'Passenger' Review: A Road Trip From Hell
- Jun 2
- 3 min read
By Shauna Bushe - June 2, 2026
The open road has long been celebrated as the ultimate canvas for American freedom, but in the realm of horror, a stretch of asphalt is merely a conveyor belt of fresh victims. Passenger (2026) aims to transform the romanticized allure of modern "van life" into a relentless, claustrophobic nightmare. While it functions well as a slick, high-tension road movie, it frequently struggles to balance its atmospheric supernatural dread with an overly heavy-handed moral subtext.
What is 'Passenger' about?
The story follows Maddie (Lou Llobell) and Tyler (Jacob Scipio), a young couple who have traded their static city existence for a nomadic life on the highway. Six weeks into their venture, Tyler proposes, seemingly sealing their shared future. However, their scenic journey takes a horrific turn when they witness a brutal car crash on a dark, isolated road. Attempting to rescue the trapped driver, they unintentionally expose themselves to a malicious supernatural entity who is known among transient communities as "The Passenger”. This demonic stalker marks its targets with distinct, claw-like scratches on their vehicles and operates under a terrifyingly simple set of rules: don’t drive at night, and don’t stop moving. As the demon begins infiltrating their mirrors, shifting their perception of time, and mimicking their physical forms, Maddie and Tyler are forced into a desperate race toward Flagstaff. Guided by a seasoned road veteran named Diana, they seek a legendary, abandoned desert church to confront the entity before it claims their lives.
Director André Øvredal has built a reputable career on grounding the supernatural in highly textured, tactile realities. Audiences know him for the found-footage charm of Trollhunter, the suffocating tension of The Autopsy of Jane Doe, and the sweeping, old-school scares of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. In Passenger, Øvredal applies his trademark atmospheric focus to the open highway. Instead of relying entirely on cheap jump scares, he builds early tension through the clever use of space and reflection. The claustrophobia of the couple’s camper van acts as a traveling haunted house, where danger is caught in the split-second glare of a rear-view mirror or the sweep of headlights against the treeline. Unfortunately, Øvredal’s stylistic flair frequently clashes with a derivative script. As the film progresses, his subtle tension-building gives way to overt homages to classic horror cinema, ultimately collapsing into a chaotic, action-heavy final showdown that feels more like a video game boss fight than a psychological thriller.
The emotional weight of the film rests squarely on the shoulders of Lou Llobell (Maddie) and Jacob Scipio (Tyler). Llobell and Scipio share a believable, down-to-earth chemistry that keeps the film anchored even when the plot logic begins to fray. Tyler’s character is driven by a restless urge to keep moving; a by-product of an abusive childhood. While Maddie secretly longs for the stability of a traditional home. This friction adds a genuine layer of relationship drama to the first half of the film. Refreshingly, the script avoids the tired horror trope of the sceptical partner; Tyler believes Maddie’s visions almost immediately, allowing them to fight the entity as a unified front. Melissa Leo delivers a memorable, albeit brief, performance as Diana, injecting the film with a weary, cynical wisdom. Her delivery of the film’s central warning; "People don't take trips. Trips take people", provides a chilling mid-movie highlight before her character is abruptly side-lined.
What separates Passenger from a standard hitchhiker drama is its explicit reliance on religious lore. The film heavily introduces the mythology of Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travellers. Maddie and Tyler stock up on Saint Christopher medals like makeshift crucifixes, and their ultimate sanctuary is a crumbling desert church built around a massive stone statue of the martyr. The Subtextual Lesson: The Passenger manoeuvres as a conservative cautionary tale. The entity thrives on the vulnerability of those who isolate themselves from society. By punishing those who adopt the transient "van life" and rewarding the couple's ultimate desire to settle down, the narrative positions traditional roots and permanent community as the ultimate spiritual shield against worldly evils.
Lastly, Passenger is a beautifully shot, well-acted horror film that ultimately drives in circles. André Øvredal successfully crafts a moody, tense road trip during the film's first two acts, elevated by the strong screen presence of Lou Llobell and Jacob Scipio. However, the film's arbitrary supernatural rules, heavy-handed subtext, and a ridiculous, CGI-laden finale prevent it from reaching the heights of the director's previous masterpieces. It's a decent ride for horror enthusiasts looking for slick cinematography, but don't expect it to stay with you long after the road ends.
'Passenger' hit cinema screens on May 22, 2026.
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