Black Cab Blu Ray Review (Acorn Media)

Black Cab is a 2024 horror film directed by Bruce Goodison (The Rise and Fall of Studio 54, SAS: Iranian Embassy Siege, 10 Days to War, Leave to Remain, Targeting Bin Laden, Born to Kill, and The Flight That Fought Back). It was written by Virginia Gilbert (Reawakening, Silent Witness, A Long Way to Home, and Hesitation). It was produced by Jan Roldanus (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Eden, Rob Peace, Sweety Barrett, Ape, and Saltwater). It grossed $219,576 worldwide at the box office. A bickering couple which includes Anne (played by: Synnove Karlsen from Last Night in Soho, Bodies, Clique, and Medici) and Patrick (played by: Luke Norris from Poldark, The Weekend Away, Been So Long, and FirstBorn) needs a ride after a night of drinking with friends so they call a ride. Their mysterious cab driver Ian (played by: Nick Frost from Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End, Paul, Into the Badlands, Slaughterhouse Rulez, Fighting with My Family, Spaced, and Attack the Block) diverts them to a remote, haunted road, revealing disturbing motives, past events, and his true intentions!!!! Black Cab is a mix between suspense thriller and supernatural horror. Black Cab remains really interesting despite mainly taking place in a car for the most part. Director Bruce Goodison keeps the tension going as it goes on. The script is simple but it works for the concept. Usually known for comedy, lead actor Nick Frost shines as the evil cabbie Ian here. He seems like a normal chatty driver at first but his mood quickly changes on the unexpecting passagers. It’s a fantastic turn as a creepy villain that you actually feel sorry for at times. Synnove Karlsen is impressive as Anne. She’s a fighter that won’t give up despite being put into a nightmare scenario. This is basically two person feature between the performers mentioned above. Their chemistry is unsettling and it keeps you on your toes while they play dangerous games with each other. The psychological elements are very good in Black Cab. Luke Norris as Patrick is basically passed out for a good portion of this. Honestly, he’s not really that likeable when he’s awake in this. The supporting cast includes Tilly Woodward (Everything I Know About Love), Tessa Parr (Casualty 1909), and George Bukhari (Ridley). Black Cab is very creative and smart with it’s simple location. It uses it’s smaller budget wisely. It has a twisty subplot that adds to it’s thrilling atmosphere. It’s a dark visual feature that you don’t know what’s going to happen next. The first half is definitely better than it’s finale. It probably would have worked even better as a short but it manages to keep itself entertaining as a full length film. Black Cab was better than expected, I really enjoyed this independent British horror thriller from Shudder, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special feature from Acorn Media! This 1080 (2.35:1) transfer looks great for what it is. It basically has a single location and just two characters so the visuals keep focused only on a few things here. The cinematography is excellent, the ride and night atmosphere really pops out in this. It has a few different audio options which includes English: Dolby Digital 5.1 and English: Dolby Digital 2.0 on the disc. The audio is great when it comes to it’s score and banter between the main people for this horror thriller. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the tension is elevated, and the music has a huge boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has a little over 2 minute “Behind the Scenes Picture Gallery”. Black Cab currently not available in the states on blu ray so you might want to import this home video release from Acorn Media. It’s available everywhere in the U.K. and select spots here online, CHECK IT OUT!!!!