Larry Cohen was an independent cultish guerilla filmmaker. He made low budget horror genre films such as Maniac Cop and Q-The Winged Serpent.
Cohen was not a director who bothered with permits and would just hit the streets of New York and start shooting with whatever out of work character actor who was willing to work cheaply. In this case James Earl Jones.
Eric Roberts hams it up as a comic book artist Josh who meets a young woman called Cheryl during his lunch break, she collapses and is taken away in an old ambulance. Josh searches all the hospitals for her and there is no record of her being admitted, later her roommate also disappears.
Cheryl a diabetic has been abducted by a sinister doctor intending to conduct experiments on her and other people who have been abducted.
Josh's frantic search and a conspiracy theory about a deadly ambulance on the streets of New York does not convince the police such as Lt Spencer (James Earl Jones) who takes a dismissive view of Josh. However a veteran journalist Elias (Red Buttons) is more helpful.
This is a silly choppy thriller that found an audience on video rentals back in the early 90s. It mixes genres from comedy, horror and thriller. Roberts is both intense and comic, most of the cast know the script is bizarre nonsense.
It is a shame that Cohen could not make a more coherently plotted film, but maybe he knew that his B movie audience were not as demanding of something such as a tighter plot.
Josh works for Marvel comics, the film has a cameo from Stan Lee in a horrific wig, more terrifying than the creepy ambulance that whisks people away.
Cohen was not a director who bothered with permits and would just hit the streets of New York and start shooting with whatever out of work character actor who was willing to work cheaply. In this case James Earl Jones.
Eric Roberts hams it up as a comic book artist Josh who meets a young woman called Cheryl during his lunch break, she collapses and is taken away in an old ambulance. Josh searches all the hospitals for her and there is no record of her being admitted, later her roommate also disappears.
Cheryl a diabetic has been abducted by a sinister doctor intending to conduct experiments on her and other people who have been abducted.
Josh's frantic search and a conspiracy theory about a deadly ambulance on the streets of New York does not convince the police such as Lt Spencer (James Earl Jones) who takes a dismissive view of Josh. However a veteran journalist Elias (Red Buttons) is more helpful.
This is a silly choppy thriller that found an audience on video rentals back in the early 90s. It mixes genres from comedy, horror and thriller. Roberts is both intense and comic, most of the cast know the script is bizarre nonsense.
It is a shame that Cohen could not make a more coherently plotted film, but maybe he knew that his B movie audience were not as demanding of something such as a tighter plot.
Josh works for Marvel comics, the film has a cameo from Stan Lee in a horrific wig, more terrifying than the creepy ambulance that whisks people away.