Passenger review: Hyped horror movie featuring Oscar winner fails to live up to potential | Films | Entertainment

When the trailer for this movie dropped it was immediately dubbed the scariest film of the year by those who had viewed it and the internet was abuzz with analysis of the clip. Whilst I appreciate trailers can be misleading, thanks to the initial reactions and as a horror fan, I was really looking forward to this. It seemed to utilise jump scares and a lot of practical effects which I love. Director André Øvredal also has good form for creating decent horrors having previously helmed movies such as 2016’s The Autopsy of Jane Doe and 2023’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter. It also features Oscar winner Melissa Leo, who is a terrific actress. The signs were good.

The premise is a simple one. A young couple, played by Jacob Scipio and Lou Llobell, pack up their apartment to embrace van life. If you’re not familiar with this concept it basically involves living in a van which has been converted into a micro home. That alone is a horrifying idea for me – but each to their own!

When they are moved on one night from a residential area they park in, the couple are forced to drive around looking for a spot to camp. While on the road, they stumble upon an accident and, of course, stop to see if they can help.

However, it transpires that two of the key rules of the hobo code are never drive at night and never stop. In doing so, they inadvertently pick up an unwanted passenger – an evil entity who stalks and kills travellers.

While the premise is pretty straightforward and allows for plenty of the aforementioned jump scares, what lets this down is the mythology. Without giving away any spoilers, as they research the being and we learn its genesis, even the biggest horror fan will realise it doesn’t add up.

This isn’t aided by the fact that this reveal is very rushed – perhaps they were hoping it would be a case of blink and you’ll miss it. By its very definition, horror requires you to park logic at the door of the cinema. But this really is glaring. It is also let down by some rather shoddy special effects in the final scenes.

The irony is that there is a very good potential story in the hobo code and that history, and up until the reveal, Øvredal did a good job of world-building and character development up to this point.

The scares are handled well and don’t feel overegged – although there is a car park scene that goes on about 90 seconds too long. It also doesn’t outstay its welcome at a respectable 94 minutes.

On paper, this has all the ingredients of a great horror, but it never fully realises its potential – the phrase “loses the plot” springs to mind. And Leo is totally wasted. I can’t fathom why you would bring in a star of that calibre and not utilise her talents to full effect.

With a few tweaks, this could have sown the seeds for a franchise. But it falls flat and as it stands it is an OK popcorn movie that definitely won’t go down as a horror classic.

Passenger is in cinemas May 22.