A struggling Somali-American airport shuttle driver illegally takes a passenger to Chicago. En route, he discovers the passenger is wearing a bomb vest and confesses to setting off a bomb at the Minneapolis airport that killed five people. A film by Vadim Perelman, starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Djimon Hounsou, Leigh-Ann Rose, Carolina Campos, Tegan Couchman, Adrian McLean, Sarah Constible, Teddy Parker, Chris Sigurdson, Alexandra Chubaty Boychuk, Sean Seidel, David MacInnis, Cory Chetyrbok, Chris Thompson, and Sherri Campbell.

Directed by Ukrainian-Canadian-American filmmaker Vadim Perelman from a screenplay by Bennett Fisher, The PASSENGER is a tense thriller that follows a struggling airport shuttle driver who accepts a $600 off-the-books fare to Chicago, only to discover his passenger is the bomber responsible for a recent deadly explosion at the Minneapolis airport. The film is based on Fisher’s 2016 play, Damascus.

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@pradt

The PASSENGER 🚐
No way out. No way back.
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A film by Vadim Perelman, starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Djimon Hounsou, Leigh-Ann Rose, Carolina Campos, Tegan Couchman, Adrian McLean, Sarah Constible, Teddy Parker, Chris Sigurdson, Alexandra Chubaty Boychuk, Sean Seidel, David MacInnis, Cory Chetyrbok, Chris Thompson, and Sherri Campbell.

While Djimon Hounsou and Kodi Smit-McPhee deliver captivating performances as the two leads, Hassan and Lloyd, the latter’s motivations feel generic and largely unconvincing. Lloyd seems to drift inconsistently between an average guy and an unsettling bomber on the verge of a total emotional collapse.

The character of Hassan is incredibly well-written. His decisions and reactions are firmly grounded in the reality of a struggling man trying to provide for his waitress wife and young son. Often, he doesn’t even need to speak. Through his facial expressions alone, we instantly understand the agonizing internal turmoil building in his mind: Should he flee? Should he try to stop this unhinged bomber? What if he intervenes and the vest detonates? The paralyzing fear that one wrong move could end in disaster is written all over his face.

I wish the film had committed to a much darker path. Given that the protagonist is a Black man, he is an easy target for public prejudice. When news outlets broadcast footage of him leaving an airport restroom suspiciously carrying a black bag, he becomes a person of interest, with the entire nation quickly convinced he is the real bomber.

Yet, instead of grappling with the terrifying weight of a country certain of his guilt, the plot resolves itself with frustrating convenience. The real bomber confesses just before detonating his vest. And because two police officers just happen to overhear this confession, Hassan is eventually cleared of all charges. It’s an incredibly underwhelming conclusion.

The PASSENGER had a limited theatrical release in the United States on 5 June 2026.