Black Cab (2024) – A Grim Ride into the Unknown
Black Cab is a slow burning British horror thriller that transforms an ordinary taxi ride into a descent into psychological and supernatural terror. Set mostly inside the tight, eerie confines of a black cab at night, the film thrives on dread and discomfort rather than jump scares.
Nick Frost stars as Ian, a seemingly friendly cab driver who picks up a young woman named Anne and her controlling fiancé Patrick after a tense evening. What begins as an awkward ride soon takes a sinister turn as Ian veers off the usual route and into a desolate countryside. The further they travel, the more it becomes clear that Ian has no intention of reaching a destination they recognize.
Frost’s performance is the soul of the film. He shifts from warm and chatty to cold and menacing with chilling ease, keeping the audience on edge. The cab becomes more than a vehicle—it’s a mobile prison moving through fog, shadows, and whispers of the past. The film plays with themes of guilt, grief, and justice, suggesting that the road they’re on is more metaphorical than real.
The atmosphere is thick with tension. The cinematography uses darkness and confined space masterfully to create claustrophobia, while the sound design amplifies each silence and sudden noise. Although the ghostly element arrives late, it adds a surreal layer to the already intense psychological horror.
Black Cab doesn’t rely on gore or flashy effects. Instead, it drags its characters and viewers down a quiet, dreadful road where the most terrifying thing might not be the ghost, but the driver himself. This is a haunting tale about the monsters behind the wheel—and the ones sitting right beside them.
