Different movies serve different functions. Some are profound and staggering works of art; others are meant as disposable fodder for first dates and people looking for somewhere cool to hang out when their air conditioning is busted. Passenger has no real ambitions beyond the latter, and its lack of pretension is the majority of this mid-tier studio programmer’s charm. That being said, despite the stylistic efforts of director André Øvredal, Passenger is as predictable and underwhelming as a microwaved gas-station meal.
Young couple Tyler (Jacob Scipio) and Maddie (Lou Llobell) are eating a lot of the latter, as they recently vacated their Brooklyn apartment with the intention of traveling America in the orange passenger van Tyler bought with his savings from an unspecified, but presumably high-paying, career. Tyler has never been happier, but the lack of stability leaves Maddie, well, unsettled, especially after a bizarre encounter with an aggressive driver on the outskirts of Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
