''The Passenger'' ( es, links=no, La pasajera) is a 2021 Spanish

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

horror

road movie A road movie is a film genre in which the main characters leave home on a road trip, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives. Road movies often depict travel in the hinterlands, with the films exploring the theme of alienatio ...

directed by Raúl Cerezo and Fernando González Gómez which stars Ramiro Blas,

Cecilia Suárez María Cecilia Suárez de Garay, known professionally as Cecilia Suárez (Mexican ; born November 22, 1971), is a Mexican actress and a prominent activist working with the United Nations and European Union campaigning against femicide and viole ...

, Paula Gallego and Cristina Alcázar.

Plot

Four people with different backgrounds (a skeevy driver, a religious

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

, and a posh woman with her daughter) coincide on a

van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

trip across empty

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Passengers driving the

car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

hit a

hiker Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

who was walking on a back road at

night Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...

. After her unfortunate accident, they decide to help her and take her to the nearest

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

Cast

Production

The screenplay was penned by Luis Sánchez-Polack based on a previous screenplay by Javier Echániz and Asier Guerricaechebarría. ''The Passenger'' is a Persons Films, La Dalia Films, SG Producciones and Eye Slice Pictures production, and it had support from Gobierno de Navarra and Navarra Film Office. It was fully shot in

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

Release

The film screened at the

Sitges Film Festival The Sitges Film Festival ( ca, Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya, links=no) is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Spain, specialized in fantasy and horror films, of which it is considered one of the world's foremost in ...

on 9 October 2021. Distributed by Karma Films, it was theatrically released in Spain on 18 February 2022. Distributed by Dark Star Pictures, the film is set for a 3 June 2022 limited theatrical release in the United States, followed by a streaming and DVD release after 28 June.

Reception

According to the American

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, ''The Passenger'' has a 73% approval rating based on 15 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 6.5/10. Pablo Tocino of ''

Mondosonoro ''Mondo Sonoro'', sometimes shortened to ''la Mondo'', is a Spanish magazine established in 1994 which focuses on current alternative, popular and indie music, as well as national emerging bands. Co-founded by Sergio Marqués and Jose Macarro in Ba ...

'' scored 7 out of 10 points, considering that while Cristina Alcázar and Cecilia Suárez' performances are more than adequate, those of Ramiro Blas and Paula Gallego stand out in particular. Dennis Harvey of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' assessed that even if fails at transcending "its basic creature-feature premise", the "stylish and humorous" film "does make getting to a familiar destination more fun than many a similar enterprise has managed". Miguel Ángel Romero of ''

Cinemanía ''Cinemanía'' is a Spanish language monthly film magazine based in Madrid, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)( ...

'' gave the film 2 out of 5 stars considering that the film, blending

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

exploitation and Spanish ''

costumbrismo ''Costumbrismo'' (sometimes anglicized as costumbrism, with the adjectival form costumbrist) is the literary or pictorial interpretation of local everyday life, mannerisms, and customs, primarily in the Hispanic scene, and particularly in the 19t ...

'', features comedy moments alongside a great deal of cringe. Beatriz Martínez of ''

El Periódico de Catalunya ''El Periódico de Catalunya'' (, ), also simply known as ''El Periódico'', is a morning daily newspaper based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The paper publishes separate daily editions in Spanish and in Catalan. The two editions combined sell ...

'' also rated it with 2 out of 5 stars, considering that even though the film achieves a personality of its own, the special effects do their job, and the film displays a "non-negligible" degree of visual imagination, there is something unsettling lurking throughout the film, namely the ambiguity towards

machismo Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as hav ...

. Andrew Mack of ''

ScreenAnarchy Screen Anarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films ...

'' considered that the "little indie horror flick" stands out at "sprinkling all the action with dark humor", also praising Cerezo and Gómez for "doing as much in camera effects as possible" and the "terrific makeup effects".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Passenger, The Alien invasions in films Spanish road movies Spanish thriller films Spanish comedy horror films Spanish science fiction films Films shot in Spain 2021 science fiction horror films 2021 thriller films 2021 films 2020s Spanish-language films Spanish science fiction horror films Films set in Spain Fictional parasites and parasitoids 2020s Spanish films Spanish-language horror films