Scarecrow-88 Tough Yale collegiate football star Scott(Shane Johnson), his naive, virginal 17 year old brother Robby(Jason Dohring)who idolizes him, and troublesome, wise-cracking school chum CJ(Josh Hammon)with a scar down his face, are taking a brief visit to Wisconsin to get laid and drink a few bears when a bar-fight at a roadhouse ensues. Scott saves the day, but the three must get out of dodge in a hurry, finding themselves on snowy dirt roads being chased by a psycho driving a black Cadillac. Picking up a Wisconsin town sheriff, Charlie(Randy Quaid)whose car broke down on the side of the road, they continue to receive endless threats by the Cadillac which is playing cat'n'mouse games with them. Soon, after stopping at a diner, a message regarding a sin one of them committed is painted to Scott's Saab windshield and the group realizes that the driver in the Cadillac might be targeting someone in particular. Scott, believing Charlie is the one aimed at, leaves him, but the Cadillac driver(..despite what he does to Charlie)continues to pursue them with the film following their efforts of evasion. Scott's car will suffer heavy damage along the way as the Cadillac driver will stop at nothing to cause great harm to them. The reasons behind the chase and the one truly being sought after will soon be revealed as Scott finds that his car's radiator is on the fritz and the cold, dark wintry Wisconsin woods offer no shelter of comfort whatsoever.Not a bad little low-budget chiller basically taking "Duel" and replacing the mad truck driver with someone behind the wheel of an ominous black Cadillac. The desert setting of "Duel" is replaced with the icy roads and frosty woods of Wisconsin. But, unlike films such as "Duel" or "Joy Ride", where the madman behind the wheel's face is never shown, we do get an opportunity to see who the culprit(s) are in this particular film. The film takes place almost completely at night, often inside the confines of the Saab car with the leads(..and Quaid for a little while before he "departs"). The flick is quite economical if you think about it, with a great deal of the film inside the car displaying the reactions of these frightened young men being pursued by a psychopath. The characters are your typical males preparing for their futures, finding themselves in a most dangerous situation, isolated into the backwoods and roads by someone with an ax to grind. The setting at night sure adds punch to this little film. Very reminiscent to films like "Dead End" and "Wind Chill", other nice little surprises concerning characters in a car haunted by things beyond their control. The ending(..why they are being chased and who the ones responsible are)isn't exactly fresh or original, but this is a nifty little ride until then. "Black Cadillac" ultimately, like other films of it's ilk, preys on the fears of many of us who worry about being caught in a place we are not familiar in circumstances spiraling beyond our control.

Anthony Pittore III (Shattered_Wake) Think. . . 'Dead End' (2003) + 'Joy Ride' (2001) Plot: After starting a pretty heavy fight at a Wisconsin bar, three Minnesotans (who are there to drink underage. . . for some reason) fight for their life against an unknown vengeful figure driving an amazing '57 Caddy Eldorado.Cast rundown: Randy Quaid as Sheriff Charlie is good as usual, but he's really let himself go over the years. The main cast of guys (Jason Dohring, Josh Hammond, Shane Johnson) are also pretty good, and a surprisingly well shaped group of characters. Kiersten Warren (that annoying chick that dated Slater in Saved by the Bell: The College Years) was actually not as annoying as she was on Saved by the Bell. . . but that could be due to her 15 minutes of total screen time and like four lines.Review: The plot is obviously nothing new. We've seen it tons of times. . . but that doesn't mean we can't always enjoy it. The fact that it takes place in the dead of winter on rural roads makes it even cooler. Icy car chases always add some necessary thrills. Solid acting and directing, and mostly solid writing, make it a more-than-adequate film if you're watching for the technical stuff. My only real problem with it was the predictable ending, which I called about 15 minutes in. But, overall, it's a very cool, and often exciting, little unknown horror flick.Final Verdict: 6.5/10. Definitely worth a watch.-AP3-

innocuous To heck with the Cadillac! It's the Saab that's really cool.This looks like a 1997 Saab 900, but it has some interesting features. The standard driver's airbag(s) doesn't work. Neither does the passenger side airbag, but that was optional, so maybe there isn't one on this car. The defroster doesn't work, since you can write in frost on the windshield and "...it's never coming off." But it does between scenes, since the frost seems to come and go. Plus, the Saab makes it about 90 miles to the State line in less than 40 minutes or so...driving in circles.Anyway, continuity errors aside, this is an OK film. A bit maudlin in parts, but interesting enough to hold your attention for 90 minutes.Randy Quaid does a great job, but everyone else is just average.Worth renting once.

tedg There are some things that naturally are cinematic. Among these are car chases, smoke and snow. Similarly on the story side, people cast together in a small space with an outside threat and unrevealed past relationships.It terms of flow, the most reliable device is a character who is not what he seems.On these safe poles is strung the structure of this movie. Overall, it isn't any worse than other fare that doesn't matter. Some of the photography — especially of the menacing Caddy — is good.But someone smart enough to use these devices should also have know the dangers. They are so familiar that in order to be effective they have to be exaggerated beyond themselves.To have exaggerated chases these days requires CGI and some recourse to the supernatural. To have the historical revelation matter it has to be extreme, completely strange. When the twist comes and you learn which things are not as you suspected, these days that has to be at least two major twists. Big ones that involve the skin of the thing.You'll find the same pattern in romance where too much thrill eats the center and two little prevents it from slaking onto the blade.Maybe its impossible to be delicate and surgically sharp these days, which is why genre films are already bankrupt, reduced to selfparody.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.