The cat is lovely - although, given some of the shots that we see, it's readily evident that the poor feline was mistreated to obtain the desired reactions. It's nice to see esteemed, prolific voice actor Darin De Paul in a rare live-action (supporting) role, and he's readily recognized; on the other hand, while iconic Donald Pleasence is usually able to lend a point of integrity to even the most tawdry of flicks, in this instance he flounders just as much as everything else. I can appreciate that an evangelical preacher is depicted as a villain, which is certainly all too true to real life, and the premise of mysticism and black magic is promising; would that the movie did something useful with any of this before the last act. I would love to have more major, positive words to impart about this film, but to be honest, all this is just about the nearest that I can get. 'American rickshaw' is dull rubbish pretty much from start to finish.
The writing is achingly thin, and some dialogue and scene writing is just bewildering - not least as characters possess perfect knowledge about specific relevant information (watch for when De Paul's character remarks upon a date's special meaning), or betray such information in senseless ways (e.g., a henchman pointlessly says aloud exactly what we know the protagonist needs to hear). The preponderance of the length is an ordinary thriller about an innocent person getting drawn into a quagmire of murder and whatever, and only after we get a lore dump partway through the third act does the picture meaningfully bring the premise to bear. The back end feels rushed and forced, for that matter, as if filmmaker Sergio Martino realized he still had to do something with the story he helped to write, and it became necessary to cram it all into the last stretch. The latter messiness notably makes the narrative at large feel all the more flimsy. There are times when Martino's direction doesn't come off well (is that why he filmed under a pseudonym?), and there are certainly more instances when some of the acting raises a quizzical eyebrow.
In fairness, other facets actually are well done. Stunts and practical effects look pretty terrific; I like the art direction. This is well made from a technical standpoint, and all those behind the scenes turned in good work. Though some of the acting falls short, mostly it's just fine. The problem is that none of this means all that much when the storytelling is at best bland, and often altogether questionable. It's not that 'American rickshaw' is emphatically bad, but more than not it's nothing special - and more to the point, it shoves those aspects about it which are special into a very small corner. There are bits and pieces to enjoy here, but there are also flaws, and some of the best potential is mostly squandered. It remains true that there are much worse things one could watch, but what it comes down to is that unless you're a huge fan of someone involved, there's just not all that much reason to check it out. If anything this feature is best reserved for a lazy, quiet day when you want something that doesn't require or inspire active engagement; would that this made better use of the included notions so as to stand out more from the crowd.
