Passengers

While not technically a horror film it does deal with death and the afterlife. We hadn’t seen this before and decided to give it a try. Much like Hitchcock’s Psycho, the beginning and end seem like two different films. The film opens with a plane crash resulting in several survivors that need help from a young psychologist played by Anne Hathaway. As she attempts to help them come to terms with the tragedy and their own mortality they begin to disappear. The first bizarre things start happening around 40 minutes into the film. At about an hour, several scenes illicit a “What the Hell?” All of this wraps up with a twist ending that gets it a place on this blog.

This is more a psychological study that a true suspense film. There is the occational scene designed to build tension intertwined with a romantic story arc that seems at times either the sole focus of the film or entirely unnecessary.

I am always a little drawn to this type of mind warp film. That said, this one is paced very, very slowly. The suspense scenes seem forced, but the acting is solid. They knew that this film would only work through the use of experienced and skilled actors. There are familiar faces sprinkled throughout.

The Nitty Gritty: Scale of 0 to 10

Camp Factor - 0

Gore – 0 (even the plane crash is largely bloodless)

Creep Factor -5 (just the fact that you don’t know what’s going on 80% of the time helps)

Nudity/Sex – 1 ( a little light sensuality and a tasteful love scene. If you want to see Anne Hathaway topless, look elsewhere)

Jump Scenes – 1 ( they seem to try, but you always see the car, train, ect. coming. Even the plane crash starts with a small fire in the starboard engine.)

Verdict: As a psychological study it works well. As a suspense film, it fails rather miserably. It’s a good film, but does not belong in a horror marathon.