Passenger (2026) Review – Painfully Generic Road Trip Disappointment
Passenger: Quick Verdict
The TL;DR: Passenger (2026) is a painfully generic and seriously uninspired Hollywood-style horror disappointment from director André Øvredal. Despite a really promising, atypical van setting that hints at a mix of Troll Hunter’s outdoor scale and The Autopsy of Jane Doe’s claustrophobia, the film squanders its potential entirely. Instead of clever roadside terrors, Øvredal delivers a lazy, derivative demonic haunting that relies on predictable jump scares and recycled clichés. The script features some horrendous dialogue, and the established rules of the haunting are frustratingly ignored for the sake of convenience. While it boasts solid acting and a few visually impressive concepts in the final act, the movie remains a dull, middle-of-the-road affair that is best left until it hits a free streaming service.
Details: Director: André Øvredal | Cast: Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell | Runtime: 94 Minutes | Release Date: May 22nd 2026 | Where to Watch: Recent Cinema Run / Heading to VOD
Best For: Highly casual horror viewers or non-genre fans looking for an undemanding, visually clean thriller that requires very little intellectual heavy lifting.
Worth Noting: The movie attempts to weave elements of “Hobo Code” into the haunting meta. Rather than serving as a compelling and well integrated plot mechanism, it plays out like an superficial side quest designed to cash in on a trendy online topic.
Did You Know: André Øvredal is highly revered by horror purists for his previous genre entries, particularly his masterfully tense chamber piece The Autopsy of Jane Doe and his iconic found-footage hit Troll Hunter.
Is It Scary: Not for seasoned fans. The scares are strictly of the paint-by-numbers, predictable variety. While the fantastic lighting and slick shot choices provide a great foundation for terror, the constant reliance on cheap, visible jump scares and loud noises mutes any genuine tension.
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
(A beautifully shot but remarkably unoriginal road-trip haunting that opts for the path of least resistance at every single turn.)
Welcome to Knockout Horror and to our review of André Øvredal’s latest horror movie Passenger (2026). This film just finished its cinema run and should be heading to VOD any day. I’m going to suggest you just sit on your hands and wait until it is free to watch on your favourite streaming service. Let’s look at why.
Oh, before we start, if you are looking for answers for this film, why not check out our Passenger ending explained article? It’s ND friendly and designed for busy minds but keep in mind that it does contain spoilers, unlike this review.
Table of Contents
I Was Quite Excited for Passenger
Honestly, I’m a pretty big fan of André Øvredal’s previous work. Troll Hunter is one of the best found footage movies of the 2010s, The Autopsy of Jane Doe is a terrifying chamber piece that I have gone back to rewatch numerous times, and even Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a strong offering for some PG-13 horror thrills.
“My mind was tantalised imagining a combination of Troll Hunter’s outdoor excitement and The Autopsy of Jane Doe’s claustrophobic frights.”
Needless to say, I was quite excited when I first heard about his latest effort, Passenger. The story follows van-lifing couple Tyler (Jacob Scipio) and Maddie (Lou Llobell). After trading in the hustle and bustle of the big city for life on the road, the pair witness a brutal car accident. As the days pass by, it quickly becomes clear that they took something more than just bad memories from the crash as something appears to be following their every move.
It sounds like a pretty interesting plot, right? I’m a big fan of atypical settings for horror and there’s little more atypical than the confines of a van that’s been turned into a home for a loving couple. I was incredibly eager to see what Øvredal would cook up when it came to frights on the road.
My mind was tantalised imagining a combination of Troll Hunter’s outdoor excitement and The Autopsy of Jane Doe’s claustrophobic frights. There’s so much to work with and it seemed like Passenger had the perfect director to make it happen.
Unfortunately, my excitement was misplaced
It really pains me to say it but Passenger is one of the most generic and uninspired horror movies I have watched this year. It is painfully unoriginal, lacking in decent scares, and remarkably derivative. Releasing alongside absolute bangers like Obsession and Backrooms, it only becomes more apparent how dull it is.
In fact, to be brutally honest, my expectations were so high for this film that I am really having to dial them back in so I am not overly unkind to it. I expected so much more from Øvredal. Let’s start from the top. The plot is promising but the atypical van location adds virtually nothing to the film. It really just acts as a carrier for a basic demonic haunting story.
Sure, Maddie and Tyler are on the road the entire film but it’s not something that is used to its full potential. We aren’t visiting any particularly noteworthy locations, the confined nature of the van doesn’t lead to any effective scares, and the fact that the presence that is haunting the couple has to, essentially, travel with them makes the story feel convoluted and a bit ridiculous.
The script isn’t great; there’s a few pieces of dialogue that are actually pretty horrendous, in fact. The characters aren’t particularly interesting, or relatable, and some of the folks the couple encounter on the road feel like they are ripped right out of an 80s Stephen King novel. All of this wouldn’t be a huge problem if the scares worked but they really don’t.
Jump scares, generic horror, and clichés
Øvredal has always enjoyed a good jump scare when it comes to his horror movies but they are usually well placed and rather cleverly done. That’s not the case with Passenger. The scares here are of the most generic and Hollywood Horror variety that you could possibly imagine.
“Setting it in a different location adds absolutely nothing. It’s just a rinse and repeat demonic haunting.”
It’s jump scare after jump scare and each one is more predictable than the last. You will easily see them coming which mutes their effectiveness in a massive way. It’s a shame because some of the visuals, lighting, and shot choices are pretty fantastic and the potential for some truly scary moments is there but Øvredal opts for the path of least resistance time and again.
Passenger suffers from being incredibly clichéd, too. The story has been done to death and the typical story beats you would expect from this formula are recycled repeatedly. Setting it in a different location adds absolutely nothing. It’s just a rinse and repeat demonic haunting.
There’s some integration of Hobo Code here and there, which is quite interesting, but it’s also very clearly an attempt to cash in on a pretty trendy topic in the internet community, at the moment. Again, it doesn’t feel like a fully formed idea that actually plays a big part in the story. It’s more just a side quest.
On the plus side
The really annoying thing is that there are some interesting ideas at play, here. Rules are established early on that would actually require some clever storytelling to get around but they are just ignored and pushed to one side. Characters aren’t supposed to drive at night? Great, let’s just have them drive at night the entire time instead of finding a compelling narrative twist that gets around that.
“Passenger is generic, clichéd, and difficult to recommend for anyone other than the most easily pleased of genre fans.”
There are a few positives. Acting is solid, the movie looks great, and I think the jump scares may get some viewers on a couple of occasions. It’s so generic that certain people are going to find it quite enjoyable purely because of how undemanding it is. Non-horror fans will likely find it quite easy to enjoy because they won’t be so overexposed to the clichés.
The final twenty minutes of the film do have a few strong points. There’s a great setup using a projector that works really well and a trip into a seeming alternate dimension hints at what this movie could have been. It’s all a bit too little, too late, though. Passenger is generic, clichéd, and difficult to recommend for anyone other than the most easily pleased of genre fans.
The Good
- Fantastic Visual Aesthetic: The movie looks absolutely great, boasting excellent lighting choices and polished cinematography that hint at Øvredal’s undeniable talent.
- Solid Lead Performances: Jacob Scipio and Lou Llobell do a perfectly fine job with the material, keeping the characters watchable despite the weak script.
- Strong Final Sequence: The final twenty minutes offer a glimpse of what could have been, introducing an excellent projector setup and a creative trip into an alternate dimension.
- Highly Undemanding Watch: The generic nature of the production makes it incredibly accessible for non-horror fans who are not overexposed to the genre’s standard tropes.
The Bad
- Painfully Predictable Scares: Rather than crafting clever, atmospheric frights, the film defaults to cheap, repetitive Hollywood jump scares that you can see coming a mile away.
- Wasted Premise Potential: The atypical van-life setting acts as a mere container for a basic story, failing to create any claustrophobic tension or memorable roadside locations.
- Horrendous Script Execution: The narrative suffers from terrible pieces of dialogue and thin characters, alongside supporting figures that feel lazily ripped out of an old Stephen King book.
- Lazy Lore Rules: Intriguing supernatural constraints established early in the script are completely ignored and cast aside to suit basic convenience.
The Ugly: The total lack of structural innovation. Releasing a dead-ordinary, rinse-and-repeat demonic haunting alongside modern genre powerhouses like Obsession and Backrooms makes the derivative, lazy formula feel infinitely more uninspired.
Should You Watch Passenger?
You should sit on your hands and wait until this one drives onto your favourite streaming platform. While it is always exciting to see André Øvredal step back into the director’s chair, Passenger simply lacks the teeth, original ideas, or genuine scares to justify a premium VOD rental or a trip to the cinema. It is a technically well-made piece that will likely satisfy casual viewers on a boring Sunday night, but hardcore genre purists looking for actual nightmare fuel will find it remarkably dull. Save your money for the real bangers. Why not go and watch Obsession again?
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Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.
A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.
