THE Passenger, now streaming on Shudder, is an Evil Dead-esque Spanish sci-fi horror film that, despite invasive slimy alien creatures and drooling slow-witted zombies, is heartfelt and buoyantly infectious.
Fans of classics such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Night of the Creeps, and Bad Taste will find lots to love here. This is a film that is very well crafted, doesn’t take itself too seriously, and brims over with plenty of thrills and chills and dazzling effects.
Directed by Raúl Cerezo and Fernando González Gómez, The Passenger follows a group of incompatible strangers sharing an Uber ride through the Spanish countryside.
Things take a jolt when their trip is interrupted after exasperating driver Blasco (Ramiro Blas) hits a woman who suddenly appears out of the fog.
They decide to get out and help her, which any seasoned horror fan knows is never a good idea, and quickly learn that something is wrong and that they shouldn’t have let her in at all.
Misunderstood driver Blasco is the hero of this tale, who, despite upsetting his female passengers with his macho tales of bullfighting and his chauvinistic views, has a heart of gold and is an old-school gentleman underneath it all.
With combined elements of horror-comedy, alien invasion, and road trip chicanery, this feel-good little Spanish frolic is jam-packed with dark humour, stylised action sequences, and creature feature dread of apocalyptic proportions.
The debut film from Cerezo and Gómez, marks them out as ones to watch for the future. There’s little here we haven’t seen before, but it is all done with such flair and sensitivity, that it is hard not to be won over.
The Passenger is an atmospheric affair that proves to be lots of fun, and adds plenty of splatter and affecting human emotion, to ensure our voyage is never arduous.
(3/5)
