By KEN MICHAELS
Starring Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell and Melissa Leo
Directed by André Øvredal
Written by Zachary Donohue and T.W. Burgess
Paramount
PASSENGER is an example of how conventional material can be enlivened by a fresh shift in emphasis and a solid scare craftsman at the helm. Director André Øvredal, one of our most dependable modern genre filmmakers, brings real flair to several individual scenes here, even if the storyline could have stood to take the road less traveled.
This is essentially a cross-country frightfest in the tradition of THE HITCHER, JOY RIDE and others, combined with the now familiar scenario of protagonists afflicted by a clingy spectre they just can’t get rid of. After a nighttime, middle-of-nowhere prologue with a great jump-scare punchline (albeit one that’s been spoiled by the trailers), we join young couple Tyler (Jacob Scipio) and Maddie (Lou Llobell) as they abandon their Brooklyn apartment and set out in a passenger van tricked out with all the comforts of home, plus on-board cameras that will be handy for scary reveals later. Rather than following them down lonely back roads like many similar films past, the script by Zachary Donohue and T.W. Burgess takes the fresher approach of Tyler and Maddie adopting the VanLife style, parking overnight on suburban streets and shopping mall lots. (That makes this the first horror movie to apparently take inspiration from the Oscar-winning NOMADLAND.)
Somewhere between Chimney Rock, NC and Gatlinburg, TN, they encounter the car and driver speeding from that opening scene, witness it crashing and make the mistake of stopping to help. (Another small, appreciated variation on tradition: Tyler’s cell phone actually works and the cops actually arrive when he calls them.) That makes them the initially unwitting and very unwilling new hosts of the Passenger (Joseph Lopez), a decrepit ghost who plagues Tyler and Maddie in increasingly violent ways no matter where they go. Maddie finds clues about the Passenger’s nature and m.o. in on-line discussions of the Hobo Code, though as always in this kind of screen story, there’s an older person who must be consulted for the full skinny. This is the first example, though, in which that character is a nomad (Melissa Leo) the couple encounter in an itinerant community, cheekily named Burning Van.
Øvredal builds an overall sense of creeping tension through the first half of PASSENGER, and stages a few terrific setpieces. The very best is a perfect example of a simple concept carried out to spine-tingling perfection, set in a late-night parking lot. The other, once again, puts an original spin on a standard sequence, that of someone shining a light into dark woods to try to spot what’s making those strange noises. Scipio and Llobell are both likable presences with believable chemistry that makes you root for them to survive and find a way to defeat the supernatural presence haunting them.
The narrative ride gets bumpy the longer PASSENGER drives on, though. There are some questionable decisions made by the couple, and the rules behind the Passenger and his actions become increasingly muddled. Little moments here and there don’t make sense, and raise doubts in the viewer’s mind just when the movie should really be tightening the screws. The main issue, though, is that for the devilish details, the basic beats of the story remain familiar, and there’s a feeling of inevitability as much as suspense as it wends its way toward its final destination. This is definitely one trip where the stops along the way, rather than the overall drive, are the best parts.
