4 star restoration of a slick and darkly comedic offbeat thriller.
The Ambulance is a 1990 American action, comedy, horror, thriller (which of these is it? You take your pick), written and directed by Larry Cohen (The Stuff, It’s Alive).
It has been treated to a 1080p restoration and is presented here for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK, courtesy of Eureka Classics as a Limited Edition of 2,000 copies only.
“This is a story of what can happen to a guy for talking to a strange woman on the street.”
Josh (Eric Roberts – The Poltergeist Diaries, The Finder) is a young comic book illustrator, working for Marvel Comics under the watchful eye of the Editor (Stan Lee – Venom, Black Panther). One day while out walking, he plucks up the courage to speak to a young woman he has designs on. Her name is Cheryl (Janine Turner – Cliffhanger, Northern Exposure (TV Series)) and she isn’t very interested. 
As they are speaking, she suddenly collapses and an ambulance appears suspiciously quickly to collect her. Before she leaves, she confides that she is a Type 1 Diabetic.We see her tied to a hospital bed, under the supervision of a mysterious Doctor (Eric Braeden – Den of Thieves, Titanic).
Josh goes to the hospital after to work to visit her, only to learn that she hasn’t been admitted. 
After trying other hospitals and having no joy, he goes to see the police, in the form of Lieutenant Spencer (James Earl Jones – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Field of Dreams) who is extremely sceptical and refuses to help him.
He uses his skills as an artist and manages to locate Cheryl’s roommate Jerilyn (Jill Gatsby – Interruptions), who tells him that she too is diabetic. 
When she is also kidnapped later that day, he tries to contact Spencer but is taken ill and carted off in an ambulance. Convinced he’s been abducted, it turns out to be genuine, but he does meet former news reporter Elias (Red Buttons – The Story of Us) who believes his story. Officer Malloy (Megan Gallagher – Van Wilder) also takes an interest, but can they find who is targeting these women and why before it is too late?
“I’m sorry, but I just like to touch human skin through a surgical glove, that’s all.”
The Ambulance is a very enjoyable film. The premise is fun and though quite silly as an idea, it’s very well executed with some great performances. It never makes the mistake of taking itself seriously and manages to bridge a number of genres very successfully.
It’s all very creative, with lots of dark comedy moments as well as a number of clever twists and some genuine suspense. In true nineties style, it’s also exceedingly cheesy and joyfully so.
It is presented with a 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. With an excellently crispy restoration and lots of special features, this one is well worth adding to your collection.
“A lot of people think you’re odd. Joshua. At least that’s what they tell us. Strange young fella, not quite normal.”
The Ambulance is available to own now on Limited Edition Blu-ray.
| Director | Larry Cohen |
| Genre | Action, comedy, horror, thriller |
| Starring | Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Megan Gallagher, Red Buttons, Eric Braeden |
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