Black Cadillac (2002)

Plot Outline: Three young men on their way from Minnesota to Wisconsin late one night are menaced by a mysterious black cadillac. Who is driving the car? What do they want? When they pick up a cop whose car has broken down, things seem to be looking positive. But the cadillac is soon back to terrorise them.

The Review: After the recent success of Roadkill (aka Joy Ride), it was inevitable that some other film would try and do a similar thing. Black Cadillac is one such film although to call it merely a clone isn't doing either film justice. Just like Roadkill, it's hard to really describe it as horror - it's more of a thriller and quite a fast one at that. It moves along pretty briskly and after the opening scene inside the bar, the viewer is given plenty of motives for why the cadillac is chasing the teenagers. The cadillac is first seen no less than about 15 minutes into the film so it doesn't waste any time in getting to the meat of the story. Then it moves in generic Duel territory for a bit with the cadillac playing cat-and-mouse with the teenagers. Once they meet up with Randy Quaid's cop, the film does get a little more interesting. Quaid may be quite annoying at times but here he plays his character just right. The first time you see him, you know that there is something he's hiding from the rest of the characters. He's got this sinister look about him when Scott is looking in the rear view mirror and sees him in the back seat. The rest of the cast aren't bad but you could cut them out and stick them in the cliched character roles. You've got the motormouth one, the big violent brother and the annoying little brother. At least Shane Johnson, Josh Hammond and Jason Dohring all make the most of their roles even if the script lets them down at times with rather flat dialogue. The film does lose itself quite a bit towards the end when the teenagers decide to fight back against the cadillac. There's also plenty of plot holes, usually to do with the positioning of the cadillac. One minute it's driving behind and the next it's parked up in the road ahead. But generally Black Cadillac is quite an enjoyable thriller which is well worth the price of a rental.

Final Verdict: As I've already said, there is a lot to enjoy about Black Cadillac and it's well worth the price of a rental for a Friday night. And you can even watch Randy Quaid for a change without cringing!

Rating: