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Passenger Review
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures
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Directed By: André Øvredal
Written By: Zachary Donohue & T.W. Burgess
Runtime: 94 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated R for strong violent content, some gore, and language
Lou Llobell – Maddie
Jacob Scipio – Tyler
Melissa Leo – Diana
Joseph Lopez – The Passenger
The Last Voyage of the Demeter director André Øvredal returns to the realm of horror with the new movie, Passenger. A young couple runs afoul of a dark, malevolent entity, but can they survive? Unfortunately, despite a few fun stylistic elements, Passenger amounts to a fairly frustrating, paint-by-numbers horror experience.
The story focuses on a young couple, Maddie (Llobell) and Tyler (Scipio), packing up their apartment and hitting the road. Tyler wants the freedom and independence that van life offers. Although Maddie loves Tyler and goes along for the ride, she still yearns for a place of her own, as she doesn’t favor the life of a nomad.
Unfortunately, stalking the back rural roads of middle America is a malevolent entity called “The Passenger” (Lopez), a dark and evil figure who stalks roadside travelers, bringing about their imminent doom.
After Maddie and Tyler unwittingly come across The Passenger’s latest victim, he marks the couple as his new prey. However, fleeing The Passenger is nigh-impossible as he’s a supernatural force of evil, and his powers appear limitless.
From the movie’s outset, Øvredal fails to ingratiate or immerse the world with his horrendous overuse of cheap, frustrating jump-scare moments. The jump scares aren’t even creative, and they serve as the typical annoying jolts to the system that fail to provide true scares or existential dread.
Therein lies the movie’s weakness. It’s the horror movie equivalent of a pie without filling. Øvredal does show some creativity and ingenuity in two specific sequences in the movie. One sequence set in the parking lot is done almost entirely in one shot, with Maddie trying to reach her van. However, a force constantly moves the fan further down the parking lot whenever she looks away. It’s one of the few moments in the movie where the director attempts something interesting and unique to build suspense.
In another sequence, Tyler and Maddie’s movie night in the woods runs afoul after a close encounter with The Passenger. This sequence adds some visual flair as Tyler attempts to use a movie projector as a makeshift flashlight, but it still projects images from Roman Holiday across the woods. Therefore, Øvredal does demonstrate some flashes of brilliance across a fairly unimpressive narrative.
The other problem is The Passenger movie itself and its attempt to craft a new horror movie icon. The Passenger fails to imbue genuine terror and dread. He’s more annoying than terrifying or intriguing because his actions come off as the cinematic equivalent of the jack-in-the-box.
Writers Zachary Donohue and T.W. Burgess attempt to flesh out the spiritual entity by making him a folkloric figure, providing texture for his backstory with hobo lore and visual codes and motifs. The setup of a folkloric type of monster who talks and hunts travelers on the road does provide a somewhat interesting base, but The Passenger never comes into his own as a character.
The lead actors, Llobell and Scipio, are at least believably adequate despite the underwhelming material. However, Maddie clearly is not enthused with van life from the outset, so why did she quit her job and pack up with her boyfriend to join him, especially if she wants to settle down in a place of her own? It comes off more like a whim or a lark for her, rather than a desire for a genuine change of pace.
The premise comes off as a contrived setup to get Maddie and Tyler on the road. They get marked by The Passenger by attempting to be good and genuine individuals, helping a victim in trouble. Melissa Leo plays the movie’s designated expository character, informing Maddie and Tyler that they broke a cardinal rule by stopping on the road to help someone.
That’s a rather ridiculous rule to have, even in a horror movie. Should drivers on the road just never stop to help someone, even if that person is desperate and in need of assistance? Plus, what about police, EMTs, and patrolmen? Are they exempt? It makes no sense.
Passenger leans heavily on cheap scares and frights, but there are a few visually creative flashes. Also, slight credit is given for not attempting a horror movie cliché type of ending and trying to do something overly cutesy or predictable.
Where To Watch The Passenger
The Passenger hits theaters on May 22. Ticket and showtime information can be found at the movie’s website.
