Haunted by a childhood classroom incident, burger joint employee Randolph Bradley (Johnny Berchtold) lives his life failing to stand up for himself, believing that inaction will prevent further guilt and trauma; as a result, he finds himself mercilessly bullied by co-worker Chris (Matthew Laureano). Fellow employee Benson (Kyle Gallner) is the opposite of Randy, a powder keg of violence waiting to explode, and Chris's cruel actions ignite his very short fuse. Taking a shotgun from the trunk of his car, Benson blasts Chris and his girlfriend Jess (Jordan Sherley), and the burger joint manager, but spares Randy, believing that he can help the lad change for the better.
Blumhouse's The Passenger is more of a thriller/drama than a horror, but Kyle Gallner plays such an unhinged and unpredictably violent character that the result is easily as frightening as many a scary movie. With Randolph forced to embark on a bizarre road trip with Benson, paying visits to the people who shaped the meek young man's negative outlook on life, the tension is wound super tight. Along the way, we also learn that some incident in Benson's past, involving a 3rd grade school teacher, is partly responsible for his brutal behaviour. Occupying the middle ground between Randy's passiveness and Benson's aggressiveness is Randy's former 2nd grade teacher, Miss Beard (Liza Weil), who Benson forces Randy to confront about his childhood trauma; Miss Beard refuses to hold on to the past, choosing to live life in the present - a beacon of light for Randy, but too late to save Benson.
With taut direction, an intelligent script, and some shockingly brutal violence, The Passenger ably illustrates how holding on to the past can easily lead to a life of misery and regret, and that only by coming to terms with traumatic events can we hope to find the path to true happiness. Kyle Gallner's bravura performance as Benson is the key to this film's success, the actor utterly convincing as a clearly intelligent but irreparably damaged soul who failed to receive the help he needed as a child, resulting in his uncontrollable hostility.
7.5/10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.
Blumhouse's The Passenger is more of a thriller/drama than a horror, but Kyle Gallner plays such an unhinged and unpredictably violent character that the result is easily as frightening as many a scary movie. With Randolph forced to embark on a bizarre road trip with Benson, paying visits to the people who shaped the meek young man's negative outlook on life, the tension is wound super tight. Along the way, we also learn that some incident in Benson's past, involving a 3rd grade school teacher, is partly responsible for his brutal behaviour. Occupying the middle ground between Randy's passiveness and Benson's aggressiveness is Randy's former 2nd grade teacher, Miss Beard (Liza Weil), who Benson forces Randy to confront about his childhood trauma; Miss Beard refuses to hold on to the past, choosing to live life in the present - a beacon of light for Randy, but too late to save Benson.
With taut direction, an intelligent script, and some shockingly brutal violence, The Passenger ably illustrates how holding on to the past can easily lead to a life of misery and regret, and that only by coming to terms with traumatic events can we hope to find the path to true happiness. Kyle Gallner's bravura performance as Benson is the key to this film's success, the actor utterly convincing as a clearly intelligent but irreparably damaged soul who failed to receive the help he needed as a child, resulting in his uncontrollable hostility.
7.5/10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.
