Black Cadillac (2003)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

John Murlowski

Writers (WGA):

John Murlowski (story)
Will Aldis (screenplay)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Revenge in the driver's seat

Plot:

Three young men become terrorized in a high-speed car chase with a mysterious pursuant.

Plot Keywords:

Car Chase | Brother Brother Relationship | Snow | Dark Road | Fistfight

Cast

Randy Quaid	...	Charlie
Shane Johnson	...	Scott
Josh Hammond	...	C.J. Longhammer
Jason Dohring	...	Robby
Kiersten Warren	...	Jeannine
Adam Vernier	...	Beefy
Taylor Stanley	...	Denise
Kelly Mullis	...	Lurlene
Robert Clunis	...	Luther
Marilyn Silva	...	Louise
Karl Johnson	...	Fightin' Bar Guy
Richard Deutsch	...	Drunk Bar Kid
Christopher Gilbertson	...	Bar Denizen (as Chris Gilbertson)
Shannon Holzer	...	Bar Denizen
Jeremy Fry	...	Bar Denizen

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

Brazil:93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:15 | USA:R

Company:

Painting Entertainment Inc.

Trivia:

The film is loosely based on an experience form the Director's past. In the early eighties, while he and a few friends were driving home, they were chased by a car, for several hours, through backwoods roads.

Goofs:

Continuity: The Saabs pedals alternate between those for a manual gearbox and an automatic gearbox.

Sufficient time-passer

After getting in a violent bar fight, three friends take off across a huge expanse of wilderness, only to be terrorized by a hulking black Cadillac. A friend of mine rented this and insisted I watch it with them. I was expecting a supernatural "Christine"-style thriller and with a title like "Black Cadillac", a goofy one at that. As it turns out, this film has no supernatural elements, nor was it very goofy. The film succeeding is being entertaining, well done, and at times even vaguely creepy.

The entire cast does a fine job here, especially Randy "Where the hell did my career go?" Quaid playing the police officer, who succeeds in making his character both funny and creepy at the same time.

The screenplay offer more twists and turns than you can shake a stick at, most of which were genuinely surprising. The tension between the characters was also very effective. The characters are mostly well-developed, there were even one or two I actually (gasp!) cared for. Director John Murlowski has done a fine job handling the suspense, and the chase scenes were often exciting.

If you're a fan of the "road terror" sub-genre, you'll probably like this movie. It kept me engaged and entertained for 90+ minutes, and that's pretty much all I asked for. Give it a try.

6/10.