Passenger (2026)
Directed by: André Øvredal
Premise: A couple (Jacob Scipio and Lou Llobell) sells their house to live and travel in their van. While on the road they encounter a demonic spirit.
What Works: Passenger riffs on themes common in folklore and it’s a very effective work of travel horror. The film imagines a demonic entity roaming backroads and preying upon unwary travelers, terrorizing the victim to death. Passenger has the feel of a campfire story and it’s a good and fun scary movie. Filmmaker André Øvredal previously directed 2010’s Troll Hunter, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, and The Last Voyage of the Demeter. He’s an experienced horror filmmaker and Passenger demonstrates a masterful grasp of the craftsmanship. It’s shot very well. Unlike a lot of contemporary film that are so murky, cinematographer Federico Verardi does an excellent job of illuminating the action and the characters while surrounding them in darkness. The filmmakers draw out the tension and place characters in the frame to maximize the shocks. Sound is also used well especially employing surround sound to create the impression of depth and something sneaking behind us. Passenger is led by Jacob Scipio and Lou Llobell as the couple. The early parts of the film focus on their relationship and Scipio and Llobell are likable together but they also have some depth and tension to their relationship. Scipio’s character is more enthusiastic about living on the road while Llobell’s character realizes she wants a more stable life. These details are just enough to give the central relationship some characterization and make these people come alive.
What Doesn’t: Fantastical stories operate under an internal logic. In stories like this, the supernatural menace typically follows certain rules. Those rules are unclear in Passenger and the filmmakers play fast and loose with them. The weakest element of Passenger is the look of the couple. Jacob Scipio and Lou Llobell give good performances and they are credible as a couple. The trouble is that they don’t look like people who would choose to sell their possessions and live in a van. That nomadic lifestyle necessitates frugalness and ruggedness and a countercultural attitude. Scipio and Llobell look too affluent and clean cut. Their hygiene is perfect, they are dressed well, and their affect is of a yuppie couple on vacation rather than people who have walked away from conventional domestic life.
Bottom Line: Passenger is an effective horror movie. The filmmakers intend to tell us a campfire story and they do exactly that with an impressive level of craftsmanship that makes for a good fun scare.
Episode: #1101 (May 31, 2026)