Black Cab 2024 Parents Guide

Last Updated on November 8, 2024 by

Black Cab is a 2024 Horror Movie directed by Bruce Goodison and written by Virginia Gilbert. The film stars George Bukhari, Nick Frost, and Synnove Karlsen with a runtime of 1 hour 38 minutes, theatre released on November 08, 2024.

Black Cab is another movie directed by Bruce Goodison with Virginia Gilbert penning the script. Well, they are both capable of making gripping stories and have done so in the past but with this one, it seems they tried to cram a theme that should be good for a full-length movie into one that is much briefer. The film is more like an outline of a short story with aspects of fear and suspense but fails to perfectly capture the ghost story genre. Instead, what’s served up is a sluggish film that doesn’t offer the horror or suspense one would hope to find in a film about immortals.

The plot revolves around the main character named Anne played by Synnove Karlsen who is in a rather desperate position in life. She is in an abusive relationship with Patrick (Luke Norris), a man who loathes her and treats her like a punching bag. Patrick wants to repair relationships and persuades Anne to go out for dinner with friends. However, it is evident that Anne does not feel protected or empowered in any way and is not able to make her own decisions. Her best friend Jessica (Tessa Parr) attempts to dissuade her, telling her she should reconsider taking back Patrick. Although Anne is not completely convinced about it, in the end, she finds herself in the cab with Patrick after dinner.

Meet Ian, the cab driver for the awkward brothers (played by Nick Frost). To begin with, Ian is just an ordinary man, who can crack jokes and sing during the car ride with the radio playing. But things quickly turn dark. Ian beats Patrick and kidnaps Anne, restraining her and leading both of them to an unknown location. As for the ride, Ian’s car with its tinted windows becomes the main stage for the movie, transforming the car into a nightmare.

Ian is an odd character. He narrates fragments of his life, discusses his dysfunctional family, and even tells a spooky story of ‘Maybelle’ the ghost who Fell to a specific road. Maybelle is described as seeking out children and mothers to reclaim. This could’ve been quite a twist in the movie, but this aspect is not well explored in the movie at all. The ghostly element feels like an afterthought, leaving the audience wanting more.

The first part of the film is quite effective in portraying Anne’s plight and her anxieties. She has a lot on her plate: an abusive boyfriend, no agency over her life, and now a perilous cab ride. However, once the action shifts into the car, its pace becomes significantly slower. For the rest of the car ride, Ian speaks—about the things he deeply regrets, his bond with Anne, or the ghost story of Maybelle. Rather than creating anticipation, these conversations are protracted, which contributes to the length of the film.

However, the biggest drawback of Black Cab is that it does not elicit much passion. The ghost story is extraneous and does nothing for the film, and since the budget is low, the visuals are somewhat lacking. As for Maybelle, she is described as a vengeful spirit, but the character never poses any genuine menace. This is evident in the moments where one feels that the creativity behind the movie has waned to a climax. The ending regrows back to clichés such as chase and madness but fails to introduce new elements into the film.

In conclusion, there is a sense that Black Cab could have been a good program, but it was not. The movie also leans more towards dialogue than it does actions that are expected to give viewers the thrills or creepy factor. It is a low-action supernatural movie that can be unengaging if watched and expected to be a scary ghostly stream.