WISE Score
Avg. Tomatometer
Van life goes from aesthetic to demonic real quick in this mediocre horror flick about a crash that just won't stay in the rearview.
49%
Passenger is a middle-of-the-road horror movie that tries to capitalize on the van life trend but ends up stalling out. With a 49% on Rotten Tomatoes and an IMDb score that screams 'wait for streaming,' it's not exactly a must-watch for your family movie night.
If you have a teen who is obsessed with demonic possession tropes and doesn't mind a bit of gore, it's a passable choice. For everyone else, the gruesome opening and relentless jump scares probably aren't worth the mediocre payoff.
This is strictly for the 16+ crowd. Between the 'gruesome' accident imagery and the demonic possession themes, it's geared toward older teens and adults who actively seek out the horror genre.
It is a demonic horror movie centered on a gruesome accident and a nightmare scenario. There is very little here in the way of positive modeling or emotional health.
The 'van life' setting adds a modern aesthetic layer to the traditional road-horror trope, but the mediocre reviews suggest it relies heavily on standard demonic possession clichés.
Explicitly features a 'gruesome' accident and a relentless demonic entity. This is high-stress content with likely gore and intense jump scares, not suitable for younger or sensitive viewers.
Mainly serves as a genre thriller for jump scares. While it might touch on themes of trauma following an accident, its primary goal is to scare rather than to offer deep insight.
There’s a specific kind of horror that works by taking something aspirational—like the #VanLife dream—and turning it into a cage. Passenger leans hard into this. The setup is classic: a young couple, a remote road, and a traumatic event that acts as a beacon for something evil.
However, the execution seems to have missed the mark for critics. With a Letterboxd rating of 2.3, the consensus is that it feels a bit hollow. It’s the kind of movie that relies on the 'demonic entity' as a catch-all for scary moments rather than building a truly unique monster.
Common Sense Media and other aggregators are pegging this at 16+, and for good reason. Horror movies involving 'demonic presences' often involve body horror or psychological torture that can be genuinely upsetting for younger kids. Unlike a slasher where the threat is a guy with a mask, demonic horror often feels more invasive and 'unstoppable,' which can stick with kids long after the credits roll.
If your kid is asking to see this because they saw a trailer on TikTok, just know that it's likely higher on the 'gross-out' and 'dread' scale than a typical Marvel movie or even a mild thriller like A Quiet Place. It’s closer in spirit to movies like Smile or It Follows, but with less critical acclaim to back it up.
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