Film Review: PASSENGER (2026): A Horror Film That Takes a Wrong Turn and Never Gets Back on the Road

Passenger Review

Passenger (2026) Film Review, a movie directed by André Øvredal, written by  Zachary Donohue and T.W. Burgess and starring Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, Melissa Leo, Joseph Lopez, Miles Fowler, Alan Trong, Devielle Johnson, James William Clark, Tony Doupe, Charles Leggett, June Clemons, Bonni Dichone, Joey Freitas, Michael Hilow, Norman Lesperance, Brett Bedrosian and Jessica Cruz.

André Øvredal’s dismal new horror film, Passenger, was probably influenced by awesome and terrifying horror films like the original Jeepers Creepers, The Hitcher and Joy Ride. There’s a striking and fascinating way that Passenger creates interest in an opening scene where two ordinary guys in a car on the road run into a demonic figure. One of them goes to pee and soon hears the car horn going off and the hood of the car is lifted which begs the question of what happened to the other guy. This scene ultimately becomes frustrating, though, and the rest of the film follows suit, failing to capitalize on the success of the aforementioned movies’ thrills and chills.

Whenever one is on a highway or a creepy road late at night, there’s plenty to be scared about and this movie knows that. After the opening sequence, what the movie doesn’t know is how to maintain interest with anything resembling a coherent plot. Lesser known stars, Jacob Scipio and Lou Llobell, are featured in Passenger and prove that it’s a bad time in Hollywood to find A-list leads for a low-budget horror movie such as this one. Maybe higher profile actors read the script and were mortified at the story’s lack of coherency and over reliance on forced jump scares.

That’s not to say Llobell is not interesting in her role as Maddie Brecker. In fact, even Scipio is intriguing enough as her would-be husband, Tyler Genocchio. They create a memorable on-screen dynamic as they end up on the run from a Dennis Hopper-type baddie known as “the Passenger;” hence the film’s title. Joseph Lopez plays the Passenger and he pops up from time to time to stir up scares when things get slow. If only his character’s backstory wasn’t so lame and unconvincing.

Melissa Leo is dragged into this mess as Diana Larson, an older character who serves as passenger bait and is a know-it-all Sam Loomis type who may hold the secret to stopping the evil demonic passenger played by Lopez. Much of Passenger unfolds in a dull way that doesn’t maintain audience interest. Apparently, the passenger can make people see things that aren’t there such as dead bodies covered in sheets that our heroes must drive over in one of the more uglier scenes in the film. Leo isn’t bad in her role, but her character is a stock character who doesn’t blend into the movie as well as she could have.

This film’s director has made a decent movie or two. The Last Voyage of the Demeter comes to mind. That film was smart and had memorable characters. Passenger feels like a straight to streaming movie with ordinary stars who are just there in order to make a few jump scares happen. As the passenger pops up in the main couple’s truck, it’s not clear if he’s real or not, but the film doesn’t care. It toys with the movie-goer. It fails to offer satisfying explanations as to what this passenger really is – a visible monster of a person or simply a vicious spirit?  

It all ends up in a church that lights up on fire and wouldn’t you know that a key character who disappears will turn up to rescue the other one just in the nick of time? Passenger plays with the soundtrack and tries to be clever with a tune or two that fits the bill for this film, but as far as the movie’s plot is concerned, the picture takes a wrong turn early on and never gets back on the road to success.

Passenger has a few scenes that will intrigue viewers. Tyler Genocchio and Lou Llobell stir up as much romantic chemistry as they can in a plot full of tension that doesn’t allow much time for character development. Melissa Leo’s role needed to be developed more any way you slice it, however. If she was one of the primary characters in the movie instead of a supporting one, there might have been more to build on, especially given Leo’s history of being an accomplished award-winning actress.

The Hitcher, Jeepers Creepers and Joy Ride all offered better variations on an evil road figure from hell than Passenger does. What Passenger really needed was more character development of its evil demonic psychopath. Lopez cannot overcome a weak script no matter how creepy he is in the central part. Don’t ride the roads Passenger takes because there are better horror films than this one. Try visiting Jeepers Creepers to see how movies like this should be done. Quite simply, Passenger ultimately disappoints.

Rating: 4.5/10

Leave your thoughts on this Passenger review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Mobile App, Google News, Apple News, Feedly, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit, Telegram, Mastodon, Flipboard, Bluesky, and Threads.