Review: Trap

Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

Written by: M. Night Shyamalan

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Night Shyamalan, Hayley Mills

Rating: [3.5/5]

Trying to catch serial killers never comes as an easy task, considering these individuals have a level of detail in the way they operate that allows them to avoid detection. They leave minimal clues behind, and sometimes only allow what they want those chasing them to know. However, when given the opportunity to strike, law enforcement must do so and as we see in Trap, they pull out all the stops in their efforts to find one attending a concert. 

Taking his very excited daughter to a concert, Cooper (Josh Hartnett) hopes to create a wonderful memory for her as they attend the performance of her favorite artist, Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan). Noticing the increased police presence, Cooper finds out that the police have been tipped off that an infamous serial killer named “The Butcher” is at the concert, and the police hope to trap and find him in the venue. The only problem for Cooper being that he’s The Butcher. 

Fascinating premise as usual from M. Night Shyamalan as the man knows how to hook in an audience in selling the idea of a story but usually fumbles it by the end. Trap unfortunately fits within this category but its highest highs do just enough for me to maintain an overall positive opinion about what he crafts here. A tale of two halves, where ultimately Shyamalan refuses to allow the film to end until we get to the territory of the ridiculous. 

Everything happening at the concert venue displays the very best this feature seeks to display as this works as both a thriller but also an ode to all of the girl dads out there. Shyamalan has three daughters, with one of them starring in this very film as Lady Raven, and you can just feel the love he has for them in the way he crafts Cooper and Riley’s (Ariel Donoghue) dynamic. The genuine euphoria the young girl has in seeing her favorite artist and viewing it all through the eyes of Cooper is a place many girl dads have found themselves. A genuine love that never gets lost, even when we learn of him being the Butcher and the object of this massive police search during this concert. It displays the double life Cooper has lived in being this beloved father figure but also someone who takes pleasure in murdering others. Shyamalan handles this divide quite well all throughout even when the train goes off of the rails. 

Typically when watching a film of police trying to catch a serial killer, we see it all through the perspective of the police, but Trap flips in allowing us to see just how someone with the mind of Cooper navigates this situation. It therefore makes sense why he could go on this run of murdering people, seeing as the man knows how to lie through his teeth while also charming who he needs to and taking out those he does not deem necessary. An interesting point of view to take and as much as this works when we operate within the confines of the concert, everything happening the second half of the film sought to throw a wet blanket on the whole affair. Seeing Cooper get out of impossible circumstances certainly supplies the fun we seek through the film but the way the narrative just kept going with reveal after reveal grew quite tiresome. It made me question if this man was even human in the way he continually gets out of these circumstances, and especially the credibility of these police officers and their hilarious incompetence. 

Much of what makes this film ultimately works comes from the performance of Josh Hartnett as our girl dad. The man put on a clinic in duplicitousness in changing his demeanor depending on what the situation required. He shifts physically in the way he interacts with his daughter, the stadium employees, the police, and everyone else. Hartnett plays up the comedy of these interactions in a way that solidifies this film as Shyamalan’s funniest. One awkward interaction after another has this chameleon of a performance bring the fun and Hartnett absolutely chewed it all up. 

Same old story here by M. Night Shyamalan with Trap where he brings a killer premise and just does not land the plane in an adequate manner, leaving quite a deflating experience. I would dislike this film more but everything in the first half completely captivated me with Hartnett’s performance, this trapping circumstance, and most importantly the relationship Cooper has with his daughter that has the perfect amount of sweetness that digs right into what Shyamalan wanted to capture. That makes this film worth watching and if I ever rewatch this film I’ll just turn it off before it falls off its proverbial cliff.