Mark Reviews Movies: THE PASSENGER (2022)

The Passenger, Dark Star Pictures

Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter | Become a Patron

Review by Mark Dujsik | June 2, 2022

The first act of Luis Sánchez-Polack's screenplay for The Passenger revolves around the simmering tensions among a group of four, stuck together on a road trip in an old, unreliable van. The driver is a self-involved chauvinist, and his three passengers are women who mostly and almost instantly come to regret answering his ad, offering a ride to an out-of-the-way village. The lesson, perhaps, is that, no matter how much the women despise him, they probably should listen to the guy—or, at least, not judge the figurative book of who he is by its seemingly all-telling cover.

Somewhere in here, there's probably a better story—one that features at least as much sympathy for and understanding of the women as this one has for Blasco (Ramiro Blas), a former bullfighter who now chauffeurs for a living. Instead, there's a real sense of haste to establish the obvious conflict between Blasco and his passengers, inform us of the basics of these characters, and, then, toss out all of that for a horror story about some body-invading alien, as well as the depths of character the driver possesses beneath his rough exterior.

There's an unfortunate insincerity to how disposable those three other characters are, serving as either fodder for the aliens or a damsel in need of continual rescuing. That means the movie, directed by Raúl Cerezo and Fernando González Gómez, is somewhat effective as a low-budget and kind of gruesome, if entirely familiar, horror tale when it finally embraces that mode, but it's definitely undermined by the shallow and disingenuous nature of its setup.

The women, by the way, are Mariela (Cecilia Suárez), a dying woman from Mexico who has come to Spain to see her absentee father one last time, and Lidia (Cristina Alcázar), who is starting a new job and is leaving her teenage daughter Marta (Paula Gallego) with her ex-husband. Blasco makes himself an immediate and mounting irritation to all of them by insulting Mariela's faith, insulting Lidia directly, and ogling and touching Marta, who doesn't either notice or mind too much.

Anything we learn about those three ultimately doesn't matter. After the occupants of the van discover a weird goo and another woman affected by some internal extraterrestrial presence (created by some efficient makeup effects, a couple slimy puppets, and limited digital effects), the ill woman and the mother are dispatched quickly. That leaves Marta to be distressed and in distress, while Blasco reveals a couple layers of paternal warmth and protection (Blas is, in equal parts, convincingly irritating and compassionate).

Ultimately, little of the character work, outside of Blasco, really matters. The Passenger becomes nothing more than an extended chase, punctuated by some gore and a pretty bleak finale. In trying to be a bit more, the movie lessens the potential of what it does well.

Back to Home

Buy Related Products