André Øvredal (The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark) is back with Paramount’s new horror movie Passenger (read our review), which documents a van life road trip gone horribly wrong after a couple witnesses a deadly crash. The experience is terrifying for the characters, but making the movie had its own share of spooky on-set happenings.
As the filmmakers reveal in a featurette video for Passenger that was released ahead of the film’s arrival in theaters, the team learned that the road can indeed be a scary place while they were filming the Paramount horror movie. Star Lou Llobell explains in the aforementioned featurette video, “We were out there filming on the road… that in itself was scary. You just never know who you’re gonna come across, you never know what you’re gonna find.”
Director André Øvredal adds, “On location, a lot of people had scary experiences.” Producer Walter Hamada explains, “Just a number of weird things. People started to say it was something demonic.” Writer Zachary Donohue chimes in, “Filming out in the backwoods of Washington, it’s been creepy.” Set dresser Lela Wulsin then adds some important context:
“We’re shooting right next to the hunting grounds of the Green River Killer.”
The real-life Green River Killer was serial killer Gary Ridgway, who was convicted of murdering 49 women in the northwestern United States between 1982 and 1998.
Wikipedia notes, “At the time of his arrest in 2001, he was believed to be the most prolific serial killer in United States history, according to confirmed murders.”
Ridgway strangled his victims and dumped their bodies in forests and other overgrown areas, with his first five victims found at the Green River in Washington State.
While he was convicted of murdering 49 women, that number could be as high as 71 or more. Wikipedia details, “Ridgway later reported that he had killed so many that he lost count.”
To be clear, the events of Passenger have nothing to do with the real-life Green River Killer, but it’s a chilling detail that the movie was filmed in those very same locations.
“I feel like I’m constantly being followed by somebody,” director’s assistant Maddie Borman said while on set of Passenger. Lou Llobell’s co-star Jacob Scipio even went so far as to ask the producers to get a priest to bless the set, which he reveals in the featurette video below.
Is this all just marketing nonsense from Paramount? Maybe? Who knows? But we figured it was worth mentioning all the same. After all, it’s quite true that the road can be a scary place…
Passenger is now playing in theaters nationwide.
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