I Know Why Nobody's Talking About Passenger .... | Spoiler Free Review

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]Hello friends. Do you guys want to see the scariest movie that Andre Oddell has ever made? Well, I do. Andre Odell is known for Troll Hunter, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, which a lot of people do find scary, The Voyage of the Last Demeter, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and the list goes on and on. But this week, they have released Passengers, and they're calling it their scariest movie to date. And a lot of people who saw the trailer, which I did not watch. I'm going in pretty blind today, which I'm really excited about. But a lot of people said it was terrifying. I saw that response, but I also saw that this film was really drummed up by some early marketing. Don't drive at night.com was the website that you could go to and try and unravel the mystery behind this film. They also were putting these little flyers on cars, so they're really drumming up some excitement. And then obsession hit. And a lot of people have been talking about Obsession non-stop.

[00:00:53]And I do not blame you. I have been one of those people. I have been talking about it since last year. and I'm so glad to hear so many of you also enjoyed it. So, I feel like Passenger is kind of left in the shadows at the moment, even though this is the release week for it.

[00:01:07]And not knowing much about it is what really makes me so excited for this mystery project for me because I have no expectations. What I do know about it is its simple premise. It's about a couple who are on a van life adventure and they witness a horrific accident that causes them to be stalked. I'm going to get to the bottom of Passenger today. Let you know whether it is scary and worth your time. Let's go to the cinema and let's see if this truly is the scariest of his films. I want to be scared. Let's hopefully get scared together. Let's go.

[00:02:03]Hey, hey, hey.

[00:02:24]So weird. I just got back to my car and there's three giant scratches on the back.

[00:02:32]Guys, you can tell when I am putting it off.

[00:02:37]Not great. Not great. Oh, I wanted to like it so bad.

[00:02:43]Ah, okay. I'm going to be able to talk about this one in a way that you'll know if it works for you, though. There was just so many elements in it that really annoyed me. Such a bummer. But I also do want to say thank you so much to Ray who came and said hello to me in uh the cinema. So fun when you uh go to a 10:00 showing on a weekday and someone else is there who also loves horror. And it was just really nice to meet you. Oh my god.

[00:03:08]I I was really actually happy to see so many people in the cinema for uh this release and now I kind of know why it has gone so silent which is really weird because there was some drum up marketing beforehand. But this film is about a couple who are on a van life journey and just as the blur says they are driving at night and they see something strange stopping on the side of the road. They have no idea what they're letting in.

[00:03:37]So, this does not look like any of this director's prior work, who is known for very specific stylization, but also like quite a soft and polished approach. I'm not going to pick too much on the cinematography, but I will say it is quite a flat film, although very dark. I just didn't feel like it had that same attention to detail in the way it looks.

[00:03:57]It's not a beautiful film and that shouldn't be, you know, the first factor in watching a horror movie, but it really did take me out of it because the film's pacing and the rhythm to it is really blah, it really takes its time building up these characters, their backstory, and their relationship, which is fine, and I'm glad that you get to learn the motives, their fears, a lot about their personality. It makes it better when you're watching a horror movie and you actually care about the characters. But I feel like the relationship and everything they're going through with this journey becomes more of a metaphor for when the horror kicks in because anything that happens with the horror, it seems to cut up these drama aspects between them. And so sometimes I was wondering if it is a literal or I guess not a literal but a metaphor for relationship issues they have. For part of it, I wondered if it was going there because it would drop straight out of anything horrific in which it starts with it starts with a bang. There's a lot of gore up front. It starts scary and I thought it was going to continue on that path, but unfortunately it breaks it up with these drama and this character building that doesn't quite mesh with the story and the atmosphere it's going for. So, the film of course like you've seen any like just the poster alone is dark night driving. I love the idea of this is a horror that is situational horror you know van life but also driving road trips things that people can't ignore.

[00:05:22]It's kind of like Final Destination where they have these mundane activities that you can't ignore and you put a spin on fears people already have like roller coasters, like planes, like driving, cross country, things you see in the night and you can't avoid travel. A lot of people can't avoid travel and transport. So, I liked that idea, but it feels like it doesn't work with that at all or it doesn't play into any niches that would scare audiences. It seems very particular to these people. And in saying that, it is not a journey where you start at night and the film is just one continuous night that gets worse and worse and you know the tensions build.

[00:05:58]This is over several weeks and it kind of cuts around uh focusing on certain elements. So I just feel like the tension was lost with that alone, let alone adding in a lot of drama, a lot of personal drama, which isn't a problem, but it just didn't flow with the uh themes of the actual horror in this film. Obviously, I'm going to keep that quite open for you guys to explore, but The Entity did not work for me. I would say if you like Insidious and Conjuring, that's the kind of thing, and I do like some of those films, but it wasn't something I hadn't seen before. It didn't feel like anything new. It felt like, you know, reheating some nachos slightly, uh, and just in a new place, in a new setting with the idea of a passenger, aka a road trip instead, although it doesn't fully delve into that. There's also very pointed uh motivations in this film uh linked back to the entity. It's very well explained, so don't worry about that. You won't be walking away from this film feeling ambiguous at all. It's very exact with what it's trying to do, and it does have a certain agenda, which I don't mind.

[00:07:00]Not really my kind of thing. I don't mind. Uh but I did think it was very direct. Also, with the entity, even though things are well explained, it feels like it moves the goalpost. Things chop and change. And because the tension isn't building and it's jumping around quite a bit, it feels like it just goes one to 100 and then back to one again.

[00:07:19]So again, loses the steam as it travels, as the journey on the road uh keeps going. Actually, there's not a lot a lot of driving. I really thought this was all going to take place like one night uh and you know, build that kind of tension. And it's not a problem. It's not. It just feels like it loses a lot of steam. Another reason for that, a concrete reason, is the sound. The sound at the start is so good in this film.

[00:07:42]The opening scene I think was my favorite part of the whole film. Uh, and they really do utilize the, you know, being alone and the silence, uh, sounds of horns, annoying sounds that when it's too long, you know something's wrong.

[00:07:56]It's kind of like the gift of fear, and I loved that. Uh, but as the film goes on, they introduce a lot of really random just songs. Uh, and the idea of going into danger or into a scary part of the film and having like a rock song in the background, I get it. It's meant to be like kind of kick-ass and they do have a lot of really cool oneliners in this film that I think are quite clever.

[00:08:20]But I feel like because of that, it changes the tone and it just doesn't work as something that you should be laughing at and completely terrified at the same time. And it tries to kind of go in and out of that and it just for me it does not work. I feel like the identity of this film is just so muddled and there is something there. The lead actress does tremendous with what she has to work with. There is something there. I really just feel like the editing and pacing is completely off and their focus should have been more on the idea that ties in the audience's fears with what is happening. And there's just so much going on with the drama elements, these side plots, and then trying to figure out the entity that you kind of lose focus on the horror itself.

[00:09:04]There's also a lot of times where people have reactions after something really horrific has just happened and they're kind of like laughing or they have one of those oneliners. And that's the thing, it just doesn't feel serious or realistic. Not that it should be realistic, but realistic in a way that you're meant to be really sucked in and immersed in the film because even the characters themselves don't feel immersed in what's happening to them. I will say the gore moments did take me by surprise that they did quite well, but there's only a couple of them. And it seems so strange to have really gory moments, but then not have that as a continuous theme or attribute to the film because you get that high high rating and then you're not going to fully go for it. Like just fully go for it. Uh and then I guess in terms of gore, we have to talk about scare. And yeah, some of the jump scares got me, but as much as they're going to get you in a dark cinema. I like being jump scared. I try to be jump scared. I like jump scares in the right place. And this is definitely a film where you know it's going to come up. Driving at night. Um that kind of idea and this entity kind of stalking them. That makes sense. But it is jump scare written. Like that's the whole point. It was onbeat. It was on quue. And I was waiting for it each time. Some of the times were scary. But I will say the look and the horror aspect just not for me. nothing I haven't seen even recently. I also think it's important to say for your personal horror taste. If you like films that reveal entities, then you may be into this. Uh it doesn't keep a lot of mystery undertoe. Like I said, it does explain a lot, which is a good thing, but I feel like it may reveal its cards too early, which means it has to kind of throw in some other wrenches or some other aspects in to drum up some excitement. And for me that felt like the tempo kept changing. All the ideas and the lore around it kept twisting and they were adding not adding things but just adding a lot to create tension instead of slowly trickling it in and really working on the build. They decided to throw a lot uh in at the exact same time and so it just felt like it went zero to 100 constantly. But in saying that, if you do want to see a film that is just, you know, straight up a kind of like drama horror about a relationship on the road and something really creepy happening in the background, yeah, this one's your thing.

[00:11:23]It's got some cool moments. It does have some really cool gore moments that I just wish they harped a little bit further on, some really cool aspects or some setup scenes in particular. And sometimes it feels like they were trying to thread together all of these interesting moments and make a story line out of it, but it doesn't flow. It kind of jolts up and down. So, I don't know. I feel like the marketing may have been creepier than the movie itself. Ah, I'm so sad about this. It really doesn't seem like it's the same director's work.

[00:11:51]It doesn't look like anything he's done.

[00:11:53]It doesn't feel like anything he's done.

[00:11:54]I'm not sure if it was a script he read or how this happened, but it just didn't seem like, especially after the autopsy of Jane Doe, which people love that movie. It doesn't seem like a flow on like his next big film. It doesn't make much sense to me. So, something happened there and something happened in the edit. I just it feels like a like a second draft. Harsh words, I know, very harsh, but that's my honest opinion.

[00:12:17]Overall, the editing, the jumping around, focusing so much on the relationship that the horror takes a backseat and then the horror comes to the front and you're like, is this even real? Is is this just a metaphor for what's happening in their relationship?

[00:12:28]I wouldn't say any of it's confusing. It just really didn't grab me. It didn't take me on its journey, and it wasn't believable at all. Not that I think supernatural horror movies are believable, but I want to be sucked in and I'm waiting. You know, I'm I'm open to being sucked in and this one didn't do it for me. I'm going between a five and a six for this film. I was really hoping that I was going to give you an annoying seven as I normally do, but I can't even justify that. I don't think it's a bad film by any means. I'm glad I saw it, but yeah, I'm I'm quite disappointed by this adding to his resume. by itself makes sense, but together it just isn't strong. It's not a strong standalone movie that really has its own identity, which is really strange because I feel like it's such a strong theme. And back in, you know, the early 2000s or even 90s, we had a lot of road trip horror and I don't feel like, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't feel like there has been any uh in the cinema recently. So, this could have really broken through and kind of been that one for us, especially in 2026, but in 2020s. So, yeah, a little bit disappointed by that. Uh, for scare, I will give it a five. Lots of jump scares. Didn't really scare me personally, though. But, I mean, it's meant to be scary. Uh, for gore, I'm going to give it a six. There are some gory moments, but there are only a couple. And for originality, I'd give it like a three. I liked the van life kind of topic and that element coming in and it really does feel modern because of it. They talk about, you know, people they follow online who also do van life.

[00:14:07]I liked that. But again, that was building the characters and their motives and just interesting things about their lives. Uh, but it just didn't really add anything into the film, the direction it was going to take. It kind of split off. It was like, this a van life one, is this a road trip? I don't really want to mention the other themes, but there are a couple of different things going on and it just kind of spread itself too thin. Anyway, that is my unfortunate report back. It's not below a five. Okay, so that's not too bad, but they can't all be winners, guys. Uh, but if you are into films that have jump scares, you want to see a popcorn horror creepy kind of entity, check this one out. It may be for you.

[00:14:44]Always make up your own opinion. I'm here to guide you and hopefully give you some expectations, but it's always up to you guys. Anyway, I have done some recent videos. I obviously did a huge spoiler uh video on Obsession. I do have a spoiler-free video on Obsession that I did a while back, but then I also talked about this film, which is getting me in trouble a little bit in the comments, but I talked about a really gross film in detail if you want to check that out.

[00:15:05]Uh, but I will talk to you guys very soon. I can't wait to see Back rooms next week. I hope you have a fantastic rest of your day and subscribe if you like horror movies and you want some honest opinions. Bye friends.