TRAP (2024) review
written by: M. Night Shyamalan
produced by: Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock, and M. Night Shyamalan
directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
rated: PG-13 (for some violent content and brief strong language)
runtime: 105 min.
U.S. release date: August 2, 2024
You must admit that M. Night Shyamalan knows how to lift up his family, specifically his daughters. After producing his daughter’s directorial debut, “The Watchers”, earlier this summer, he gave his other daughter a surprisingly prominent role in his latest directing endeavor, “Trap”. Way to go, Dad! Sadly, neither of these debatable thrillers live up to the exhaustive marketing that promised taut storytelling, intense thrills, and, perhaps a traditional Shyamalan twist. There’s certainly a valid curiosity in the “Silence of the Lambs meets a Taylor Swift concert” concept, which is how M. Night pitched the project to Warner Bros. Pictures. If only he had kept the action within the stadium because it would have entered unexpectedly ridiculous levels of absurdity once it exited the building.
This isn’t an M. Night movie that offers scares but instead conjures initial curiosities and eventual questions of plausibility. Still, I’ll take his attempts at something different over the plethora of prequels, sequels, reboots, and attempts at IP immortality we see hit theaters.
As a reward for getting good grades, Cooper Adams (Josh Hartnett) is taking his teen daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue), to see her favorite singer, Lady Raven, perform at a local Philadelphia arena. It’s a good bonding opportunity for the pair since Riley has been dealing with some bullying drama from her peers, and her dad has some issues with being present. Riley is excited, knowing all the artist’s lyrics and choreography, while Cooper seems a bit overwhelmed by the show’s volume and the overwhelming fandom.
Cooper also seems overly concerned with the level of security at the stadium. Sure enough, an extra police presence can be felt, especially with SWAT and an F.B.I. contingency overseen by profiler Dr. Josephine Grant (Hayley Mills). Once inside the arena, Cooper notices security and police escorting certain types of men from their seats, supposedly for questioning. He learns from Jamie (Jonathan Langdon), a worker at a merchandise table, that the strong law enforcement presence is trying to entrap The Butcher, a local serial killer, who they’ve learned is supposed to be in attendance. Considering Cooper is The Butcher, this is not good news.
If you consider that a spoiler, then you haven’t been paying attention to the marketing for this movie. All of the trailers for “Trap” have revealed that Hartnett’s dad is the one law enforcement is trying to trap. If they were smart, the marketing would’ve taken the perspective of the character played by Mills or at least focused on why the authorities have reason to believe that The Butcher will be at a Lady Raven concert. That last part is one of many story aspects that are never explained.
Throughout the concert, Cooper feigns interest for the sake of his daughter but also excuses himself a handful of times. During a trip to the washroom, we see him go into a stall to check the camera footage on his phone of his latest victim, bound and gagged in a nearby basement. It’s hard to get concerned for the victim when we know nothing about him since we’re seeing all this play out from the perspective of a squirrely serial killer. Cooper’s obsession with finding a way out puts him in direct contact with police and security (he nabs a police radio with ease), where the killer winds up hiding in plain sight. His distracted focus leaves Riley concerned and confused, wondering why her father is acting so strange.
As usual, Shyamalan does his best to emulate Hitchcock, but he’s forgotten one of the most important aspects of thrillers: establishing realism and logic in behavior and decisions. Cooper experiences too many conveniences and coincidences, not to mention plain old luck, in a stadium swarming with 20,642 people. There’s no way that Jamie would take Cooper through employee-only access just because the charming dad flashes a smile and states he’s a firefighter. Sorry, but that wouldn’t make me want to risk my job. If anything, I’d be suspicious of how overly friendly this dad is.
Another coincidental moment is when Cooper bumps into the mother (Marnie McPhail) of a girl bullying Riley. She’s a lot to deal with, insisting on conversing with Cooper about their daughters when he clearly is uninterested. That’s understandable, considering a concert is not the right time or place to have such a talk, and he’d obviously got other things on his mind. This encounter occurs not once but twice in one of the many bustling hallways where the bathrooms, concessions, and merchandise are located. It’s not uncommon to meet someone you know at a concert, but more than one chance encounter seems highly unlikely. Still, it aligns with all the other contrived moments in “Trap.”
Hartnett does an excellent job of portraying someone who’d prefer to be elsewhere. His awkwardness is a red flag that no one except his daughter picks up on. The smile Hartnett often flashes is more disturbing than endearing. The audience knows this—as do Shyamalan and cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, which is evident in their decision to utilize close camera shots (any closer, and the proximity would resemble dental x-rays). Still, no one that his weird demeanor puts off Cooper encounters.
It’s also odd that in a location filled with security alarms and cameras at every turn, it’s baffling that the authorities aren’t honing in on Connor’s actions. This is especially true when Cooper stages an accident at a concession stand to cause a distraction, leaving a worker horribly injured. Yet his involvement isn’t found in any camera footage, but then again, it seems like everyone is looking the other way in this movie. He’s not exactly trying not to stand out, and you would think somebody, anybody, would say something about his actions. There’s even a scene where he pushes a woman down a flight of stairs. You mean to tell me no one saw that happen? These kinds of doubtful occurrences that M. Night wants us to “go with” are just, well, insulting.
Casting his daughter as Lady Raven may seem like a total dad move, but M. Night has never shied away from putting more Shyamalan in his movies, considering how much screen time he typically gives himself. Of course, he awards himself a bizarrely convenient role, that of Lady Raven’s uncle, who offers Cooper a chance for Riley to not only meet the popstar but also get on stage with her. That all seems entirely too convenient. In real life, Saleka Shyamalan is a singer who writes her own songs. Her music is fine here, but there’s too much time spent on her stage performance, which is strange considering what is brewing with authorities at the stadium. But the authorities don’t even know what Cooper looks like, so how in the world do they plan on capturing him?
Things get even more bizarre during the third act of “Trap,” with M. Night offering a sharp turn rather than a revelatory twist. It’s a commendable attempt at subverting audience expectations, but he’s asking a lot from us. At this point in the movie, not only does Cooper manage to get himself nearer to the backstage entrance (because, inexplicably, all the other exits are heavily guarded), but the story departs the stadium and takes us to Cooper and Riley’s home, where wife/mother, Rachel (Alison Pill), awaits with concern.
Tagging along, or instead inserting herself, is Lady Raven, who manages to brush off her manager and any security to assist in releasing Cooper’s current victim. As you can imagine, the entire third act of “Trap” will leave you asking “What?” out loud more than twice.
Maybe if Shyamalan leaned on the cat-and-mouse aspect of the movie rather than zig-zagging his way into giving his daughter an oddly prominent role. “Trap” might have delivered on at least its fundamental promise of a curious thriller. The curiosity was primarily the idea of a trap occurring in an arena. Once that’s done with, the absurdity developed while in the arena only increases into levels of ludicrousness. Sadly, Hartnett being game and delivering a committed performance just isn’t enough.
RATING: **
