Trap (2024) | Film Review

Writer and director M. Night Shyamalan returns to the world of Hitchcockian thrills with Trap, a seemingly pulse-pounding, creative endeavor which allows its trailer to get the “twist” in the open early. We are following Cooper (Josh Hartnett), a dorky middle-aged dad, as he escorts his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to a massive concert featuring Lady Raven (the director’s daughter, Saleka Shyamalan), who is a mix of Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift.

Cooper is hyper-observant and quickly pieces together that there is enhanced security at this event. It is curious to say the least. After questioning a few employees of the venue, he learns the truth of it all: the police are using this concert to trap an elusively brutal serial killer known as “The Butcher”. The problem is that just happens to be Cooper himself. Now we follow Cooper as he attempts to get himself and his daughter out of this predicament, without tipping off the police of who he is. Can he pull it off?

Despite the absolute absurdity of the premise (the police are planning on knowingly trapping 20,000 people in the building with a desperate serial killer?), it is undeniably fun to watch Josh Hartnett revel in the narcissistic genius of this man who feels he is always one-step-ahead of profiler Dr. Grant (Haley Mills). Hartnett gives his fullest performance in years, coming undone as the film rolls on and Cooper is squeezed into a tighter noose with every frame. There are hints of his early roles in The Faculty and Halloween H20 that immediately spring to mind, where the actor’s effortless charisma endears the audience despite the fact that we should find him ultimately terrifying.

Saleka Shyamalan is captivating to watch, as her sultry voice and obvious stage presence immediately casts the nepotism of it all to the side so we can easily understand why young Riley would be enamored by the singer. Though the film takes a bit of a ludicrous turn around the mid-section, Lady Raven remains a fascinating character brought to life by Saleka Shyamalan and stands on the singer and actresses’ own feet.

Whatever you think of M. Night Shyamalan’s film, you have to admire his trajectory as a director. Shyamalan has created an entire filmography whose biggest selling point remains his own name. Despite ups-and-downs, audiences still buy a ticket based on the Shyamalan name and what it COULD ultimately mean over the course of the film. For every Split, there is an Old, and Trap ultimately lands somewhere in the middle.

The actors are game, but the script is not. Cooper should be the most brilliant serial killer out there, but instead he just feels exceedingly lucky. How he escapes many of his expected captures becomes more and more absurd with every frame. One moment in particular revolves around two characters who would never, ever be allowed to be alone in this scenario, and the movie hinders on this unbelievable moment that plucks the tension straight out of the air and stomps on the audience’s buy-in up to that point on the ground. The remainder of the film continues this trend, taking with it all the promise from that initial trailer.

Trap is a clever setup with a rousing performance from Josh Hartnett, an actor who deserves to be showcased in more films. Unfortunately, despite M. Night Shyamalan’s taut direction, his script allows for far too many eye-rolling twists to keep audiences invested until the final credits roll. One might say that the script itself was a trap.