My main reasons for seeing 'The Ninth Passenger' were an intriguing title and concept, that it was part of my low-budget film quest after being recommended to me by IMDb in my recommended for you section and as someone trying to see as many 2018 films as possible.
The marginally good news about 'The Ninth Passenger' is that there have been worse films seen by me throughout my life, ones that are even more amateurish, intelligence insulting and ones that blatantly rip off infinitely superior films more cheaply. The bad news is that that doesn't stop 'The Ninth Passenger' from being dreadful in every way imaginable, of my numerous recent viewings it is definitely down there as among the worst and very low down.
Just for the record, giving a film the lowest possible rating is fairly rare for me compared to my other ratings, trying to be a fair reviewer trying to see the good in everything viewed. That rating is only reserved for films etc. that look like no effort or heart was put into it and like nobody was trying, a cardinal sin in film but actually not committed all that often. 'The Ninth Passenger' is one of the all-time worst examples recently.
Visually, 'The Ninth Passenger' looks incredibly cheap even for something made on a low budget. It's very drably and sometimes dizzyingly shot, incoherently edited (bacon-slicer-like) with glaring and unforgivably sloppy continuity errors and even the scenery doesn't make much impression despite being actually the least bad aspect of the film. Even worse are some of the most laughable and pathetic-looking special effects to be seen on celluloid, actually looking they were done as an afterthought and on the small remainder of the money they had left. Nothing menacing or threatening and there are no surprises.
Can remember little about the music, which tended to be intrusive, annoying and out of place. The script is so awkward, cheesy and improvisatory-sounding that it is enough to make the toes curl in how awful it is. The ending has been panned by some here and for good reason, the "that's it" feeling that others felt is a perfect way to sum up a film that doesn't really end.
There is absolutely nothing thrilling, tense, suspenseful, emotionally investable or fun about the story. The predictability may have been forgivable if the film was actually engaging let alone exciting but it fails to be either throughout. 'The Ninth Passenger' is basically non-stop dullness and intelligence-insulting ridiculousness, with unintentional humour because of the excessive cheese, bouts of mawkish and stilted melodrama and irritating character behaviours that makes one endear to them even less in a film with not one interesting or rootable character. Hated the sister especially.
As for the acting it is appalling all round with no exceptions, the amateurish quality is just embarrassing. It doesn't even have dependable actors giving career-worst performances, that's how bad it was and it wasn't a case of the actors forgetting their acting skills. Instead, excepting Jesse Metcalfe who looks completely lost and bewildered, they were completely deprived of them in a mix of histrionics and looking disengaged.
At the end of the day, a disaster. 1/10 Bethany Cox
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