Director: Larry Cohen
Screenplay: Larry Cohen
Starring: Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Megan Gallagher, Red Buttons, Janine Turner, Eric Braeden
Country: USA
Running Time: 96 min
Year: 1990
BBFC Certificate: 15
After writing countless TV episodes throughout the 60s and even creating several notable TV series, Larry Cohen moved into films and made his directorial debut in 1972 with Bone, working from his own script. He went on to write and direct a number of cult favourites through the 70s and 80s, including the It’s Alive and Maniac Cop trilogies (only writing the latter), The Stuff, Black Caesar and Q: The Winged Serpent.
Whilst Cohen continued to write up until 2010, 9 years before his death at 82 years of age, his directorial output dissipated, going into the 90s. He did leave us with one more relatively undersung genre favourite though, The Ambulance. This 1990 film is being given a new lease of life by Eureka, who are releasing it on Blu-ray as part of their Eureka Classics range.
I’ve enjoyed every Larry Cohen film I’ve seen and hadn’t got around to this one yet, so I requested a screener.
To borrow Eureka’s synopsis, “When comic book artist Josh (Eric Roberts) meets Cheryl (Janine Turner) in New York City, he believes he might have run into the woman of his dreams. But just as they are getting to know each other, Cheryl begins to feel ill. She is picked up by an ambulance – and then disappears into thin air. Unable to track her to any of the city’s hospitals, Josh learns that Cheryl is not the only missing person connected to the mysterious ambulance and takes it upon himself to investigate an apparent conspiracy to kidnap people from the streets of New York. But Josh’s interference isn’t welcomed – either by Lieutenant Frank Spencer of the NYPD (James Earl Jones) or the sinister forces behind the ambulance itself…”
Well, I said I’d enjoyed every Larry Cohen film I’d seen, and that doesn’t look set to change as I loved this too. What I like about his films is that they often take a potentially silly concept and make it work as a straight-up horror/thriller. In an interview on this disc, Cohen talks about how he sees most of his films as being connected by having a seemingly malign or benevolent figure that becomes evil or destructive. He uses this as a starting point to make pointed, often satirical digs at institutions and authority. The Ambulance is no different, with comments on both the medical establishment and police force.
What I also love about the film is how it’s so character-driven. There are a few genre thrills, including some exciting car stunts, courtesy of the great Spiro Razatos. However, these are relatively scarce. It’s the wealth of memorable characters that keeps you watching.
The strength of the characters is partly down to Cohen’s trademark witty dialogue. There are loads of sharp lines, such as “I promise you… you’re gonna be in perfect health before you die.” Cohen also adds some nice little touches to characters, such as Lieutenant Frank Spencer’s constant gum chewing.
The dialogue would be nothing without a good cast though, and The Ambulance features some fantastic performers. Eric Roberts must be one of the hardest-working actors in Hollywood, with a staggering 793 credits to his name on IMDB, with another 93 still in production. He’s also one of the more underrated. He may seemingly take on any role he can get, but I’ve not seen him deliver a bad performance. He gets to shine here as the lead, showing charisma and depth. Originally, Cohen wanted John Travolta for the lead, but the studio execs behind the film felt he was past it and box office poison at that point (this was before Pulp Fiction resurrected his career). They suggested Roberts instead.
On top of being a strong lead, Roberts helped Cohen land the biggest name in the cast, James Earl Jones. Reportedly, Roberts knew Jones, so he gave him a call and talked him into doing the picture.
Jones appears to be having a blast in the film. He’s always great, but he’s clearly relishing the larger-than-life character he plays here.
Old-school Hollywood legend Red Buttons is another notable cast member. His brand of comedy feels a touch out of place in the film, perhaps, but he’s fun to watch. He and Cohen reportedly became close friends after the production.
Like The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, which I reviewed not too long ago, The Ambulance is a great New York movie. You get a good feel for the city and its residents. Cohen reportedly found ways of hiding the camera during some of the location filming to add authenticity to the background crowds.
The film has a Hitchcock vibe too, in how nobody believes the hero, but we know he’s on the right track. There’s also perhaps a Vertigo nod in Josh’s obsession with Cheryl.
Speaking of which, Roberts’ character is somewhat of a lech at the beginning, which puts a slight damper on the start of his quest to find Cheryl. However, his unseemly behaviour is noted on several occasions, and there’s a neat twist to their relationship towards the end.
Overall, The Ambulance is Larry Cohen doing what he does best – taking a daft concept and making it sing with tight storytelling, strong characters, sharp dialogue and a hint of satire.
Film: 
The Ambulance is out on Blu-Ray on 13th October, released by Eureka as part of their Eureka Classics series. The transfer is great, with clear details, rich colours and a natural grain structure. The audio is robust too.
LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:
– Limited edition of 2,000 copies
– Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by John Dunn
– Limited edition booklet featuring new cover art by John Dunn and an essay on The Ambulance by genre film expert Liam Hathaway
– 1080p presentation from an HD restoration
– Uncompressed LPCM audio (original stereo presentation)
– Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
– New audio commentary by Steve Mitchell, director of the 2017 documentary King Cohen
– Archival audio commentary with director Larry Cohen, moderated by Steve Mitchell
– Catch Your Death – a newly edited, previously unseen interview with Larry Cohen and Spiro Razatos on The Ambulance originally shot for King Cohen
– Sickness and Health – a new video essay on The Ambulance and medical horror by film scholar Murray Leeder
– Keep Making Pictures – new interview with film writer Michael Doyle, author of Larry Cohen: The Stuff of Gods and Monsters
– Original theatrical trailer
Steve Mitchell provides a new commentary. He knows Cohen well through working closely with him on a documentary he made about the director. As such, the track is heavy with anecdotes he’s heard from Cohen. It’s a great listen.
Mitchell also moderates an archival commentary with Larry Cohen himself. This is fantastic. Many of Cohen’s comments are repeated by Mitchell in his solo commentary (I listened to that first), but it’s best to hear it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. As such, if you only have time for one commentary, I’d go with this archival one.
There’s also an interview with Cohen and Spiro Razatos. This runs for slightly over 20 mins. Cohen repeats a lot of anecdotes from the commentaries, to begin with, but later, when Razatos joins in, the focus shifts towards the stunts, which is a welcome change.
There’s also a 23-minute piece with Michael Doyle, who talks about Cohen and The Ambulance. It’s an illuminating interview that looks at the director’s career as a whole more than the other pieces here.
Finally, there’s a 16-minute video essay by Murray Leeder that looks at the film’s place in the history of medical horror. It’s an interesting piece.
I wasn’t sent a copy of the booklet to comment on that. Eureka’s booklets are usually good though.
So, whilst there’s a little too much repetition of information on here (Mitchell’s commentary, in particular, feels slightly unnecessary), it’s better to have too much than not enough, and the film is great, so it’s easy to recommend Eureka’s Blu-ray.
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