May 29, 2026 9:00am IST
‘Passenger’ Review: A Bumpy Ride Full Of Potholes
In “Passenger”, couple Maddie (Lou Llobell) and Tyler (Jacob Scipio) trade their cramped New York City apartment for the open road, embracing the trendy allure of "van life." But their picturesque adventure takes a sharp, gruesome turn when they stop to help at a highway accident scene. Unbeknownst to them, they don’t leave the crash site alone. They’ve attracted a hitchhiking demonic entity that takes the terrifying form of an elderly priest.
Refreshingly, the film avoids the tired trope of the doubting partner; Tyler never treats Maddie like she’s losing her mind. Once he witnesses the presence himself, the couple is forced into a desperate scramble to figure out what is tormenting them and, more importantly, how to stop it.
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When the "Passenger" works, it relies on classic horror mechanics. The film's best-executed scares make savvy use of the oldest trick in the book, creating intense suspense purely from a character’s limited field of vision. In one standout, highly creative sequence set in a pitch-black forest, Maddie and Tyler use a portable consumer movie projector to beam “Roman Holiday” into the trees. Hearing something moving in the darkness, they weaponize the projector like a cinematic flashlight, illuminating the terrifying woods with classic Hollywood imagery. Along the way, they seek help from Diana (Melissa Leo), a wise, weathered road veteran. Diana serves up the absolute best dialogue of the film, cryptically warning them that people don’t take trips, trips take people.
Unfortunately, the script hits a major roadblock when it comes to the characters' decision-making. Maddie and Tyler seem to have learned absolutely nothing from childhood cartoons or basic survival instincts. There are simple horror rules you just do not break, such as never doing things at night, always staying in a group, and never letting curiosity get the better of you when a strange noise echoes from the dark.
Alas, our protagonists love to wander alone. If only they had watched a few episodes of Scooby-Doo back in the day, they might have saved themselves a lot of trouble.
Furthermore, audiences are likely to sit on the fence regarding the backstory of our highway haunter. The movie hints that there is much more to this villain, yet it refuses to deliver. Viewers will naturally want to know who this demon is, where he came from, and what his specific issue is with road travelers, but the script provides absolutely none of these answers.
The film's ultimate undoing is that its lore is far too underwritten. Diana offers to guide the couple, claiming there is no way they can read the road's hidden signs on their own. This creates an unintentional laugh, considering the supposedly hidden signs are literally just arrows crudely scratched into surfaces. Frankly, if you cannot follow a basic arrow, you probably shouldn't be driving in the first place.
Because the rules of the universe are so poorly explained, moments that should be immersive and tense instead leave the audience raising their hands to ask logistical questions. It all builds to an underwhelming climax that offers very few explanations and even fewer thrills. "Passenger" has the ingredients for a great roadside thriller, but a messy script ensures this road trip runs completely out of gas.
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