First Passenger Trailer Delivers A Jump Scare That's Actually Scary

Jump scares are the horror movie equivalent of fart jokes. They're cheap, easy, and rarely deployed with any sense of timing or invention. But if executed with élan, they can jolt an entire audience out of their seats.

In my long moviegoing experience, it's hard to beat the shrieks produced by the nun with the shears in "The Exorcist III," Jameson Parker rolling over in bed to find a demonic Lisa Blount in "Prince of Darkness" or the grandaddy of all jump scares in the back of a Los Angeles diner parking lot in David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive." But judging from its just-released trailer, it looks like André Øvredal's fixing to get in the game with his latest horror flick, "Passenger."

The film stars Jacob Scipio (Armando from "Bad Boys for Life" and "Bad Boys: Ride or Die") and Lou Llobell (Gaal Dornick in "Foundation") as a couple whose road trip goes horribly awry when they witness a fatal car accident. From that point forward, they've got some kind of malevolent spirit in hot pursuit, which hurtles them into a series of spooky situations like driving through a field littered with blanket-covered corpses and, it would appear (from the sight of Llobell levitating in the air), demonic possession.

The trailer (see above) kicks off with a couple of jump scares that are well orchestrated as far as edited-for-trailers jump scares go, which is encouraging. The movie also looks like a departure for Øvredal, who went heavy on dread-inducing atmosphere with his last film, "The Last Voyage of the Demeter."

It's always important to see how these moments play in the context of the film, but André Øvredal seems to be trying to do for taking a roadside whizz what "Jaws" did for swimming in the ocean. When the driver is distracted from his elimination by his passenger laying on the horn, he returns to the car where, as you can see in the above trailer, everything goes haywire.

Øvredal (who also directed "Trollhunter," "The Autopsy of Jane Doe," and "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark") told Bloody Disgusting that this is his scariest movie yet. He also said that "Passenger" will introduce audiences to a broader mythology that, I'm guessing, can be expanded upon in sequels and prequels and spin-offs and what have you. (Perhaps it could be Øvredal's "The Conjuring.") 

"Passenger" is reportedly testing well, which bodes well for its theatrical release on May 22, 2026, where Paramount hopes it will serve as effective counter-programming to "The Mandalorian and Grogu." Øvredal could use a hit after the box office disappointment of "The Last Voyage of the Demeter," and this seemingly straightforward scarefest could very well keep him out of director's jail. To further entice you, please note Øvredal told Bloody Disgusting that he kept the wildest scares out of this trailer.