Whether you love him or hate him, M. Night Shyamalan remains one of Philadelphia’s greatest exports. The Sixth Sense filmmaker has been steadily churning out a variety of movie experiences ever since he hit the ground running in the early 2000s, and his latest feature, Trap, is a wonderfully entertaining showcase of everything he does best.
After a mid-career slump due to a string of poorly received films like The Happening, After Earth, and a live-action adaptation of The Last Airbender, Shyamalan has made an enthralling comeback in the last decade that’s seen the director cutting loose in a way he hasn’t really before. With his more modern features like The Visit, Split, Old, and others, it’s evident that he’s having more fun with it than ever, and Trap dials that up to eleven in a masterful way.
The film follows everyday family man Cooper (Josh Hartnett) as he takes his teenage daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to see her favorite pop star in concert. The sold out arena show is packed with screaming teens and their obligatory parents, and Cooper is doing his best to stay engaged and enjoy quality time with his daughter. He’s scored some seriously great seats on the floor close to the stage, and he seems primed to earn himself that coveted Dad of the Year trophy by the night’s end.
But he can’t help but be distracted; there’s a noticeably heavy police presence at this concert, with most dressed in riot gear and armed to the teeth. Even for a celebrity as famous as Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan), the amount of security seems like a good bit of overkill. What’s the deal? After befriending a merch vendor named Jamie (Jonathan Langdon), Cooper learns that the FBI is using the concert to find and catch a particularly nasty serial killer known as “The Butcher”. An infamous profiler named Dr. Josephine Grant (Hayley Mills) has put a full proof plan into action inside of the arena, ensuring that the vicious murderer will have no escape.
This news is incredibly disturbing to Cooper - not because he’s concerned that The Butcher is apparently in attendance at this very concert, but because, well, he’s The Butcher. And sure, he’s killed people in some real horrific ways and should probably pay for those crimes, but tonight he just wanted to have a special evening with his daughter, damn it! A thrilling game of cat and mouse begins, with Cooper forced to evade the police and search for a way out of the arena all while trying not to ruin Riley’s big night.
Shyamalan pulls off an enthralling and oftentimes darkly hilarious magic trick with Cooper, allowing us to empathize and even root for him in his desperate quest for some kind of escape. Placing a depraved serial killer as the leading man is a bold move but one that pays off in a multitude of ways. It’s Cooper’s doomed desire to keep his family life and his “work” life separate that becomes the core of Trap’s story, and allows for the audience to relate to him despite his incredibly immoral side.
With terrific pacing and noticeably brilliant camerawork from cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Suspiria, Thirteen Lives, Challengers), Trap is Shyamalan at his most entertaining. The somewhat ridiculous premise is taken to more fantastical heights by a series of extreme coincidences (many of which are brought on by Cooper’s charm and luck) that are likely to make half the audience scoff in disbelief, but for those willing to ride the writer / director’s cheeky wavelength, the film only becomes that much more engaging.
Hartnett has come into 2024 with guns blazing, delivering a true powerhouse of a performance that is one of, if not the very best work the actor has ever done. The entire movie basically hinges on its lead performance, and Hartnett was clearly more than up for the challenge. While there’s nothing particularly scary about Trap, it does offer plenty of genuine thrills (especially in its tone-shifting second half), and much of that is thanks to Hartnett and his mastery of the different aspects of his character.
Trap is a blast from start to finish, earning enough goodwill through its unique vibe and funhouse-like rhythm to mostly overcome some increasing absurdity regarding its plot. Shyamalan proves once again to be at his greatest when playing with a contained B-movie type of story, and this particular one about a good dad who just so happens to also be a serial killer unexpectedly turns into one of his very best.
‘Trap’ is now playing in theaters.
