Passenger review: Van life horror gets a flat
‘Passenger’ creates new fears on the open road as a couple is tormented by a malevolent highway demon that preys on naïve drivers.
Many people prefer driving over other modes of transportation. Whether it’s a fear of flying or a desire to take in the sights, taking a car to a distant destination has its appeal. But when something is popular, it tends to also act as the basis for scary stories. Hitchhiking is a frequent source of horror, whether you’ve got your thumb out or hands on the wheel. Similarly, unchecked backseats may be concealing cause for alarm. Passenger introduces some new rules for the road warriors amongst its viewers, making common practices faux pas.
Tyler (Jacob Scipio) dreams of life on the open road and Maddie (Lou Llobell) is willing to give it a try. They retrofit a van to be their living quarters and set out on a months long adventure. Six weeks in, they experience a horror. Another driver honks aggressively while passing them in the night, only to crash into a tree shortly after. They stop and call for help, but the experience leaves Maddie feeling uneasy. She notices unusual scratches on the vehicle and sees a strange man near the accident. Now, the Highwayman (Joseph Lopez) is stalking them, scaring them and, eventually, he’ll kill them.
Many people spend significant portions of their lives in motor vehicles, whether for leisure or business. Therefore, it’s not surprising that so many urban legends and horror stories involve driving. This film centres on the lore of the Highwayman, who latches onto victims before gruesomely killing them. Veteran travellers know the rules: stay off quiet roads, don’t drive at night and never stop. It’s basically the antithesis of how most recreational drivers approach long trips — and why the Highwayman is never short of victims.
Where director André Øvredal’s previous films were slightly more subtle and nuanced, this movie is standard horror fare. It opens with a grisly attack, while only providing a peek of the supernatural perpetrator. After introducing audiences to the happy couple and overcoming a few road trip hiccups, the terror really begins. The Highwayman revels in stalking Maddie before launching a full-blown attack on the pair. There’s an atmosphere of anticipation and an excellent use of sound to keep viewers on edge. The spirit enjoys announcing his presence through footsteps from an undetermined direction.
But in the end, it’s not a very memorable horror picture. Even the lore, which is extrapolated from an obscure bit of an existing legend, feels ill-conceived. Following a few breadcrumbs, it’s almost shoehorned into the last act. Maddie discovers early on they’ve already broken the rules, making them the Highwayman’s next victims. Then, suddenly, there’s a solution to their problem that they come across in the most impossible way. It’s the weakest part of the film.
Nonetheless, it does provide a brief yet interesting glimpse into van life. The counter culture provides an uncommon foundation for the narrative. It’s the one element that creates some distinction from similar stories.
Director: André Øvredal
Starring: Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell and Melissa Leo
