The theatrical trailer for this film, which is apparently unavailable on YouTube or I’d link it, scared the living hell out of me in theaters. After having seen the movie, I can tell you that the trailer was basically a slightly condensed version of the opening scene, but I actually think this was a very wise choice. It is sort of annoying to start a film and feel like you’ve already seen this part, but I do prefer that to what a more traditional trailer offers, which is showing clips from the entirety of the film. And since this story doesn’t really follow the characters of the opening sequence, using the first scare as a selling point really works. It pitches the vibe of the film-an evil presence on an empty road at night-without giving you the actual plot.
The actual story follows a couple who are pursuing “van life” and attract the attention of malevolent entity while traveling. The film, I believe, creates its own demon, The Passenger, and lore based off the factual “Hobo Code”, a series of symbols used by drifters to communicate helpful information or warnings about particular areas along transportation paths. I can see from some reviews that this didn’t work for certain viewers, but I found it fresh and interesting. And yeah, they do play “The Passenger” by Iggy Pop but they make you wait the whole film.
I wanted to highlight this movie for several reasons. A big one being that I don’t think every movie has to be the best thing ever to be worthy of viewership. This movie opened against Obsession and Backrooms and fucking lost so hard you’ve never even heard of it. Its story and execution may not be as good as those two films, but that does not stop it from being entertaining and having moments of genuine greatness. A lot of this film takes place at night and the lighting and cinematography are impeccable. It’s not some washed out blue bullshit night like most films. No, the film depicts night the way it should be, as an encompassing blackness, full of terror. There is a scene in which a character uses a projector that is displaying Roman Holiday as a flashlight in the forest. I know that sounds insane, but it is probably my top shot of any horror film this year.