An unhinged psychopath takes a timid co-worker on a ride in the latest film from Swallowed director Carter Smith.

Randy Bradley has been keeping himself on the backburner since an incident in second grade changed his life forever. Working at a local burger joint, he finds himself bullied by hotshot Chris and his girlfriend. However, one day is set to change his life forever. Co-worker Benson, seeing Randy being bullied, has had enough. Brandishing a shotgun, he kills Chris, Chris’s girlfriend, and the manager. Deciding not to kill Randy, he takes him along as the passenger on a road trip hopefully out of town to avoid the authorities.

Along the way, Benson tends to try to get through to Randy, who is still in shock from what he had just witnessed. However, Randy begins to eventually bond with Benson and explain why he is who he is today. Having a few bad experiences in the past, Benson decides to help make things right for Randy, all while trying to find a way out of town. In the midst of the chaos, there is just one more thing Randy has to do and that is face his past in order to survive this day.

Carter Smith is more known for works into horror, especially The Ruins and more recently, Swallowed. However, his latest film is more of a psychological cat-and-mouse thriller focusing on two people. One is an unhinged psychopath who has grown tired of the atrocities of his small town while the titular “passenger” is a timid young man who must gain the confidence he desires so bad if he wants to survive.

The chemistry between leads Kyle Gallner and Johnny Berchtold is the heart of the movie. Gallner’s Benson is a dual personality. He may seem ruthless and conniving, but when it comes to Randy, he finds himself having a sense of sympathy and empathy towards him. He serves as a “big brother” of sorts as despite some occasional tension between the two, tries his best to help Randy overcome his past demons by coming to terms with the past and actually trying to reconnect with those who affected him back in the day.

Smith does give little nuances of his trademark horror to the film. For instance, Randy’s past event that turns him into the shy timid reserved man he becomes is seen as a bad dream he has. Not to spoil things, but this makes an impact in the third act of the film but not how one would expect. There’s also the catalyst of the film, where Benson takes his shotgun and kills the trio of co-workers as the aftermath of one victim looks like it could come out of a horror film.

The Passenger brings something different to the world of Carter Smith and it works very well here, thanks to the chemistry of leads Kyle Gallner and Johnny Berchtold. A cat-and-mouse psychological thriller with a taste of brotherly bonding in an abstract sort of way.

WFG RATING: A-

Paramount Global Home Entertainment and MGM+ presents a Blumhouse production. Director: Carter Smith. Producers: Jason Blum, Jeremy Gold, Chris McCumber, and Paige Pemberton. Writer: Jack Stanley. Cinematography: Lyn Moncrief. Editing: Eric Nagy.

Cast: Kyle Gallner, Johnny Berchtold, Liza Weir, Sue Rock, Morgana Shaw, Matthew Laureano, Bill Slaughter, Jordan Sherley, Kanesha Washington, Lupe Leon.

The film will be released on VOD and Digital on August 4 followed by a MGM+ release later this year.