André Øvredal has developed a name for himself as a filmmaker whose approach to horror is built on creating mood rather than pandemonium. His films, such as The Autopsy of Jane Doe and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, have an uncanny ability to crawl beneath your skin. Passenger begins with the same premise but, after a strong initial act and several genuinely creepy moments, gradually degenerates into a chaotic mess of a long drive gone wrong.
The premise revolves around a young couple travelling across the country by van who witness an accident on an isolated road. Shortly after, they discover that they did not leave the scene alone; a demonic entity has begun to stalk them, appearing in flashes while they drive on empty roads, through dark forests, and in desolate parking lots. This premise borrows from It Follows, Jeepers Creepers and several horror movies about driving on a highway and, at least at first, uses these references effectively.
Atmosphere is where Passenger really shines. Director Øvredal knows how to create unease through silence, dark and distance. The first section of the film is effective due to the way it allows the build-up of paranoia to occur in a natural manner, rather than using repetitive ‘jump scares’ every couple of minutes. Empty highways are threatening, roadside campsites are unsafe and there is always the feeling that danger could come from anywhere at any time. Several of the sequences (especially the night-time ones) have a tension that is real and palpable.
The cinematography by Federico Verardi is another highlight of Passenger; the wide shots of desolate roads and poorly lit landscapes create an eerily lonely feel throughout the entire film, far more so than what would be possible given its screenplay and even when the story starts to waver, the visual elements have maintained viewer engagement. Christopher Young’s score underpins much of this suspense throughout various scenes via its low, haunting sounds.
The performances are competent but doesn’t leave a lasting imprint on the viewer. Lou Llobell imbues Maddie with some emotional depth while Jacob Scipio bestows enough emotional depth on Tyler for us to find parts of their love story believable. Unfortunately, the screenplay primarily depicts them through stereotypes associated with horror film characters, and so the full range of their personalities goes undeveloped. Their conversations are largely redundant and the revelation of what motivates Maddie and Tyler to connect so late in the film usually has little impact, despite the audience’s substantial wait for some kind of payoff. Melissa Leo contributes minimally in her role and, while she adds some weight to the role she portrays, once again our knowledge of her character is insufficient to form an attachment to her.
The major problem with Passenger lies with its repeated explanation of things that were once scary, but that are no longer known. The film begins constructing a foundation of fear based on sheer mystery and then dives into a much greater depth of mythology and rules pertaining to the entity and begins to lose much of that fear associated with it. What began as something we found profoundly unsettling begins to develop into a compendium of tropes of supernatural chases, with numerous predictable jump scares and extremely generic horror elements.
There are some pretty interesting moments where Passenger could become something worth remembering. The setup has a lot going for it, the mood really sets the tone for horror, and Øvredal knows how to create a visually impressive horror film. Unfortunately, Passenger never moves beyond its inspirations and instead of building to some sort of emotional climax or ending that is truly horrific, it ruses to a finale with a bunch of loud jump scares that are overused.
Overall, I wouldn’t say that Passenger is totally unwatchable as there are definitely some good elements of horror filmmaking scattered throughout this film, however, it feels like it has already peaked and then has had to spend the majority of the rest of the film trying to regain that momentum after that peak. It has some style in places, it has some great creepy images, but ultimately it will probably not stick out in anyone’s memory as something they would want to see again.
Rating: 2/5
