On December 19, the mystical thriller with horror elements «Black Cab», featuring the well-known British actor Nick Frost in the lead role, started showing in cinemas. Frost gained popularity as a comedic actor, notably in partnership with his buddy Simon Pegg. However, both have already ventured beyond the light-hearted genre, and «Black Cab» is exactly the project in Frost’s filmography where the audience is definitely not going to laugh (though, who knows). In the review below, we delve into how comfortably Nick feels in the role of a sinister, mysterious taxi driver and what this movie offers overall.
Pluses:
a colorful taxi driver who looks at least a little more interesting than the others;
Minuses:
everything in this movie is a complete disadvantage;
«Black Cab»
Genre thriller, horror, mystique
Director Bruce Goodison
Cast Nick Frost, Synnøve Karlsen, Luke Norris, George Bukhari
Premiere cinemas
Release Year 2024
Website IMDb
Things are clearly not right between Anna and Patrick. Despite this, they still plan to move in together again, and Patrick is even seriously considering marrying the girl. Moreover, it seems she might be pregnant, although her boyfriend is still clueless about it.
After hanging out with friends at a restaurant, the couple catches a taxi with suspiciously tinted rear windows and settles into the car, prepared for a routine evening ride through the city. But what starts as a friendly driver, Ian, gradually behaves more rudely and threateningly, and it soon becomes clear that his unlucky passengers won’t be making it home tonight.
Two decades ago, friends Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, together with director Edgar Wright, made a loud statement to the world in the undead comedy «Shaun of the Dead». This venture later expanded into the «Cornetto» trilogy, which also included «Hot Fuzz» (2007) and «The World’s End» (2013).
Despite a significant number of joint projects, both actors actively film separately, including in non-comedic films. While Pegg’s career is doing quite well, including a constant presence in major franchises like «Star Trek», «Mission: Impossible», and the (anti)heroic satire «The Boys», Frost’s filmography seems at least more modest. Not to mention his willingness to appear in such blatant nonsense as this «Black Cab», which somehow made it to Ukrainian big screens.
At first, the film tries to pretend to be a typical maniac thriller, where a sinister taxi driver transports his victims to a dark forest to subject them to terrible tortures or, taking an axe from the trunk, chop them into small pieces, as is usually the case with screen killers But as time goes on, our poor travelers keep getting bored and bored in the stuffy taxi, almost nothing happens on screen, and the audience along with the characters starts feeling the boredom. Later, the narrative turns towards horror about otherworldly evil spirits, but that definitely doesn’t make the situation any better.
The problem is that in 2024, scaring the audience with pale female ghosts in white nightgowns, who emerged from J-horrors of the 2000s, looks not only like a senseless endeavor but also a glaring faux pas.
Besides the fact that the film simply fails to cause goosebumps, it also can’t maintain tension or offer any suspense. Most of the running time is devoted to Nick Frost just driving the suffering passengers and continuously telling his not-so-interesting stories. As time goes by, discovering the true motives behind his strange behavior becomes less and less appealing.
In the psychological drama «Locke» (2013, also British but in co-production with the USA) the screen featured only Tom Hardy, who was constantly behind the wheel — and that for the entire story; the camera didn’t even think to focus on anyone (anything) else. Well, there, despite all the formal minimalism, watching what was happening on screen was far more engaging than here.
A genre-unviable story is compounded by constant darkness and the dreariness of the frame, making the viewing even more tedious and sluggish.
Nick Frost tries to add some ominous energy to the gloomy proceedings, but he doesn’t come across as truly frightening, losing in charisma not only to Hugh Grant in the recent «Heretic» but even to Jason Bateman in «Carry On». Synnøve Karlsen, whom you might have seen in the thriller «Last Night in Soho» (2021) by the aforementioned Edgar Wright, is left with nothing but to constantly portray an innocent frightened victim. Throughout the film manages to do little more than pull off her panties. Whether this act can be lifesaving — you decide. It’s better not to mention the annoyingly helpless character of Luke Norris.
In conclusion, the creators of «Black Cab» ended up with something so murky and indistinct that paying for such a pointless ride is probably not worth it. Three stars out of ten for the colorful driver.
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