MOVIE REVIEW: PASSENGER

 

A few weeks into their van life adventure, a young couple witnesses an accident that leaves the driver dead. Soon, they're being pursued by a demonic stalker who's impossible to outrun and follows them wherever they go.

Director: André Øvredal

Cast: Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, Melissa Leo, Joseph Lopez, Miles Fowler, Alan Trong

Release Date: May 22, 2026

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Rated R for strong violent content, some gore, and language.

Runtime: 1h 34m

Review:

Passenger is the kind of generic horror film that offers little more than a handful of generic jump scares and recycled plot points that won’t linger in your memory much after the film comes to a close.  It’s strange to see André Øvredal deliver such a blasé film since he’s delivered a handful of solid films in his career like 2010’s Trollhunter and 2016’s The Autopsy of Jane Doe.  The opening sequence offers up an interesting set up along with a nice use of panoramic camera to deliver a solid jump scare, unfortunately that sequence has been used ad nauseam as the film’s trailer.  It doesn’t help that nothing after that point really provides any semblance of originality or inventiveness as the jump scares are telegraphed from a mile away.  It doesn’t help that the plot is a nonsensical blend of Nomadland and demonic haunting horror.  The rules for the highwayman from hell are also so incredibly generic that nobody would ever survive a road trip which makes most of what happens a tad difficult to take seriously.  It would all be a bit easier to watch if the main characters were somewhat interesting instead of being the blandest flavor of vanilla.  Jacob Scipio and Lou Llobell play the central couple who decide to live out their van life dream and get engaged along the way.  They do what they can with the script but they lack any real chemistry together which makes it difficult to believe they’d just pick up and leave their, apparent affluent, lives to live on the on road.  Small smatters of details are drop about their relationships but nothing that makes them all the interesting or engaging especially as the clichés start to mount up.  Academy Award winner, Melissa Leo, pops up in what amounts to a glorified cameo that ultimately adds nothing to overall script outside of getting our cursed couple to the final location.  There’s been a recent string of well-made horror film, unfortunately Passenger feels too much like a throwback to the kind of cookie cutter horror slop that has pervaded the genre for far too long.

D

MOVIE REVIEW: THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER

 

Dracula's unholy presence dooms the crew of the merchant ship Demeter as it sails from Carpathia to London.

Director: André Øvredal

Cast: Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, David Dastmalchian, Javier Botet

Release Date: August 11, 2023

Genre: Horror

Rated R for bloody violence

Runtime: 1h 58m

There's a built in predictability ingrained in The Last Voyage of the Demeter due to the nature of the story. However, the cast and crew do an admirable job of delivering some tension and thrills.  André Øvredal film borrow heavily from Ridley Scott's original Alien in terms of set up and structure, so much so that's hard to tell if it’s an homage or just straight up plagiarism, an early discussion about bonuses kind of leans me toward the latter.  Either way, Øvredal's self-assured style delivers a glossy, well shot film that establishes the setting and mood early on by keeping the monster in the shadows until the midpoint of the film.  The monster itself uses Count Orlok's design from 1922's Nosferatu as its basis which gives him a more animalistic and menacing look.  It makes the character a tangible threat to the collected human chum assembled for his feeding.  Corey Hawkins and Liam Cunningham lead the cast with deadly serious turns as the ship’s doctor and doomed captain.  They both deliver stoic, committed performances that make the film far more watchable than it deserves to be since the script doesn't flesh them too much.  They still manage to make the characters interesting enough to make the audience care about their wellbeing.  Aisling Franciosi and David Dastmalchian don't fare quite as well in supporting roles as they struggle to make their characters come off as more than one dimensional.  They do the best they can with underwritten characters but your left with the sense that some depth would have added to the overall quality of the film.  Ultimately, The Last Voyage of the Demeter is the very definition of disposable entertainment which delivers just enough to keep you entertained during its runtime, but it'll be quickly forgotten shortly thereafter.  

C+

MOVIE REVIEW: SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK

The shadow of the Bellows family has loomed large in the small town of Mill Valley for generations. It's in a mansion that young Sarah Bellows turns her tortured life and horrible secrets into a series of scary stories. These terrifying tales soon have a way of becoming all too real for a group of unsuspecting teens who stumble upon Sarah's spooky home.

Director: André Øvredal

Cast: Zoe Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Austin Abrams, Dean Norris, Gil Bellows, Lorraine Toussain

Release Date: August 9, 2019

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Rated PG-13 for terror/violence, disturbing images, thematic elements, language including racial epithets, and brief sexual references.

Runtime: 1 h 47 min

Review:

Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark is a solid entry level horror movie that may be a gateway for younger horror fans to explore the genre.  Norwegian director André Øvredal, who has been turning out solid horror films for a good while now, delivers an impressively stylish film.  It’s not ground breaking in any shape or form but his adaptation of the short stories are staged well enough to keep most people entertained even if the film start to film like a light version of IT as the plot unfolds.  The monsters are effectively creepy which makes for some solid moments of terror even though the film is very light on blood.  The cast of mostly unknowns does a great job of carrying the film with Zoe Colletti leaving a strong impression.  More seasoned horror aficionados may find the whole thing a bit quaint since the film feels like a throwback of sorts to the old horror films like Night of the Scarecrow or The Town that Dreaded Sundown.


B-

MOVIE REVIEW: TROLLHUNTER

ON VIDEO

TROLLHUNTER



Three student filmmakers venture into the most isolated region of Norway on a mission to confront a notorious bear poacher, and discover that the elusive hunter's true prey is something far more extraordinary. Though Kalle, Thomas, and Johanna thought they were pursuing a criminal, after locating Hans (Otto Jespersen) with the help of some local hunters, they learn that bears are not his true target but a mere smokescreen to obscure what he's really after -- trolls. A secret government agency has been conspiring to cover up the existence of these massive monsters, but occasionally the trolls manage to break their containment area. Now, if the group can just survive long enough to get their incredible footage to the outside world, they could be responsible for revealing the most impressive cryptozoological discovery in the history of humankind. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: André Øvredal

Cast: Glenn Erland Trosterud, Otto Jespersen, Robert Stoltenberg, Knut Nærum

Release Date: Jun 10, 2011

Rated PG-13 for some sequences of creature terror

Runtime: 1 hr. 43 min.

Genres: Art House/Foreign, Horror

Review:

There is an incredible sense of fun and adventure at the heart of this “found footage” mockumentary. It benefits the film which never really takes itself overly seriously and serves the premise perfectly well. This low budget creature feature is an interesting film that feels more like a road movie which takes full advantage of the wonderfully mythical looking Norwegian landscapes. Director André Øvredal gives his film a surprisingly polished feel. So much so that it really doesn’t feel like a lot of “found footage” genre films. The CGI is impressive considering the minuscule budget; most of it is wisely hidden in the dark or night vision. His cast is fairly naturalistic and come across as authentic. Glenn Erland Trosterud, in particular, just nails his grizzled hunter who’s over the crap job he’s been tasked with. Watching Trosterud and knowing that an American remake is already in the works, remake deal was announced the day it was released internationally, I couldn’t help but think of Tommy Lee Jones in the role. I digress, the film is a lot of fun but it does have some flaws. A few portions of the film just seem like filler and the last act feels like it’s building up to an impressive climax but it doesn’t come through. Instead the film ends abruptly and certain parties portrayed previously suddenly become dangerous. It’s a strange finale but there is a funny little bit near the end with reminds you of the tone that makes Trollhunter easy to enjoy.

B-