‘Trap’ Review: Josh Hartnett Steals The Show In Latest M. Night Shyamalan Thriller
I’d like to preface this review by stating that I have a complicated relationship with the cinematic works of M. Night Shyamalan. First and foremost, he changed my young life when I watched The Village at the age of 12. Signs made me terrified of the dark for most of my childhood. The Sixth Sense chilled me to my core. But as I grew up and his filmography evolved, so did our (parasocial) relationship. Like many, I found myself perplexed by his more recent works. I appreciated the craft but was left cold by the narratives themselves. But regardless, whenever he made a new movie, my butt was in that movie theater seat, ready to be surprised by whatever he had conjured next.
And, dear reader, I’m happy to share that his most recent film Trap, a film that’s received rather abysmal marketing and almost zero press coverage prior to its release date, is a surprisingly fun, beautifully shot, and ultimately ridiculous rendition of a serial killer story. Plus, it stars Josh Hartnett in a career best as our murderous main character trying to claw his way out of a very complicated game of cat-and-mouse.
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Cooper (Hartnett) is taking his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to see Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan, Shyamalan’s daughter who wrote, produced, and performed all of the songs in the film) at a massive stadium show in Philadelphia. He scored great tickets and has officially earned himself the title “Dad Of The Year”, at least for the next few hours. As they walk into the venue, Cooper notices a lot of cops, as well as SWAT teams surrounding every exit. He gets Riley to their seats and then rushes to the bathroom to check his phone. But he’s not checking his texts—he’s checking the live feed of the victim he has chained in a basement. Shyamalan (and all of the film’s marketing) wastes no time to reveal that Cooper is a serial killer, The Butcher, to be precise, a deranged maniac that hacks his victims into pieces.
Through charming venue staff and swiftly stealing work badges, Cooper learns that the FBI is using this concert as a trap to capture The Butcher. Only they don’t know exactly what he looks like. So Cooper must try to find a way out of the stadium without getting caught and ruining the concert for his daughter. And the lengths he goes are chaotic and gruesome, though there’s never any actual gore here. Shyamalan opts for his typical allusions of shocking violence rather than showing it explicitly. The harder Cooper tries to hide, the more off the rails the narrative becomes, and honestly, it has no interest in ever getting back on the rails. Shyamalan is like Gene Wilder during the scariest part of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, guiding us through chaos with utter glee.
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I’ve come to the conclusion that Shyamalan wrote Trap for two reasons: first, to give his daughter a massive platform where she got to write and perform her own music, and second, to let Josh Hartnett really show off what he can do as an actor. Neither of these reasons are bad by any means. In fact, those two reasons expose the genuineness behind a film that’s really just trying to be a lot of damn fun. Shyamalan knows what we expect from him as a filmmaker and with Trap, he toys with that expectation, dangling red herrings in front of your face, daring you to assume his next move.
But the number one reason to see Trap is Josh Hartnett’s performance as Cooper. He’s been working in the horror genre for decades and was a massive teen heartthrob (at least for me) and yet he’s never really gotten a chance to show off what he can do as an actor. Until now. Hartnett is in almost every frame of Trap and he devours the scenery. Since the audience is in on his little secret, his subtle facial expressions are rendered all the more devilish and almost charming. Shyamalan and Hartnett make sure to never have us necessarily sympathize with Cooper, but they do make it obvious why someone like him can get away with violence like he does.
Shyamalan’s team really goes for it with constructing an actual concert for Lady Raven’s performance. It’s truly the kind of over-the-top bizarre premise that’s perfect for summer movie viewing. Yes, it’s silly, but it’s also gorgeously designed and Saleka isn’t a bad performer either, crooning generic pop hits that send the crowds of teenage girls shrieking. Shyamalan and cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Suspiria (2018), Challengers) also use the space creatively to keep concert footage from becoming repetitive and never making this feel like a music video. Eyes are always on Hartnett, watching him watch.
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The trick to enjoying Trap is to go in ready to suspend disbelief because this isn’t a gritty crime thriller in the vein of Longlegs. In fact, Trap is the antithesis of Longlegs: it’s an over-the-top serial killer film that doesn’t try to shock you with depravity, but rather hook you through suspense and Hartnett’s charisma, even as a murderer. By no means is this film reinventing the wheel when it comes to serial killer horror. But it sure is having fun with those tropes.
Yes, the dialogue is often cheesy and a bit stilted. Sure, there are plenty of holes you could poke in the plot. But with a movie like Trap, what’s the point? This is Shyamalan not trying to tell a fable with some greater truth as seen in The Lady In The Water, Signs, and even The Sixth Sense. Instead, this feels like Shyamalan letting himself have fun and make a serial killer film in a way only he could. This feels like another turning point in his career, one that’s self-aware and ready to weaponize that against the viewer. And as that kid who religiously watched The Village until I could recite the entire thing, I still can’t wait to see what he creates next.
Summary
Featuring gorgeous cinematography and a stellar lead performance by Josh Hartnett, ‘Trap’ is just plain fun.
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