There’s nothing subtle about Larry Cohen’s The Ambulance. It’s loud, it’s bonkers, and it feels like it’s careening down a winding road with no brakes—much like the titular vehicle itself. From the opening shock of Eric Roberts’ power mullet, to an early death for a main character, The Ambulance wastes no time setting up what sort of movie this is. A movie that veers so close to bad, it becomes a cult classic.
Eric Roberts stars as Josh, a comic book artist with the charm of a direct to video 90s rom-com lead and the hair of someone who hasn’t left the 80s yet. He works at Marvel Comics, and his boss is played by (in his first movie cameo) Stan Lee! No joke, check out his near two minutes worth of screen-time in the video below.
Josh becomes obsessed with a mysterious woman who collapses on the street and is whisked away by an ambulance—except she doesn’t end up in a hospital. After going to every local hospital and finding no trace of her, Josh immediately assumes something sinister is at play.
What follows is a bizarre investigation into a medical conspiracy that’s equal parts Hitchcock and Scooby-Doo. Roberts does a solid job with what can only be described as an unbalanced script. He’s jumping from melodrama to slapstick to hysteria thriller, often in the same scene.
The real MVP, though, is James Earl Jones as the perpetually gum-chewing, eye-rolling detective. He’s clearly having a blast, bringing gravitas to the ridiculous lines he’s given. He’s skeptical of Josh but in a way that suggests he knows he’s stuck in a Larry Cohen movie and just wants to chew his gum in peace. I’m guessing James Earl Jones wasn’t on set for long as, despite his second billing, it’s a small supporting role for the legendary actor.
Normally, I don’t like spoilers, even for a 35-year-old B-movie, but Detective Spenser is so committed to gum-chewing that even a high-speed chase or being mortally wounded won’t stop him. Kindly enjoy the below scene in full, it’s fantastic, you can even see the gum in the thumbnail picture.
To be clear, I greatly admire what James Earl Jones is doing here. The man committed to every role and is nothing less than captivating in every project he worked on during his long and prolific career. Did he get the same script as everyone else, or was he given wildly different direction, we’ll never know. Whatever the reason for his gleefully over-the-top performance, I’m glad for it.
Now, let’s talk about the ambulance itself. It’s not just a vehicle—it’s a character. A death-mobile prowling the streets of Manhattan like a shark in scrubs. Cohen’s knack for making the mundane terrifying (It’s Alive, The Stuff) is on full display here. The ambulance is both ridiculous and genuinely creepy, its sinister horn blaring as it snatches up victims in broad daylight. It’s an evil twin of the Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters via a daytime soap-opera.
Sure, the plot doesn’t make much sense if you think about it too hard, but who’s here for logic? Cohen keeps the pacing brisk, the dialogue snappy, and the atmosphere campy enough to make you forgive its flaws. The supporting cast—featuring Red Buttons as a wisecracking sidekick and Megan Gallagher as the no-nonsense journalist—adds to the charm, even if their roles are thinly written.
This isn’t just a movie; it’s a genre blender with Cohen’s fingerprints all over it, taking noir, horror, comedy, and thriller elements and tossing them into the back of an emergency van. Does it always work? No. Is it entertaining? Absolutely, and it is well due cult classic status after three and a half decades.
While the previous Eric Roberts/James Earl Jones team-up, Best of the Best (1989), remains their best, The Ambulance is a solid albeit joyfully barmy thriller/horror/comedy, you decide, as it’s often all of them simultaneously.
Remember earlier when I said I hate spoiling movies, I’m going to do it again. During the movie’s close, Josh and Cheryl are reunited, he flirts shamelessly with her despite her horrifying ordeal. In a plot twist, Cheryl already has a boyfriend, so Josh almost immediately hits on Officer Sandra Malloy, who clearly fancied him from the off—essentially rendering his entire pursuit pointless. To be fair, Josh consistently hits on multiple women throughout his quest to ask Cheryl out on a date.
The Ambulance is a time capsule of late 80s/early 90s cinema: a bit sleazy, a bit silly, and unashamedly over-the-top. It’s not Cohen’s best work, but it’s one of his most fun. If you’re in the mood for something offbeat and chaotic, climb aboard. Just maybe don’t expect to get off at a hospital.