'Passenger' review: One demon for the road, what could go wrong?

Paramount Pictures

Personally, I'd start a successful horror franchise with 'Smashenger' because that indicates a smash hit, but then again, what do I know? For now, we're hitting the road with Passenger. This new supernatural horror kicks into high gear when two guys, Daniel (Alan Trong) and Lucas Tedesco (Miles Fowler), are driving at night. They stop for a drain-the-snake break and soon enough, Daniel is killed and Lucas drives off with fear coursing through his veins. Then we meet Maddie Brecker (Lou Llobell) and Tyler Genocchio (Jacob Scipio), a couple who are brand new to the "van life" thing. After a quick yet successful marriage proposal, they witness a deadly car accident one night, Lucas being the victim. Later, their van gets marked by mysterious scratches. It turns out that a spine-chilling presence (portrayed by Joseph Lopez) is now tormenting them. Maddie and Tyler attempt to figure out what it is and how to get rid of it once and for all.

For what it's worth, we get off to a promising start. If you're like me and you were bombarded by the original teaser for Passenger as well, you'd probably say that it was rather effective. It featured the cold open with Daniel and Lucas and so like you'd expect, the opening here is proficiently designed and executed, injecting you with an enjoyable amount of dread and decent jump scares. Once we find ourselves on the road with Maddie and Tyler, though, you're waiting to reconnect with that sense of dread, even if it wasn't reinventing the wheel by any means. I'd like to say that we get back to that level, but then I might be a filthy liar because the movie spends a lot of time, uh, spinning its wheels (OK, no more wheeling and dealing). There's a scene later on featuring a parking lot, which gets pretty close, and another with a film projector that's not bad, but other than that, the ambience is lacklustre and nothing gets you to lean forward all that much.

Llobell and Scipio do a good job with what they're given, director André Øvredal orchestrates those aforementioned set pieces finely, and screenwriters T.W. Burgess and Zachary Donohue's writing doesn't make the characters annoyingly stupid. They're only slightly stupid, but in a way that's par for the course for a mainstream studio hair-raiser so you're not expecting much in the first place. The screenplay gets some fun out of hobo signs and urban legend stuff, but it is lacking a special sauce when it comes to themes, relationships and the "villain". Maybe at one point there was an attempt to investigate compromises and goals within a romantic relationship, but as far as the final product goes, the story doesn't really have a lot of nutritional value. Mercifully, the film is only 90 minutes long so you most likely won't be mad at the shortage of pizazz—you'll just be disappointed because it's just one cliché after another.

To be fair, the final act does test your patience because Øvredal and his collaborators—including cinematographer Federico Verardi and editor Martin Bernfeld—opt for disgusting, grey sludge disrupted by ghastly CG fire and somewhat unintelligible, unintelligent action to resolve everything. It's just not pleasurable to look at or experience, and this is a common sickness in this genre, which is why the movie ultimately falls victim to utter banality. Therefore, it's tough to recommend Passenger even to those who consider themselves horror enthusiasts. Consider taking a nice, long walk outside instead of hopping inside this vehicle. It could make you happier and healthier.

Smileys: None

Frowneys: Banality

Needs must when the demon drives.

2.0/5

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