Passenger is a roadtrip with too many brake checks
To stand out in the endless pouring of horror in May continues to prove difficult. Word of mouth stunners like Obsession and the incoming Backrooms are spotlight stealers, burning bright as the usual summer blockbusters await their turn in taking each precious slot at theaters, but proving that the recent track record of horror films with original ideas can continue to prove their well deserved applause for becoming more than “boring slashers.”
Unfortunately, Passenger must fall victim to joining the less exciting side of horror. Filled with stereotypical scares, tropes and - at times - frustrating character choices that can bother even the average viewer enough to point at the screen in confusion.
Watching the trailer ensures you’re missing nothing here, though it does allow the tone to be set clearly; some quick humor that works well in the movie’s favor as Lucas (Miles Fowler) admits defeat in needing to use the bathroom, forcing Daniel (Alan Trong) to pull over while the two friends embark on a roadtrip.
Image Credit: Miles Fowler as Daniel. Passenger (2026)
The audience quickly realizes that there are no intentions in staying with these two. After he returns to the now empty car to find the horn blaring, creaking in every direction of the encompassing forest, Daniel soon is hit with reality as Lucas’s body is thrust through the windshield before being killed. It’s a more than decent scare, building on itself with eerie silence, allowing you to suffer in wait. The movie’s primary saving grace belongs to these moments - but does not extend far beyond them.
In a series of looping shots, nearly mirroring that of a first person POV, we sit in fear with our characters as they take their turns driving through panic, confusion and outright terror down the “roads” that blend into one another; making you value the more interesting sequences even more as the story runs dry.
The two true leads of the film, played by Lou Llobell and Jacob Scipio, deliver more than believable performances. With Llobell selling herself as the frightened half of the pair as they soon encounter the entity haunting our cast themselves. The titular demon, the Passenger, proves to be more of a bore as his lore is diluted down to an ancient demon who enjoys taunting roadside victims for breaking his “rules”. His design resembles that of a standard horror monster - offering nothing exciting - however his methods of torture do offer some spectacular scares.
Image: Lou Llobell as Maddy
The Passenger suffers from more than a malevolent being hunting travelers; it becomes tainted from the wrath of a being that not even the movie is sure what to do with. It is far from the first movie to be about roadside terrors, human or demonic, yet it feels so apart from its predecessors when it's time to digest its lore. It unravels itself later in a more stereotypical final act, bringing the leading couple to a church that we’re told a previous victim of the Passenger found refuge in. In what should be an interesting addition of heavier religious imagery, having already been mentioned, instead culminates in a final girl showdown inside of the church.
It's slowly pulled apart, burning its bridges each time it ramps up the audience with plenty of actually fantastic sequences that make you grip your own seat in panic.The use of lighting in multiple scenes as the demon closes in on the couple, combined with an intriguing use of sound design and camerawork do wonders in making you realize you’re becoming bored otherwise; always waiting for the next moment of excitement yet counting down the moments until it ends.
