The Ambulance

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The Ambulance

Another fun little comedy horror from Larry Cohen; this isn't one of his most creative or memorable films, but it has its moments. Eric Roberts is surprisingly good value as a comic book artist who begins to suspect that a sinister ambulance is kidnapping people for nefarious purposes, and the early Marvel connection (complete with Stan Lee cameo) is nice. The plot does feel light and slightly repetitive at times, the old capture-and-escape played out over and over, but the stylistics are pretty decent and the low budget action is directed well by the veteran Cohen.

Saw it last night, this film has it all! From the interesting start, which grabs our attention, to the eerie score of the music, to a fascinating insight into the world of comics, romance, suspense, intrigue and humour! Eric Roberts like always gives an outstanding performance as the poor guy who is caught up in this world of danger. Great fun, and such twists! Just when you think the movie is going one way, it takes a completely different direction! I loved it, and reccomend it to anyone who loves a good thriller!

I enjoyed this movie very much, for what it is. The large cast helps a lot, especially James Earl Jones and Megan Gallagher. Any movie where Eric Braeden plays an evil doctor can't be all bad! Even Eric Roberts is good in this.

Larry Cohen has not been known for coherence in his pictures. As a writer, he is often excellent with creative twists and turns for every story. As a director, he is often sloppy and mostly leaves you disappointed, thinking that a great opportunity has been lost. In his movies major characters disappear without explaination and whole chunks of plot often seem to be missing. All the while you are thinking "what a shame on such a good story!". To my surprise, I found that "Ambulance" actually is held together quite neatly. No chop-chop editing this time. The plot runs amok here and there, but not damagingly so. It is amusing and suspenseful with spunky performances by Gallagher and Roberts and a really good one by Red Buttons. Some effort have been put into the action sequences and interiors. This movie, unlike many other Cohen-directed, actually looks like it had a budget. The pace never flags and even if the ending is no great shakes, it's satisfying. Nice score too.

"The ambulance" is perhaps not what people call a great movie.But it's sure much fun to watch!Its black humor is priceless.All the male actors overplay,Eric Roberts ,James Earl Jones and Eric Braeden camp it up and give the viewer the feeling of watching a cartoon (Roberts' escape from the ambulance) or reading a comic strip :anyway ,Roberts makes comic books ("They are not what they used to be "says cop Jones ).The director knows only one tempo:accelerated and ,for lack of subtlety ,there's never a dull moment.And the villain (Braeden) does believe he works for the greater good of humanity !And anyway won't his patient be in perfect health when he dies?