Review of Black Cadillac

Introduction

In the best road chase traditions of Duel, Joy Ride or The Hitcher, Black Cadillac sports young men getting caught up with an anonymous black Cadillac that loves to play road games. Add snow and night time to the proceedings and it takes on a dark look, which seems about right for a Friday night film. As if trying to get away from the black Caddy isn`t enough, there`s the off duty policeman (Randy Quaid) that hitches a ride with the boys. Something tells me to be on my guard, and you`d think these boys would figure that out too. There`s got to be a reason as to why this car is hounding and harassing them, right? While we figure it out let`s have a few races, chases and near life-and-death situations.

Video

Black Cadillac comes with a good looking fullframe transfer. Most of the film is shot at night so the only colour seen is in the opening bar scene. It`s difficult to make out fine detail in night scenes but it`s clear enough and never becomes a problem when watching the film. It`s a pity this isn`t shot in widescreen. Everything is neatly framed with a 1.33:1 aspect ratio but it can feel claustrophobic.

Audio

Dolby Digital 2.0 is the best this film can do. While it sounds clear it`s a shame, with a lot of the action featured, that a more expansive soundtrack isn`t used. There are plenty of opportunities to do interesting things so it would have been good to pay more attention to this area. Dialogue is clear throughout.

Features

• Trailer (1:53) - "Revenge, is in the driver`s seat." - Voiceover Guy. Need I say more?

There are no subtitles with the film.

Conclusion

Black Cadillac is a straight-to-video movie, and while there`s no doubt that it`ll get lost in the TV schedules, I think it`s better than a lot of STV films that I`ve seen. Better only in the fact that it has a frantic pace to the storytelling and features some decent performances. On the way to finding out why things are happening, we get some nice car chases and races in the snow. These set pieces seem to hold the film together till the finale. Black Cadillac has the revenge quality of The Hitcher and the `anonymity` aspect of Spielberg`s Duel. Beware of the plot holes and the contrived action scenes in the film though. For example, the way the Caddy just seems to turn up at every eventuality even though it`s been left far behind. Perhaps it`s a transcendental car...

There`s nothing new in this film that you wouldn`t have seen in a dozen chase movies already and the only driving curiosity of this 89-minute thriller is the desire to know why the chase is happening. The ending will reveal all, but sadly it`s a bit anti-climactic. It just doesn`t seem realistic, even in this far-fetched story. I enjoyed passing the time with the film the first time around, but it`s not something I would watch again. It`s a competent film and if you`re in the mood for a road chase film then rent it. It`s not a film that stands up to repeated viewings though.