The Last Passenger

CUSTOMER REVIEW



"Nazi cruise-ship time travel. Need I say more?"

I, too, was sold on THE LAST PASSENGER as soon as I read that first line. Here is the deal: a few of my most favorite horror movies are HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1999), SILENT HILL (2006) and of course, yes, of course, GHOST SHIP (both the 1952 and 2002 productions of the granddaddy of Nazi-haunted ship encounters). Sure, there are others I could name, both in literature and film, yet it is these three that seem most predominant in this horror tale's style and theme. And being one who enjoyed those movies (yes, even the generally disdained 2002 version of GHOST SHIP), I really enjoyed the setting and interweaving of familiar horror tropes that ended up with a very satisfying conclusion. I also have to commend Manel Loureiro on some neat tie-up details that may be very well missed in a far too casual reading. Most horror fans will readily agree, a decent, self-completing conclusion for any horror story is quite a thing in itself.

A couple scenes of a explicit sexual nature are present, and yes, I did skim past them. But I also have to acknowledge to Loureiro's credit, they aren't actually completely gratuitous- there is some plot gravitas involved, and in the view of general horror media culture, it is rather refreshingly surprising. Scenes of graphic gore and a sprinkling of profanity, on the whole, PASSENGER does complete all the Horror rounds.

A few groan-inducing, obviously contrived character shifts do tarnish the momentum, and a dangling plot element gets unceremoniously swept away without concluding development in the face a new encroaching centrepoint, but at the same time, one may tar countless other horror authors and script-writers with same brush. Nevertheless, in spite of all that, I will be brutally honest: this has been the BEST horror I have personally read all year. In other words, real fans of traditional Horror media will get an absolute kick out of this, flaws and all (and possibly even because of the "flaws" that can be seen as quite traditional in themselves - heh).

Thus having set practical expectations for those who are considering this fun horror tale, I must say - this really was a joy to read in the dark. >:)