Ambulance

I hadn't seen "The Ambulance" for quite awhile, but I had a good time re-visiting it and this was one of the first works I had seen of filmmaker Larry Cohen. It might not be one of Cohen's highly regarded pieces, but "The Ambulance" is a fun, gripping slice of paranoia with an injection of black humour. The concept is audaciously ludicrous and Eric Roberts' ham-fisted lead performance is full of energy (and lets not forget that hypnotic mullet when in motion), along with James Earl Jones small, but cynically meaty role as a rundown detective on the edge. Moving at a fast, uniformed tempo, Cohen's boldly tight direction never lets up (where he knows how to shoot on location for maximum effect) and his writing manages to stay one step ahead as you get pulled along for the dangerous ride with its engineered thrills. There always seems to be some sort of threat at every turn for Robert's character and this keeps it excitingly intense, if daftly over-the-top with comedic results. Especially its cheesy climax in a night club with some berserk ambulance driving and of course its irony-laced revelation that you won't see coming. Roberts' character sure didn't. The plot takes on a modern approach to its mad doctor formula, staying quite dark and full of mystery in the chase/or race to uncover the truth while also trying to convince people of the threat. Roberts' plays Josh Baker a comic book artist who one day goes about asking out the women of his dreams (a stunning Janine Turner) who he sees everyday out on the streets of New York. An incident sees her collapsing with Josh by her side and then a mysterious vintage ambulance appears and whisks her off. So he goes to one hospital after another with no such luck. He thinks there might just be more to it, as he uncovers and now he's running for his life with no one believing him there's a phantom ambulance kidnapping people. Eric Braeden is suitably clinical as "the doctor" that's behind the kidnappings and Megan Gallagher offers good support as a police officer we can trust. Red Buttons is enjoyably snappy and Cohen regular James Dixon shows up too.

"The Ambulance" is not really a "black comedy", although it does have moments of dark humor throughout. It really is sort of a hybrid comedy-suspense film. Eric Roberts carries things as the perplexed wannabe lover boy, while James Earl Jones comes and goes as a perplexed, somewhat irrational police detective. The movie is not overall terrific, but there are some memorable scenes, especially relating to the ambulance itself. Overall for a B movie, "The Ambulance" delivers enough entertainment value to recommend seeing it, however I doubt multiple viewings would be that rewarding. .......................... - MERK

Starring Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones and Meghan Gallagher this early 90's thriller actually succeeds in entertaining.

It tells the story of a man who finally makes a move on the woman of his dreams only to witness her collapse and get taken away by an ambulance (I too have that effect on women). When he tries to visit her however he learns she was never brought in and may be one of a number of missing persons connected to this old ambulance.

I like the idea, though I've seen things with a similiar concept before the addition of the ambulance really made it interesting.

Roberts though a hokey actor manages to deliver here as does the rest of the stellar cast.

Though I love the concept I don't think it was utilized well and I'd love to see this remade. Regardless however the competence of the cast, the concept and an odd amount of comedy make for a passable film.

Kudos to Stan Lee being cast as Stan Lee.

The Good:

Cast are on point

Stan Lee!

Excellent idea

The Bad:

Not followed through with all that well

Ending is a bit underwhelming

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I simply cannot take a lead male seriously with a mullet...........except Joe Dirt

You can always count on at least one thing going into a Larry Cohen movie - and that's a good time. Cohen had already tackled rogue police officers before it came to this film with Maniac Cop, and thus he decided to make a film about a rogue ambulance. The Ambulance may not be Cohen's finest achievement; but its great lightweight entertainment, and I'm sure very few people that watch this film will regret doing so. Naturally, there's not a great deal of point to the proceedings, and Cohen seems keen to focus as much on entertainment value as possible, which is no problem if you ask me. The plot focuses on Josh Baker; a humble cartoonist who, one day, decides to try and charm a woman on the street. Tragedy strikes when she passes out, but everyone is reassured when an ambulance turns up. However, upon going to check on her at the local hospital, Josh finds that she isn't there - and further investigation makes him realise that there has been several people going missing, and it turns out that a fake ambulance with fake doctors and nurses is abducting people!

The idea behind this movie is actually quite frightening; ambulances are a service that we rely on and so having one going rogue and abducting people is a frightening idea. Cohen doesn't capitalise on this, however, which is rather odd; and despite a few scenes with the maniacal doctor, there really isn't all that much horror on display. Others ideas that aren't capitalised on include the moral perspective of whether sacrificing a few people to cure millions is a righteous exorcise. But really, none of this is particularly important as I didn't want an Ingmar Bergman film anyway. Cohen has rounded up a good cast of cult actors to populate his film with. Eric Roberts is entertaining in the lead, and receives good feedback from the likes of James Earl Jones, Megan Gallagher, the amusingly named Red Buttons and the sadly underused Eric Braeden. The plot is a little choppy at times, but it generally flows well and I don't remember being bored at any time during the film. The ironic ending is a blast, and although I don't doubt that this film could have been better; it's still fun enough and I won't hesitate to recommend The Ambulance to anyone!

My review was written in December 1990 after watching the film at a Manhattan screening room.

"The Ambulance" is a wild thriller laced with black humor. Entertaining exercise in urban paranoia will be shown at the Avoriaz fantasy film festival in France and gives Triumph Films a genuine sleeper for 1991 domestic release.

As with his recent "Maniac Cop" pics, filmmaker Larry Cohen works with the inversion principle: taking a symbol of rescue, a vintage red ambulance, and making its appearance and siren fearful. Here he tilts the balance toward humor, though hair-raising stents and sudden moments of violence teem.

Eric Roberts introduces the film as sort of a day in the life of James Toback ("The Pick Up Artist" helmer). In telephoto shots on Manhattan streets (apparently using real-life people as extras), he tries to pick up beautiful Janine Turner.

As she valiantly gives him the brush-off, she suddenly faints, and a sinister ambulance, controlled by the film's heavy Eric Braeden, whisks the diabetic girl to a hospital. After work, Robets tries to find her and, as the film's shooting title suggested, she's vanished "Into Thin Air".

With fast repartee and a gallery of quirky characters spurring the tale along, Roberts continues his search but finds little help from the disbelieving police inspector James Earl Jones. His paranoia increases in quantum leaps as mad scientist Braeden's henchmen start eliminating people around him and give Roberts a frightening ambulance ride.

Help finally surfaces in unlikely sidekick Red Buttons, an aging New York Post reporter Roberts rooms with at the hospital. Jons' pretty assistant on the force, Megan Gallagher, is another kindred spirit leading to an exciting climax atg a downtown dance club where Braeden keeps his kidnap victims upstairs as medical experiments.

With unpredictable plot twists coming fast and furious, this fresh approach to the thriller format is especially of interest to genre fans. Real-life Marvel Comics exec Stan Lee has a nice guest role playing himself as Roberts' boss, and the comic book backdrop is used effectively as Roberts draws large panels of Turner and the ambulance to aid his investigation.

Cohen puts a sting in this tale with a delightful false ending that trumps the "Carrie" finish tacked onto nearly every horror film of recent vintage.

Reteamed here with Jones shortly after they filmed "Best of the Bet" two years ago, Roberts is perfectly cast. His familiar abrasiveness ("Star 80", "The Pope of Greenwich Village") is used to good advantage.

Jones is a hoot as the gum-chewing cop whose know-it-all attitude gets him in trouble. Buttons steals his scenes in his best film assignment since "The Poseidon Adventure".

Following up on her tv policewoman duty on the defunct series "Hill Street Blues", Gallagher is a big-screen find as the tough cop who believes in Roberts. Turner, adopting a different look with long, dark hair here, develops considerable sympathy in her brief assignment. Supporting cast is solid, including Richard Bright (of "The Godfather Part III") as a no-nonsense cop and Braeden, inverting his messianic scientist role of Dr. Forbin, memorable to genre fans in the classic: "Colossus: The Forbin Project".

Tech credits exploit the NYC terrain well, especially Spiro Razatos' unusual chases and stunt work.