La pasajera

Didn't really love this one. Probably my fault as I was expecting a full horror film and didn't know it is a comedy-horror, a subgenre that I usually need to be prepared in advance for it.

Probably because of the previously mentioned, the comedy bits mostly didn't work for me. Neither the scary parts. I liked however all the technical elements, including the great practical effects (fantastic creature design), the cinematography and the use of sound, integrating so well elements of the local culture. The story is very simple, even if the build-up is a bit too long, but I liked the final act.

Needless to say that I hadn't heard about the 2021 Spanish horror movie "La Pasajera" (aka "The Passenger") prior to sitting down here in 2022 to watch it. But being a lifelong horror fan, of course I had to watch the movie, regardless of having heard about it or not.

Writers Luis Sánchez-Polack, Asier Guerricaechebarría, Javier Echániz and Raúl Cerezo managed to put together a fair enough script and storyline here, though I have to say that as the movie came to an end I was left with a feeling of 'was that really it?'. So yeah, while the movie is watchable, you're not in for anything outstanding here. It is a pretty generic horror movie actually.

The acting performances in "La Pasajera" were good. I wasn't familiar with the actors or actresses here, but then again I am not overly familiar with Spanish cinema. But I will say that the cast did put on fair enough performances throughout the course of the movie.

Visually then "La Pasajera" was good. But it was a shame that they didn't go for adding more special effects into the storyline. You have to sit through about more than half of the movie before things start to escalate and happen. And by then, I think a handful or two in the audience might have gotten up and left their seats. The special effects were actually quite good for a movie such as this.

And while I did manage to sit through the entire movie, then I was only mildly entertained. It was an okay enough foray into the horror genre, although a somewhat generic one. I will not, however, return to watch "La Pasajera" a second time, simply because there wasn't enough entertainment to support a second viewing here.

My rating of "La Pasajera" lands on a bland five out of ten stars.

The Passenger came as a rather pleasant surprise.

This little Spanish horror comedy makes a lot with very little.

The story is predictable but it works primarily because of the great chemistry between the two lead actors. The proxy, father daughter relationship works well in the context of an end of the world style apocalypse. Both characters spark off one another in a positive, hopeful way, as this comedic horror romp, plays out.

In summary, the Passenger just goes to show that a decent story and quality acting, more than make up for a big bucks production. Well worth a look.

If you go into this expecting a horror movie with suspense and scares you are going to be disappointed. I don't care for comedy-horror and this is more comedy than horror although it is poor at both. The lead actor is charming and appealing and is the best part of the film. It has character development so it takes a while to get going, but once the horror element finally kicks in it becomes obvious why the film makers didn't go for straight-up horror, they're no good at it. It is never suspenseful, thrilling or even remotely frightening. The pairing of the older lead actor with an actress who appears to be a young teen comes across as a bit inappropriate because it seems at times as if they are going for romantic. As a whole the movie just doesn't work.

At 10 mins you would be like enough of this talking and starts to fast forward it . The conversations are pointless but funny but for how long do you prefer to hear depends on you. The road kill .gore and the alien looking for a perfect host was kinda goofy but good at first but goes on to be repetitive with their only motive to escape.

It watchable once if you wanna spend 1hr least on fast forward and move on to the next. Blasco carried the movie all thee way .