By Matthew Moorcroft

Unsure

• Directed by Andre Øvredal
• Starring Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, Melissa Leo, Joseph Lopez
• R

Smushed between two major horror releases as well as a major blockbuster release, Passenger would feel doomed if it wasn’t for it’s viral (and genuinely impressive) theater only teaser from several months ago that made audiences squirm and jump in their seats. It’s a testament to the power of marketing that it’s likely this is the only reason anybody knows about Passenger, as it’s release has mostly been a smaller one with only one online trailer and a limited poster that keeps it’s major plot details mostly hidden. Who exactly is “the Passenger”? That’s the question that prevails both the lead up and the final result of the flick, and it’s a solid hook.

Unfournately, a hook is really all Passenger has to offer. While certainly handsomely made, all of the great camera work in the world and solid scare sense can’t stop Passenger‘s actual material from feeling rote and predictable. After a phenomenal opening scene, Passenger descends into cliche as it’s two leads – a couple who have recently converted to a nomadic van life styling – find themselves stalked by an unknowable entity who seemingly has it out for them.

The actual mechanics of the entity aside, Passenger‘s lack of depth in it’s cast and themes gives very little in the way of actual meat. Both of our leads are as generic and bland as they come, and while they don’t succumb to “dumb protagonist” syndrome like many bog standard horror leads, the script gives them only the barest of motivations and mostly has them reacting to their situation rather then actively getting involved. The best horror films usually find our leads “taking the wheel” in the story, but ironically in a film where this would be the one thing they could do, it feels like they are letting the GPS guide them. Both Jacob Scipio and Lou Llobell do their best with lackluster material but even they are struggling to really ground their characters in anything outside of “they are a loving couple in a bit over their heads”.

The weak leads are the least of the script problems here, which mostly come in the vein of weak setpieces and repetitive jump scares that mostly revolve around the same idea over and over again. The opening scene scare might get you, but once you’ve seen that one you’ve seen all of them as every major scare – if it isn’t a fake out – simply involves a quick smash cut to the Passenger’s spooky face and by the end it loses much of it’s juice. Doesn’t help that the Passenger himself is too vague to be truly scary and not menacing enough to do any lasting damage; our protagonists mostly walk away fine outside of a few bruises, strange for this sort of demonic affair. There is a gnarly kill in the film’s back third but it’s the only one and comes too late; by this point it feels like a kill for kill’s sake.

Andre Øvredal is a solid journeyman director though, and while the script surely is not up to par his usual standards, he is at least trying to make this otherwise bog standard flick work. Relying more on long takes, harsh shadows, and bright headlights, Passenger is certainly a great looking picture and Øvredal knows his way around crafting at a good, tense time. It’s actually a testament to his efforts that Passenger is never boring; you can accuse it of many things, but at a brisk 94 minutes it certainly knows to get in and get out without much issue.

But when you have so many great horror offerings nowadays, and especially recently, is “never boring” really enough? The answer is no, and while you can certainly do a lot worse then Passenger you can certainly do a lot better. It’s a quick, disposable piece of horror that utterly refuses to do anything new, and in an day age where horror is at an all time high in terms of quality, that just isn’t enough anymore. Passenger wishes it could just coast in neutral, but it really should have put the van into drive and sped.