The Ninth Passenger

_**Eight people on a luxury yacht, but there’s another passenger**_ In the Strait of Georgia in the Vancouver area eight people, half of them strangers, end up on an unexpected ride in a luxury yacht where some of them eventually board a dinghy to the nearest island and horrific things happen. Will anyone make it back alive? Jesse Metcalfe plays the quasi-protagonist with a secret agenda. “The Ninth Passenger” (2018) is a drama/thriller with a little horror that brings to mind yacht/schooner movies like "Dead Calm" (1989) and "Caught Inside" (2010), but with a surprise twist in the last act, which has more to do with flicks like “Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan” (1989). While this is the least of these, it’s proficiently made for a low-budget film with a decent cast of no-names, fitting atmosphere, a quality score and impressive F/X. But the script needed more tweaking because there’s a lack of cohesion to the story. It’s like several ideas put together that needed a little more smoothness and logic. Yet it could also be argued that ambiguity works in the picture’s favor. Metcalfe does well as the formidable protagonist, inspiring men to get in better shape. As for the feminine cast, there are four beauties: Alexia Fast (Jess), Veronica Dunne (Christy), Sabina Gadecki (Tina) and Cinta Laura Kiehl (Nicole), but the director only milks the latter’s splendor (no nudity) and she’s debatably the least of ’em. The film runs 1 hour, 16 minutes (although it’s curiously listed as 93 minutes), and was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia. GRADE: C+