by Jeff Alan, Contributing Writer
This is the year of Shyamalan, with the release of Ishana Night Shyamalan’s feature debut, The Watchers, earlier this summer, and now only a month later, M. Night Shyamalan puts out his newest addition to his film career in the psychological thriller, Trap. The film stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan (M. Night’s other daughter), Alison Pill, and even a small role by rapper Kid Cudi.
Trap starts with loving father, Cooper (Hartnett), taking his teenage daughter, Riley (Donoghue), to the concert of her favorite pop star, Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan). While making their way to their seats and witnessing the first few minutes of the concert, he notices a staggering amount of police, SWAT, and FBI officers and personnel present at the concert. It is then revealed through a concert vendor that the entire concert is an elaborate trap to catch the local serial killer that the city of Philadelphia has dubbed “The Butcher.” But it’s also revealed that Cooper himself is in fact the Butcher, and he must think on his feet to try and escape with his identity intact.
I want to leave the premise there as to keep the plot mysterious, because this is a completely different experience of Shyamalan movies than I’ve ever seen before! Trap may be my favorite Shyamalan film since Split. What’s great about it is that it keeps the entire story completely grounded in reality, instead of relying on something supernatural or otherworldly to keep the mystery going. Trap is ALL suspense, which is exactly what I love! It’s entirely a game of cat-and-mouse from beginning to end, and it is very well done.
One thing about Shyamalan’s films that I deeply loathe is the amount of self-serving he does in his films. For instance, he gives himself a cameo in EACH of his films, and they all feel forced and heavy-handed, Trap included. But in Trap, right from the start of the film, we are introduced to Lady Raven, played by his daughter, and the first half of the film spends a significant amount of time filming her fake concert as a sort of demo reel for her music and showmanship (the music was also all written and performed by Saleka). It was a bit annoying to see this, because it feels like every 10 minutes is another commercial for his daughter’s music career. However, towards the second half of the film, Lady Raven makes more of an impact on the plot, and we see Saleka’s acting chops come into further focus. By the end of the film, you start to see the reason why M. Night gave her that much screen time in the front half, and that Saleka may not have gotten into this movie just because her father is the director — she turns in a surprisingly good acting performance.
And speaking of good acting, Hartnett is starting to have a resurgence in his career, and I am here for it! He’s been popping up in things like Oppenheimer, Season Six of Black Mirror, and even recently in the newest season of The Bear, and even though these performances have been relatively smaller, he has been hitting them out of the park. Trap is no exception! He is outstanding as a character who can come across nice and sweet like an everyday person, and then flip on a dime into a psychotic killer, and devise way after way for him to wriggle out of the hole he’s in. Pill comes in during the back half of the film and gives a great performance as well, playing the role of his wife.
There really is not much bad to find in Trap, other than the unimaginative name the authorities have come up with for the serial killer (The Butcher?), and the way Hartnett’s character finds out about the trap to begin with. It feels a little too much like Shyamalan needed to find a way to get Cooper in the know of what’s happening, so it’s lazy writing for him to find out the way he does, from a mere merch vender no less. I think there were more creative ways to kick the plot into gear, but I can’t complain much, because when the story gets going, it takes off!
Trap not only met my expectations, but pretty much exceeded them — granted, the bar was set pretty low to begin with. The acting in Shyamalan’s films is usually pretty on point, and he has good premises. But I think if he sticks to more grounded stories like this — and even the majority of Split — it can lead to a film with really fascinating avenues and surprises that pay off incredibly well! I can’t say Shyamalan has redeemed himself completely in my eyes, because he definitely has more misses than hits, but Trap is an excellent start for me to start giving his future films more of a chance!
Rating: Low Side of Loved It
Trap is currently playing in theaters
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