Passenger, the new horror film directed by André Øvredal – best known for Trollhunters, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, and most recently, The Last Voyage of the Demeter – arrives at a time when there have been so many great horror movies. You’d think that would make it harder for it to stand out, but in fact, it offers something very different from the interior-based horror films from the past few weeks.
Passenger stars Lou Llobel and Jacob Scipio as Maddie and Tyler, a young Brooklyn couple who decide to pack up and travel across the country by van. Six months into this adventure, they encounter a dead man in a crashed car, and then begin experiencing strange occurrences and seeing a supernatural being. They learn that those who regularly travel the roads have an urban myth known as “The Passenger,” a deadly being that latches onto anyone who drives at night and makes the mistake of stopping. They learn about this from a woman, played by Melissa leo, who is the only other significant character besides the couple and the Passenger (portrayed by Joseph Lopez).
Before watching Passenger, I only had seen the earlier teaser for the movie, and I was glad that was the case since that was literally taken from the first ten minutes of the movie. When the couple get to a van meet-up of others living on the road, the movie almost turns into a horror version of Nomadland, but there are many clever uses of the outdoor locale, including an incredibly tense sequence in an abandoned parking lot at night.
Although it goes a bit off the rails by the end, and that might put some people off, Passenger is effectively frightening despite the simplicity of how it uses its scares.
Rating: 7.5/10
You can also watch my interview with Øvredal below:
