‘Passengers’ review: Melissa Leo in Ho-Hum Highway horror movie

As anyone who has taken a trip knows, long road trips can be an exhausting experience. The new horror film by director Andre Øvredal (Autopsy of Jane Doe, Scary stories to tell in dark) is only 94 minutes long, but it captures the feeling very well. Like a bright headlight facing you dead on or the sudden honking of a loud horn, only the jump scare keeps you from falling asleep during that seemingly endless period. passenger.

This is the kind of generic “things that go bump in the night” chiller that seems better suited to late-night cable than a theatrical release, especially in an era where superior efforts have elevated the horror genre to a higher level. The story couldn’t be simpler: A young couple hits the highway in their outfitted truck to experience the freedom of life on the road, only to discover that a malevolent force bent on their destruction is tracking them every step of the way. As if highway patrolmen weren’t scary enough.

After a brief introduction in which two young drivers learn the lesson that you should never stop on the side of the road to pee (not because of passing traffic), we are introduced to the over-excited Tyler (Jacob Scipio) and the less-than-enthusiastic Maddie (Lou LoBell, institution), who gave up their comfortable apartment in Brooklyn to live a nomadic life. Their truck outfitted with a Bob Ross head — the comic artist’s motto, “There are no mistakes, just happy accidents,” becomes a running theme — goes in search of adventure.

It’s not long before bad things start to happen, as their growing fears are confirmed when they meet the nomad Diana (Melissa Leo, whose mostly haunted expression suggests she sees the opportunity for a second Oscar slipping away). She offers them many rules of the road as advice, such as “Never stop” and “Don’t drive at night.”

“People don’t take trips, trips take people,” she advises, which sounds like the worst public service announcement ever.

After repeatedly spotting the titular diabolical character (Joseph Lopez) looking like a drier Iggy Pop, nearly strangled by a seatbelt (she’s been there), Maddie leafs through a creepy book in the gift shop and learns about the “hobo code,” invented by hobos a century ago. Among the symbols she recognizes are three slashes, meaning “Not Safe Here,” which she soon sees carved into the side of their truck.

More scary incidents ensue, the most notable and elegantly filmed being an encounter with the passenger as they use an outdoor projector to show the classic film. Roman holiday (Complete with the Paramount Pictures logo prominently highlighted). Hearing mysterious voices, they use illuminated images of the indelible faces of Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn to search the woods, and one can only hope the cast’s heirs will receive royalties.

At a nomad camp, they encounter Diana again, which provides Leo the opportunity to log a few extra minutes of screen time and helpfully describes the villainous character as “Highways from Hell,” which would have made for a much better title.

Lacking any kind of thematic heft to make the proceedings truly scary, skilled director Ovredal relies mainly on a series of jump scares, complete with sudden loud noises, to keep us on edge. It works well enough on a surface level but there is so little depth to the main characters (not the fault of the performers) and so little resonance to the supernatural threat that any feelings of dread are quickly forgotten. The film may provide a slight boost to the sale of St. Christopher medallions, but as far as highway cruising goes, there’s nothing scarier than the current price of fuel.