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:

Spoiler: In several scenes, a black '57 Series 62 Sedan is substituted for the Series 75 limousine. Since the roof and rear window is completely different on the two cars, a fake roof extension had to be created for the Series 62 model. It was this car and not the limousine that drove off the cliff into the frozen lake at the end of the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: The movie alternates between two black 1957 Cadillacs, a four-door Eldorado and a Fleetwood 75 limousine. "Eldorado" lettering is visible on the trunk lid and the curved rear door window frame differs from a square rear limo door. A similar replacement car may have been obtained for additional filming under different weather conditions following the destruction of the original car.

Even the car shares the great dialogue!

Being given more change than you should have received from staff in a shop never gets tedious, nor does an ATM machine that inadvertently dispenses 20s instead of 10s…

…My point is a simple one – exceeding expectations is one of life's underrated joys!

Let's not pretend, 'Black Cadillac' (BC) should have been an unmitigated disaster.

Why?

1. A relatively unknown cast 2. A tired genre – Teen movie 3. A tired concept – road/horror/chase 4. Single location – The middle of nowhere!

Somehow – and I still can't figure out how – the film was nothing short of forgettable greatness!

I'll be brief and bullet-point the highlights of this splendid film;

1. A ridiculously witty script – fantastic banter that I too could have watched for another 5 hours! 2. Awesome sound design. The car actually 'speaks' to us throughout the film, albeit in a very grumpy fashion via the world's finest sounding engine! 3. Marvellous acting. No one is gonna win a tiny gold fella called 'Oscar' for their performance in this film, but by the same token any new up and coming actors might want to view this film as an exercise in understated, laid back, well timed delivery…I adored the interplay between the 3 key characters - the casting team struck gold…they just worked together so well! 4. Subtle yet dexterous direction. The Director clearly wasn't trying to impress us in a "look what I can do" kinda way, but we were at times left thinking "Look what he can do".

It would be ill-conceived to suggest that BC doesn't contain echoes of 'Duel' because it simply does - not least the Cadillac's ultimate moment of reckoning.

I adore 'Duel'; it's one of my top 3 films of all time, but so what? BC manages to pay homage to a timeless classic, while simultaneously and seamlessly saying "Cheers for the concept, now let's take it somewhere else…somewhere funnier, somewhere more contemporary…somewhere utterly different."

(Don't get me wrong, we weren't taken somewhere better than 'Duel', I doubt such a place exists, but we were shown new landmarks on a favourite holiday resort!)

I'll probably forget about this film in a few weeks…months at best, but during those 90 minutes – and several minutes after - I was relishing every moment of humour, action, intrigue, suspense and all round escapism it offered.

I absolutely loved it!