The Passenger

If you go into this expecting a horror movie with suspense and scares you are going to be disappointed. I don't care for comedy-horror and this is more comedy than horror although it is poor at both. The lead actor is charming and appealing and is the best part of the film. It has character development so it takes a while to get going, but once the horror element finally kicks in it becomes obvious why the film makers didn't go for straight-up horror, they're no good at it. It is never suspenseful, thrilling or even remotely frightening. The pairing of the older lead actor with an actress who appears to be a young teen comes across as a bit inappropriate because it seems at times as if they are going for romantic. As a whole the movie just doesn't work.

Not to be confused with the other horror-passenger from 2023. These two exact-titled movies couldn't be further apart. And spoiler, I enjoyed this one MUCH more.

Continuing into Ahhctober 2024, I chose another South American/Spanish-speaking horror movie (much like last year's When Evil Lurks.) Only, this one was NOWHERE near as good. Thank God for that ending tho!

This movie involves around a weird ride-share adventure with several unique passengers. Only, they happen to travel through an alien invasion turning everyone into...sorta zombies.

The lead-up to the finale wasn't bad. It was just standard with so many characters doing the exact opposite as they should to really survive a horror movie.

I just happened to love the third act. It's kinda foretold, but not really. To me, it was the perfect ending and two words to the filmmakers:

NO SEQUEL. End here. Okay, that's four words.

***

Final Thoughts: I would've certainly downgraded this movie so much more for those outlandish and stupid mistakes the characters make...repeatedly. It just redeemed itself with such a great ending.

I truly think Mr. Blas's talents were wasted on this movie. I have seen a few of his other films and this was the first horror I have seen him in. I was not sure if the monsters were aliens, zombies, or body snatchers. This was the cheesiest of horror films that I have seen yet. The thing that killed this movie were the monsters and the two adult women. This movie might have been enjoyable with just the girl and Blas. They could both act but their talents in this movie did not shine bright enough to make you like it. I did want to see what happened in the end so at least half (5) ok, then I added a star because I like Blas. Any higher and I would be lying. I would not recommend, even if you are a Blas fan. I myself will not be watching it again either. But as always be your own judge.

Needless to say that I hadn't heard about the 2021 Spanish horror movie "La Pasajera" (aka "The Passenger") prior to sitting down here in 2022 to watch it. But being a lifelong horror fan, of course I had to watch the movie, regardless of having heard about it or not.

Writers Luis Sánchez-Polack, Asier Guerricaechebarría, Javier Echániz and Raúl Cerezo managed to put together a fair enough script and storyline here, though I have to say that as the movie came to an end I was left with a feeling of 'was that really it?'. So yeah, while the movie is watchable, you're not in for anything outstanding here. It is a pretty generic horror movie actually.

The acting performances in "La Pasajera" were good. I wasn't familiar with the actors or actresses here, but then again I am not overly familiar with Spanish cinema. But I will say that the cast did put on fair enough performances throughout the course of the movie.

Visually then "La Pasajera" was good. But it was a shame that they didn't go for adding more special effects into the storyline. You have to sit through about more than half of the movie before things start to escalate and happen. And by then, I think a handful or two in the audience might have gotten up and left their seats. The special effects were actually quite good for a movie such as this.

And while I did manage to sit through the entire movie, then I was only mildly entertained. It was an okay enough foray into the horror genre, although a somewhat generic one. I will not, however, return to watch "La Pasajera" a second time, simply because there wasn't enough entertainment to support a second viewing here.

My rating of "La Pasajera" lands on a bland five out of ten stars.

Spanish thriller full of horror, humor and fine practical (and some CGI) effects. The monsters look like demonic zombies. There are splatter and some interesting comic shots which I really liked. The directors put a lot of emphasis on their characters, something that makes you care about them (surprisingly there is also heart). Even the 'annoying' snob teenager has managed to make her likable, which is not easy. You won't find bad performances. The driver in particular - a sharp, talkative guy - is a real delight. The film doesn't take itself entirely seriously, but it respects the rules of the genre. For example, when they wants to show a scene of suspense and horror, they won't ruin it by making humor, like in other movies.. An enjoyable hour and a half, I just think it deserved a better climax for the finale.