While getting a taxi ride can be a safe way to get home, especially with the applications available, that’s not always the case, as seen in Black Cab. In director Bruce Goodison’s latest movie, Anne (Synnøve Karlsen) and Patrick (Luke Norris) decide to hail a black cab after a night of celebration. While the chatty taxi driver (Nick Frost) seems mysterious but friendly, the ride becomes hell when Frost’s character shows a much darker, violent and repressive side.
Ahead of the release of Black Cab on Shudder, Geek Vibes Nation spoke to Goodison (The Cure, Then Barbara Met Alan) and Frost (Shaun of the Dead, How To Date Billy Walsh) to discuss Virginia Gilbert’s script, filming in confined spaces and creating a horror film in which nothing is what it seems.
Geek Vibes Nation (Liselotte Vanophem): Hi Bruce and Nick, congratulations on the film. What about Virginia [Gilbert] her writing made you want to be part of the story?
Director Bruce Goodison: I get attracted to material where good people do bad things, and evil people do good things. This was the first time I had done a genre film like this before, like Ghost Stories, etc. So, I was very drawn to this. And then when you add Nick Frost into that mix, where he does some pretty horrendous things, that’s a great challenge for any filmmaker.
So, it was about something other than how I create a great ghost story. It was about ‘how do I create a great story that has ghosts in it?’ Because they’re demons. We all have them. For me, it was a great story about a complicated character who’d done a terrible thing and was trying to atone for that. At first, he does a very good thing to an evil man who’s horrible to his girlfriend and therefore we love him and want to go on the journey with him. There were some of the things that I was conjuring with. Another director would go for something completely different. But I want to create a work as good and believable as possible, even in unbelievable circumstances. That was how I felt about this material.
Actor Nick Frost: Yeah, I love that it was a chance to do something people wouldn’t have seen me doing before. And I love what Bruce said: the good guy does a bad thing. That’s interesting to me as an actor. He’s a good person, but he does a bad thing.
If you do it right, people who leave the cinema will say “I liked this character. I shouldn’t, but I did. I felt sorry for him.” It’s easy to look at people doing bad things and think, “Oh, well, they’re evil.” But it’s often not the case. They’re driven to that evilness, especially when the question “how far would I go for my children” comes into play.
GVN: Nick, you also did some additional writing, if correct. And when did that come in? Was it before you were shooting, when you were cast, before the shoot, etc.?
NF: Because my company, Stolen Pictures, made the film, I was there at every point. There was a great script; I just made it smaller by making it more human. Being part of the writing team also helps me as an actor. While the character is a psychopath, he’s still a human being. If you can make him appear as human as possible, it will make my job easier as an actor because a lot of the work is done. And so that’s what I did as a writer.
GVN: How was it to film the scenes in the cab? It’s a confined space with loads mirrors and windows in which the reflection of, for example, the camera could be seen. How were you guys able to solve those problems and shoot the scenes?
BG: We did two things. One was to ensure we were trying to avoid filming complicated dialogue scenes on the road. So we found two 80s cabs. And we cut one of them in half right down the centre of it and open it up like a book. Then we can shoot into the backseat and the front and give the illusion that we’re in the cab in a very contained and claustrophobic way when we actually weren’t. We wanted the illusion that you were there and close up with these characters.
And then to sell that illusion, we also did some exterior stuff out on the road. It was raining all the time because it was Manchester. We got the rain that was scripted for free. We shot this film over four weeks, but I’ve got three great actors, and as long as everyone understands exactly what you’re trying to do at every moment, you shouldn’t have many errors. You can then also be quite efficient with your shooting. So claustrophobia was very easy to create in a way. And we were filming everything at night, mainly apart from the hospital daylight scenes. Therefore, that increases the problems of reflection. But these are the things that are good struggles. And the fact that we can be out there making movies is just brilliant anyway.
NF: I love being in that cab. I love the chance to sit in it. I sat in it a lot, even when we weren’t shooting. There are little pockets and secret holes everywhere. I made it mine because it’s always weird when you see an actor doing something and you go ” You’re not a shepherd,” or “This is the first time you’ve worked that machine.”
You’re totally part of it. It’s not just about learning lines. It’s about inhabiting the way you are. I did a film a long time ago, set on a ship. And I remember it had quite a big budget. I opened every drawer and cupboard. And every drawer and cupboard was full of stuff. It’s just that kind of thing I love as an actor. No one will ever see what’s in the pockets of my cab. But putting stuff in those makes me appear more human, And so I loved it. I love driving it. I love sitting in it. I ate my lunch in it because I wanted it to smell like food. So I very rarely left the cab.
As Bruce said, we had four weeks to shoot this film. I love the fact that we didn’t have to hire a driver to do all the driving. Me doing it meant that we could get another take or another couple of takes of something in which we end up using.
GVN: How was it for you, Nick, to act with Synnove Karlsen, who’s portraying Anne? First, your character stands up for her against her partner; then, your character becomes more verbally and physically violent towards her.
NF: As he gets more unhinged, his choices become darker and darker. And, he’s not sure. Like the viewer, he’s not sure what’s happening either. There are so many questions.
And I love the fact that this character is someone who, on paper, you should be afraid of. You should definitely be afraid of him, but he’s also charming and an idiot, funny, and clumsy. However, he’s also a monster. That makes him 10 times as frightening because he could be in any of us, and we don’t know it.
BG: It’s also important to just add there when he’s about to kill someone, there’s something demonic in there. There’s something in him that’s making him do this stuff. He has lost control of his compass. I think that Nick was able to find that sweet spot between those character traits.
GVN: Well, that was my last question. Thank you so much for the interview. And good luck with the film’s release.
Both: Thank you.
Black Cab will debut on Shudder on the 8th of November. Read our review here.
Subtitle translator by day. Film journalist by night.
