The Ambulance (1990)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The Ambulance (1990) *** (out of 4)Josh Baker (Eric Roberts) works for Marvel comics and one day on his way to work he introduces himself to a young woman who eventually falls sick. An ambulance is called but later that evening when checking on her Josh realizes that she didn't go to any hospital. Pretty soon he's wrapped up in a mystery involving an old-fashioned ambulance that seems to be doing some bad business.Larry Cohen's THE AMBULANCE is pretty much what you'd expect from the cult director and that's a rather offbeat picture that doesn't fit into any one genre. The film is a rather entertaining one thanks in large part to its wonderful cast but there are also enough strange moments that make it worth watching. With that said, there's no question that it eventually runs out of fuel but more on that in a bit.What I enjoyed most about the picture was the cast all of whom are in fine form. This includes Roberts in his role as early on he gets to show off his charm but as the film moves along he also gets to show off his comic timing. James Earl Jones and Megan Gallagher are both good playing cops with Jones really shining in his role. Then you've got Red Buttons thrown in for comic relief and he really gets some fine moments here. Stan Lee also gets an extended cameo here.Cohen's screenplay makes perfect use of the New York City locations and I also thought it had a good mixture of humor and mystery. I really wouldn't call this a horror film but at the same time some of those elements are scattered around as well. THE AMBULANCE eventually runs out of steam towards the end and I think in the end it could have lost five or ten-minutes worth of running time. Still, fans of Cohen should enjoy the film for what it is.

I only want to point out that I find Eric Roberts to the best, and most believable chase victim ever, despite his tough appearance. I mean the choked voice when he tries to convince somebody that there's a psycho driving an ambulance and picking up people from the streets...brilliant! And the way he runs around trying to save the girl, and later on, himself. Wow, the man puts his soul into it like no other! He clearly should have had a different career path, but what can one do, when Hollywood demands full submission.So... you can play the wild child on screen, but not in real life, like Eric did. Well, nevertheless, the man is brilliant even today, playing some second rate cop in some second rate TV show. James Earl Jones,...whatever - the movie is bizarre, unsettling, but most of all it's an excellent pretext for Eric to unleash!p.s.-I tend to rate movies NOT by comparing them to others but by appreciation as to what they stand for and HOW they stand for it, so it's not uncommon for me to over-grade as is the case with this(if you were to compare it to other action B-movies it would be subjective judging, but I view it as an artistic exercise, and it's quite interesting as such).

The Ambulance actually turned out to be a pretty funny, yet bizarre thriller. Sarcastic extrovert, Josh Baker (Eric Roberts in a hilarious role), probably regrets the day he talked to a woman that he felt compelled to introduce himself to, having always seen her on his lunch break. The woman, a diabetic, suddenly collapses in the street, and he is there as she is carried away in a hearse-turned-ambulance with a mysterious green glowing light in the back. She gets in the ambulance, and as Josh later discovers, she never arrives at any of the local hospitals. Josh is convinced something is awry, but doesn't pay too much attention to it at first (in fact, as bizarre as the story becomes, he's so matter-of-fact about everything. Him and everyone else). The more people he confronts about the strange ambulance that conveniently seems to arrive when he's talking to them but never seems to be around when he needs to prove it exists, the more likely those people are going to wind up dead because of the ambulance (actually, because of the people driving it, who are the goons for a strange doctor who is using his victims for a strange medical experiment). Josh's only hope, besides himself (a guy who will soon be quite immune to pain as he gets hit by cars, jumps through barred doors, is drugged, and finally beat by a junkyard gang), is the red head cop Sandra Malloy who turns up after her boss, Spencer (James Earl Jones in an even funnier part as the disbeliever), turns up missing. And if they don't act fast, the ambulance will show up for them, and the only chance of stopping it will be lost. All in all, the story is bizarre, but the movie is much more of a comedy than a thriller in sort of that 'After Hours' style of comedy. Josh appears to be absolutely crazy to those around him, babbling about some weird ambulance that is out to murder people. But he seems to dismiss the seriousness of it, just hoping to save the girl and get through the day, and not much else. Eric Roberts and Red Buttons, too, made a good team, albeit a brief one with Red Buttons as Elias Zacharai, the fast-talking newspaper reporter who befriends Josh and has similar convictions about the hospital staff trying to drug up patients and keep them against his will, but in that senile old man kind of way. He plays the reporter that wants the exclusive story on the ambulance. Loosen up and give it a try. Though cheap, it's got some good action sequences, a decent plot, and is just overall, pretty funny. Except, for maybe the ending. It was just too easy.

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!