy sedans to spacious SUVs as primary production locations. Goodison's issue is not the concept but his ghost story's unraveling. Black Cab might have succeeded without the inclusion of apparitions and demonic faces reflecting in windows, resting on Frost's shoulders as a different breed of antagonist. The problem is, Goodison drifts between Ian's kidnapper routine and impending spectral climaxes without any control.
Anne and Patrick themselves create a barrier to entry. Karlsen and Norris portray an obnoxious display of one-sided relationship drama, hyper-fixating on Patrick's undeserving second chance. As anti-honeymooners bicker, Norris' blowhard bulldozes his way over Karlsen's pushover girlfriend — which is a genuinely terrifying situation people find themselves in. But then Black Cab morphs into Anne and Patrick trying to survive Ian's shock-stick prods, mental mind games, and outright villainy. Near-death experiences erase a nosediving couple's incompatibilities, and Anne protects an incapacitated Patrick — sympathy that's never adequately earned.
Then there's Frost, an innocent party. He's capable of transforming affable traits into sadistic qualities worth our attention, but not in Black Cab. Frost's charming demeanor masks the nefariousness behind his threats, humorously using cutesy phrases like "silly goose" to distract from his boarish tactics and violent reassurances. Ian's able to unsettle through conversation and stoke deeper unrest through physical dominance, easily spotlighting Frost's performance as the film's highest achievement — it's just not buoyant enough to prevent everything else from sinking.
Black Cab is stuck in low gear and lacks any giddyup. Nick Frost should continue to pursue future projects as chatty baddies, since his portrayal of wheelman Ian effortlessly exudes malice and menace (the film's silver lining). The entire experience is a road to nowhere lined with ghastly figures who can't scare up a chill lest a scream, spinning their wheels without treads touching the pavement. Stick with titles like Spree for your psycho chauffeur fix.
Movie Score: 2/5
Matt Donato is a Los Angeles-based film critic currently published on SlashFilm, Fangoria, Bloody Disgusting, and anywhere else he’s allowed to spread the gospel of Demon Wind. He is also a member of the Critics Choice Association. Definitely don’t feed him after midnight.
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