From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Passenger (2017)

Posted on April 19, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another SUPRISE “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. For this one, we will be chatting about a short horror film as well as the comic book based around it, both done by Strange Films! And this is what I love to see here at Rotten Ink, a horror filmmaker turning his films into horror comics for fans to check out to not only bring attention to the film, but also give horror comic readers something new. The film and comic we will be talking about is Passenger, that was released around 2017 and has frightened viewers ever since. So if you are ready, let’s hit the dark spooky road of horror comics and see what this Passenger has in store for us in the scare department.

Let’s start by taking a look at The Passenger, a weird demon like creature who walks the roads looking to hitch a ride with unsuspecting drivers! The Passenger has many ways of dealing death. His first way is his monstrous appearance as he looks like a reptile like demon creature and when a victim sees this, they are frozen with fear leaving them open for an attack. He also has the ability to run into a moving or stopped car and place himself into the back seat of the automobile making him very hard to escape, and leaving his targeted human once more easy to attack. While he shuffles when walking, The Passenger does seem to move fast when he sets his eye on a target and is ready to attack. His main tools for killing are his claws and his razor sharp teeth that can shred human flesh and his bite can rip away flesh like a hot knife through butter. Another tool The Passenger has is his bite, which can turn his victims into a monster like himself making him also a spreader of some sort of demonic virus. The Passenger is super dangerous and as of this update he has no known weakness making him a “unstoppable” killing machine. While he might not be the most evil killer or creature we have covered here, The Passenger remains a true cryptozoology style urban legend monster that is sure to scare his victims to death.

Now that we have taken a look at The Passenger, the creature, we should now take a look at Passenger, the short film that this weird killer creature is from! And like always, we will be taking the films plot from our friends at IMDB and then I will be writing about the films production as well as my thoughts. And with that if you are ready, lets’ stick out our thumbs and see of we can hitch a ride…but not turn into this type of Passenger!

Passenger (2017)

“In a small town where monsters, evil, and secrets lurk in every corner, THE STRANGER watches from the shadows. On her way home from a night out, Lindsey will soon become the victim of an unexpected passenger.”

Passenger was a sequel to a short film called “There’s Something Down The Road” that was the first film for production company Strange Films that is run by the son and father duo of August & Frank Aguilar who have creative minds and started building their own movie universe. The film had a budget of around $500 and would be written and directed by August Aguilar, who would bring back actor Roger Gregg to play The Stranger (a recurring character in the Strange Film Universe) and then would bring on such actors like Megan Jones, Hunter Brown, Christina Wilson and Tyler McKee would be casted as The Passenger. The film would be shot around the Knoxville, Tennessee area and would have Erik Jackson doing the special effects. When done, the film would be around 6 minutes long and would feature free to use music that blended well with the film. When done the film was released in August 2017 and would show in a few film festivals and would get good word of mouth from those who seen it. The short film would be released on YouTube on July 7, 2019 and would go on to get well over 6.4k views as of this updates posting. The film was met with mostly positive reviews from critics and fans and would even get a comic book based around it. The film in 2017 was released alongside such other horror films as The Bye Bye Man, Get Out, Happy Death Day, Wish Upon, One Cut Of The Dead, Creep 2, Jeepers Creepers 3, Devil’s Trail, 10/31 and It Comes At Night, to name a few.

The Passenger is a film I discovered because of the Kickstater that August Aguilar was running for the comic book adaptation of the short film, and from the moment I saw the creature design, I knew that I had to not only back the comic and read it but also watch the short film on YouTube and when watching it…it made me flashback to the days of my friends and I making low budget horror films. What works so well for this film is the way that August uses shadows and darkness to cloak The Passenger who is roaming around the darkened streets just looking for a person to hitch a ride with, and the make up effects used for this wandering creature are really well done and makes the short film stand out from many other films on its budget level. The Passenger is a short film that I wish would be developed into a feature film sometime in the future by August that is set in a small town in Tennessee with The Passenger being an urban legend around town, and a group of friends out running the roads one night after a lame house party stumble across this twisted creature and find out that the stories are all true. I would also not tie it into The Stranger, a character that connects some of the company’s films together and just make this one a stand-alone fright feature all about the title creature. But back to the short film, I think the short film is well acted and directed and is one you should check out on YouTube as supporting indie horror cinema is very important.

So now that we have talked about The Passenger, both the creature and the short film, I think that it’s time for us to take a look at the comic based on the film. I first want to thank Strange Films for not only having this comic in stock and making this update possible, but for also making the comic as I wish more indie movie distributors would do this with their horror, sci-fi and action films. I also want to say that the comic series this is part of is called “Strange Comics” that has each issue being about a different film from August Aguilar and his Strange Films company, but we will just call this one The Passenger # 1 for this update. Like always, I also want to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So if you are ready, let’s see what horrors The Passenger has in store for all of us as this is a first time read for me and I am very much looking forward to checking it out.

Passenger # 1 ***
Released in 2020 Cover Price $10.00 Strange Comics # 2 of ?

In the small town of Erwin, a man is roaming around the woods when he is attacked and killed by The Stranger, a weird demonic looking creature that rips the man apart. Later that night Lindsey is driving home and listening to the radio that features a news report about all the strange things going on in the town, as she keeps driving she passes The Passenger that is at the side of the road and runs into her car…and unknown to her The Passenger is now in the back seat of her car watching as she calls her boyfriend Chris at work as this encounter has scared her to her core. As she pulls into the warehouse were her boyfriend works the late shift The Passenger attacks her and bites her turning her into a weird demonic creature like himself! As Chris comes out to check on his lady, he is attacked by the now creature version of Lindsey! As Lindsey gets done killing her boyfriend she is greeted by The Stranger, a supernatural traveler who welcomes her to this strange family, and as this is going on The Passenger is attacking and turning more townspeople into monsters like him.

What a fun quick read comic for a spooky quick watch short film! The comic’s plot has Lindsey on a late night drive when she runs into a demonic creature called The Passenger that ends up hitching a ride with her and turning her into a monster like himself, and under this weird creature’s virus bite she ends up killing her own boyfriend before joining the side of the supernatural being The Stranger. The Passenger is truly a killing machine as he starts the issue off killing a person by ripping their guts out and then goes on to infect several other people with his bite turning them into a lesser monster version of himself. The Passenger also seems like a very cold and uncaring creature that kills out of instinct and maybe a dash of hatred for mankind. Lindsey and Chris is a couple that sadly become victims when they have a chance encounter with The Passenger that leads one to be killed and another to become a monster. And The Stranger at the end appears and almost seems to be enjoying the fact The Passenger is spreading his weird demonic virus to others, its like he feels these monsters are like family and he is building an army of them. The issue has some blood and gore with the first death of an unknown man by the hands of The Passenger being the best kill as well as the goriest. The cover is really cool and eye-catching and captures the vibe of this short film, with the interior art being done by Tim Sparvero and his style is really cool and fitting…and I like how he draws The Passenger as well as the gore. This comic does a great job of fitting into the short film universe and offers a quick spooky read. I wish that The Stranger aspect would have been left out and those panels would have given us more on The Passenger and his background…but that’s a minor complaint and my only complaint besides I wish the comic was longer because I enjoyed what I was reading. So if you like indie horror comics based on indie horror films make sure to give this one a read as it’s a spooky good time. Check out the artwork below to see Tim Sparvero’s style used for this comic.

As you can see while both the film and comic are short, they both pack a frightful punch as what I think makes them both work is that they both have that small town urban legend feel as every one of them has some sort of unknown creature like this. But now that we have all found ourselves safe and sound at the places we all like to read Rotten Ink, I think that its time we part ways, but before we do I would like to tell you that our next update will get us back on track as we will be diving into the cult classic film Don’t Look In The Basement! So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror movie or two and as always, support your local Horror Host. See you next update and let’s hope that we really don’t have to see what is in the basement.

SOV Flashbacks Classics – A Night Of Total Terror

Posted on October 12, 2021 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. For this update, we will be taking a look at another Shot On Video Film of James Rolfe and his Cinemassacre Productions, and when looking at the DVDs I have of some of his movies I decided to choose his 1996 Silent Film “A Night Of Total Terror” as it’s one that seems to be a one he truly loved making and is a major influence of his creative life that followed. The film was made because of a mix of boredom and creativity and was inspired by “Night Of The Living Dead” and the silent film masterpiece “Nosferatu”! So what awaits you readers on this Night Of Total Terror? Well read on and find out as this SOV Flashback update is going to be a blast, and I hope will inspire some of you to pick up a camera and film your own backyard films.

James Rolfe was hooked on making movies at a very young age and armed with his family’s VHS camera he would write and direct his own fright flicks and would try his best to get his friends to act in them and allow his visions to come alive. In May 1996 James at the age of 15 was itching to make another movie and after two of the SNIX flicks and some shorts were in his past, he knew that getting his friends to be in another was not in the cards so he came up with a Silent Horror Film that he himself could play all the roles! You see James was a big fan of classic Horror with the Universal Monsters being some of his all time favorites and during this boring summer he knew he had to make this film and nothing was going to stand in his way and his dream to make this creepy classic style Silent Horror Film. And it was at that time while bored in his room hearing the lawnmowers of his neighbors going outside that he made the decision that this was the summer he was going to make another film and he was going to give it his all as he was going to be a one man cast and crew! And on that day the shot on video film “A Night Of Total Terror” was born and James’s creative life would forever be changed.

James spent a whole day filming and coming up with the film’s plot on the spot and putting the ideas that would come to his mind onto tape, and thanks to all the Halloween masks and props he had from the haunted house he held every year in the family basement he had all the tools he needed to create his monsters! James played all the parts in the film and would have to set his shots up change into another character then hit record and the camera had a three second delay and he would have to run and be in the spot in order to get his shot. When needed during this day of filming he would ask his younger sister to put on the outfit of one of the ghouls in order to get a certain shot, and once she filled in he would take the role back over. He of course shot the film during the day and knew that by turning the film black and white he could play it off that it was late night. And after a long day of filming and editing James had a very interesting short horror film that he could be proud of…but this first day was not the end of this film!

The second day of filming James ended up showing the first part of the film to some of the neighborhood kids and they loved it and wanted to help make the second part of the film, and this gave James the cast and crew he needed and was able to make the film a little easier for him to pull of shots and his ideas could get a little bigger! Plus he could add more monsters to his story, and that is always a good thing in the world of SOV Horror. And things started to move faster on set as he was able to shoot scenes faster and was able feel that rush of making a film at that age and being creative with his friends. He wanted to make a film that built a spooky atmosphere and for that level of filmmaking he pulled it off! James really was a one man production team as for the most part he not only was the story creator, actor, director, special effects guy he also was the film’s editor that he did all in camera…think about that he edited the film in camera and had to rewind the tape in order to take out bad and messed up takes. He also in order to get the silent and black and white look he wanted he had to play the tape on his VCR and turn the sound and color down on the TV and then use the camcorder to tape the TV Screen! And when this film was done James was proud of it, and this is the film that gave him the encouragement to prose a career in filmmaking.

A Night Of Total Terror is for James what “Werewolf Of Ohio 2: 10 Years Before” was for me that moment of picking up a camera and filing with your friends watching your story and characters come to live, the feeling of knowing you want to make films your life…it’s a feeling that is hard to describe but really does give you that bug to want to film more and get better at all aspects of creating a movie. James was so inspired by this film that he would go on to do a “Making Of Film” did a sequel he called “ An Evening Of Real Supernatural Horror”, at one point was working on a remake and even did a mini version for collage called “A New Night Of Total Terror” and even other films he made have taken elements from this film. So while SNIX and a few other films came before it truly his first film that brought him to the SOV dance was A Total Night Of Terror. The film was mostly seen only by his friends and family and would run around 30 minutes, and in 2006 he recut the film and released a shorten version on the internet…it’s a shame as I for one would have liked to see the original version of the film as to me that also shows the heart of the production as well as the skill of the director. But I must also say at least we get to see the film in some sort of way and for that thanks James for sharing your early creative film works with the world.

So I want to say that for this film I will write about its plot, my thoughts on the film and will in the end give it a Report Card Grade on the classic A-F scale. Now keep in mind it would not be fair to grade SOV films like you would a big budget Hollywood Movie or even a bigger budget Indie Feature, that’s why much like I do for “Fan Films” I will be grading them on its own scale on a scale of true to life backyard cinema the true shot on video warriors of the camcorder days. So grab a flashlight and lets take a spooky journey into a Night Of Total Terror!

A Night Of Total Terror
Starring – James Rolfe & Gina Rolfe Directed by James Rolfe
1996 Not Rated 10min Cinemassacre DVD-R Full Frame

Movie: A thief breaks into a tomb in order to steal a magic lamp, but unknown to him this has caused ghouls and creatures to track him down as they want back what is theirs! The enter his home and try to scare him with eye balls and hands that they leave around even a rat attacks him and bites his neck causing the thief pain…his defense is to throw it all out the window! But when a hockey mask wearing Creep with a top hat and cane enters his home all hope is lost as the Creep attacks him with his cane causing the thief to fight back and bash the Creep with his fists as well as taking the cane and beating him with it, but before he can truly escape or get help a ghoul as well enters the house and the Creep comes back for more causing him to have to flee his house and run into the near by woods at night and finding shelter with a young man who has a tent up as he is camping. The thief will not give up the lamp and has it with him as he sits in the tent and tells the man that he has it and that’s what they want! Meanwhile outside the monsters are gathering as besides the Creep and Ghoul such monsters as a Dinosaur Man, Vampire, black hooded man, the rat and Werewolf have joined in the stalking! The youngster in the tent takes out a gun opens fire on the ghouls and then the thief as well takes the gun and shoots the ghouls and they hurry back into the tent. Once inside the thief asks the kid if he believes in the curse of the lamp, and before he can fully answer the tent is attacked by the ghouls! When one finally gets in they remove their mask as does all the ghouls outside as they only dressed this way to scare them and take the lamp as they are thieves as well! But the joke is on them as the lamp curse is real and turns the original thief and the tent kid into monsters who kill them in the end.

Thoughts: A Night Of Total Terror is a fun backyard shot horror film that you can tell was very much thought up on the spot and props pulled out of the Halloween boxes from the basement, but because of this is why I think it has a charm of being a early work of a director that went onto bigger and better films and shorts. The film for the most part is a silent horror film all though very little title cards are used to explain the plot, but to be honest it’s very easy to follow. You can tell that James had his heart into the film even with the zero budget and at the start lack of help and you can also see his influences from classic black and white horror films throughout. He also had a nice twist ending that was very popular in classic horror that has not everything you see being what it seems. Plus in the end when the thief who is played by James Rolfe turns into a monster cause of the lamp he transforms into a gorilla creature and this makes me wonder if he does so cause of his love for the film King Kong or because Gorilla’s were super popular in classic horror to be the monster on film? The films effects are super backyard and charming with clearly store bought plastic limbs and eyes being used to pull off the “gore”. Also I am not sure but I think that the magical lamp is a Disney Aladdin toy and that is awesome as kids and teens in their backyard epics use what they have and that’s lots of toys, I mean in Werewolf Of Ohio I used a old Lone Ranger gun as the leads weapon! While A Night Of Total Terror is not super scary nor is it the best film James has made, I will say that holds lots of magic as you can tell it was made with the love of horror cinema and filmmaking. Check it out if you are a fan of silent horror and zero budget backyard films.

Grade: B+

After watching this chopped down version of this film I for one once more must stress that I would have liked to have seen the full 30 minute version and hope that one day James will stop chopping these down and allow us to also see the true original versions, no need to George Lucas these films as those who love SOV films enjoy them no matter how flawed they are. In fact I am hoping that someday a company like SOV Horror get the rights from James and put this film out in a collectors edition DVD as the world needs it! I am having such a great time doing these updates based on Shot On Video Horror Films and I hope you are enjoying reading them, and in 2022 I will be doing a few more so that is something for you to look forward to as one of them will be Werewolf Of Ohio the first film I ever made! But for my next update we are leaving the SOV films behind and will be once more looking at a Horror Host and a very awesome one at that as its time we take a look at Dayton, Ohio’s own Baron Von Porkchop! So until next time make sure to read an indie comic or three, watch a SOV film or two, and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next time for a Terrifying Tale Of The Macabre!