Passenger Review: Clever, Scary Touches Elevate An Otherwise By-The-Numbers Horror Movie

When it comes to making good horror movies, the best advice is to actually be scary. Films are always at risk of being bogged down with overcomplicated lore or getting distracted with unnecessarily combative relationships, but the jumpy nature of this genre makes it so that a lean presentation and tight execution can go a long way. Even if the basic story isn’t anything audiences haven’t seen before, the effectiveness of the creeps, jolts, and dread can determine whether it stands out or gets lost in the shuffle.

Take Passenger, a horror movie that keeps its focus tight enough to be entertaining even while using a lot of tricks any horror fan will be familiar with. While it never necessarily breaks free of the tropes that define the genre, and its overreliance on jump scares gradually becomes exhausting, the effectiveness of the staging and the strength of the performances ensure it delivers a scary story. It won’t change the game, but Passenger does enough good work with familiar tools to be enjoyable.

Passenger’s Story Is Well Told, But Painfully Familiar

Passenger‘s technical strengths elevate it beyond its conventional nature. It’s almost entirely rooted in Jacob Scipio and Lou Llobell’s Tyler and Maddie, a couple who have decided to follow the farmer’s dream and drive across the country in a sleeper van. During their trek, however, the pair stops to try and help a man in a crashed car. Unfortunately, this opens them up to being targeted by the “Passenger,” a mysterious and foreboding demonic figure who intends to kill them – but only after he’s done milking their fear for all it’s worth.

The script by Zachary Donohue and T.W. Burgess pulls from religious imagery and uses it as inspiration for its lore in ways that feel like a streamlined Conjuring spin-off. To the screenplay’s credit, though, there is a certain bluntness to the enterprise that keeps the movie focused on our central pair, rather than diving into some byzantine mythology. The Passenger is a demon, and it wants to have fun killing people; that’s all you need to know. The film stays centered on the actual events instead of getting lost in the weeds, which is a necessary attribute for such a lean movie.

While the Passenger himself is a fairly one-note threat, the actual scares surrounding Tyler and Maddie are bolstered by some clever tricks, courtesy of director André Øvredal. His experience in the genre is clear in his mastery of form, which elevates Passenger​​​​​​. Given a simple narrative and straightforward cast, Øvredal and his team find room to play in this familiar sandbox.

For example, while there are a lot of jump scares, many of them prove effective – and one particularly good use of a digital projector stands out as a clever means of inducing dread in the audience. It’s a solid bit of filmmaking that speaks to the underlying appeal of this movie. Sometimes, there’s something to be said for solid execution of craft that doesn’t aim for reinvention.

Passenger Is Just Clever Enough To Be Entertaining

Passenger is also made more engaging by the central performances of Scipio and Llobell. As a newly engaged couple who find their first real test to be a particularly nasty one, Tyler and Maddie are supportive enough of each other to avoid many of the pitfalls that movies like this can manufacture for the sake of additional drama.

While there is a good thematic undercurrent about relationships, it’s far from the film’s central focus, and these two stars do a good job of keeping two potentially tiring characters engaging. They find just the right level of grounded reaction and dogged endurance to make for good horror movie protagonists, and they adjust well to the quick scares, maintaining just enough charm to keep from losing the audience.

Passenger lacks the kind of ambitious thematic approach or emotional depth that elevates the best horror movies, falling into typical impulses of the genre. But there’s nothing wrong with being a well-constructed horror movie that doesn’t want to waste time with slow-burning monsters. It won’t be much of a surprise, especially for fans of the genre – but it’s not hard to recommend regardless.

Passenger releases in theaters on Friday, May 22.

Passenger

7/10

Release Date

May 22, 2026

Runtime

94 minutes

Director

André Øvredal

Writers

Zachary Donohue, T. W. Burgess