Passenger (2026) Review
3/5
Passenger, directed by André Øvredal, follows Maddie and Tyler as they embark on their new life as vanlifers. One night, as they’re trekking across America, they come across a deadly car crash and soon realize that the memory of the night isn’t the only thing haunting them. Starring Lou Llobell and Jacob Scipio, Passenger has its moments but far too often relies on genre clichés to carry what is an interesting concept through its run time.
If you have been to the movie theater recently, I can assume the teaser trailer for this movie is engrained in your mind. It shot this movie up mine and a lot of people’s watchlists thanks to one of the best jump scares I’ve seen in a while. But similar to the short film Lights Out, sometimes short-form horror doesn’t translate to feature length very well. The movie opens by expanding on that teaser, and it’s the most tense I felt the entire movie, even though I’ve seen it play out countless times before each movie.
Once the narrative begins and we follow Maddie and Tyler, the story becomes almost too formulaic. You’re waiting for the inciting incident, the research scene, the reluctant old-timer who knows about the demon haunting them but won’t just tell them what it is until it’s too late, and a final showdown, all before they’ve even packed up their apartment and hit the road. To Øvredal’s credit, he does throw in some decently tense set pieces, but the timing of the jump scares ends up being far too predictable to really capitalize on them.
One scene, though, where Maddie is walking through a parking lot and hears the footsteps of the Passenger and keeps seeing the van get further away, is legitimately excellent filmmaking. In one continuous take, the camera spins around Maddie as she hears the footsteps of the passenger. When the camera settles, we see the van and the parking lot seem to have inexplicably moved another 20 yards away.
I enjoyed Llobell and Scipio’s performance as the lead couple, as well as the design for the passenger entity. The movie explores the idea of being stuck as a passenger in life, as Maddie feels like she is just along on Tyler’s journey. , it’s very apparent in how Tyler always insists on driving, calling her his “passenger princess.” It is what makes her the more desired target for the entity, but it’s when she takes control of her situation and takes the wheel for herself that she is able to fight and beat the demon. When every mainstream horror movie seems to be about dealing with grief and trauma nowadays, this is a theme I’m much more interested in exploring.
Concluding Thoughts
Passenger is an interesting concept that might not have had the legs for a feature-length film. While at times it proves itself to be frightful and entertaining, and it tackles interesting themes, it repeatedly falls back into safe tropes to carry itself from start to finish. While it’s not bad by any means, I really wish it took more risks. While it won’t be my favorite of the year, or even the month of May, I can see Passengers being a fun enough time with the right audience in the right setting.