Trap

SHOWTIMES 26753003

Content Advisory: Kidnapping

A serial killer learns that the FBI has set a trap for him at a concert in Trap. Cooper Adams (Josh Hartnett) is taking his teenage daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to see her favourite pop star Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan). While at the concert venue, Cooper notices an increased police presence blocking all the exits. Cooper learns from an employee that the FBI learned that a brutal serial killer named The Butcher is going to be at the concert, the identity of whom happens to be Cooper himself.

Trap Synopsis

Trap is the latest thriller written and directed by M Night Shyamalan (Old, Knock at the Cabin), which stars Josh Hartnett (Oppenheimer) as a serial killer who finds himself trapped in a concert arena, depicted on the outside by Toronto’s Roger’s Centre. The film’s plot takes place in realtime throughout a concert performance by Lady Raven, played by Shyamalan’s eldest daughter, and actual burgeoning pop singer, Saleka. Cooper has to find a way to escape the arena, which proves difficult when FBI profiler Dr. Josephine Grant (Hayley Mills) can predict his every move.

My Thoughts on Trap

It has been 25 years since M. Night Shyamalan first had his big break with 1999’s The Sixth Sense. His career has had many ups and downs over the years, including a period when he was, IMO unfairly, depicted as a laughing stock. The last decade or so has been relatively good for Shyamalan, with 2016’s Split marking a comeback of sorts and subsequent releases, such as 2019’s Glass, 2021’s Old, and 2023’s Knock at the Cabin all being solid films.

Whether or not you remained on the M. Night Shyamalan bandwagon for the past two and a half decades, it can probably be agreed upon that Trap is one of his better latter-day efforts. The film takes the Dexter route and makes you root for Cooper Adams to find his way out of the trap set for him at the concert arena. This level of sympathy is helped by the fact that M Night Shyamalan spares us from seeing the gory details of his crimes.

Probably the biggest surprise of Trap is the performance of M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter Saleka Night Shyamalan, who not only wrote and performed all the songs as Lady Raven but also played a major acting role in the film’s third act. Along with Seleka’s sister Ishana, who made her directorial debut a couple of months ago with The Watchers, this has turned out to be a big year for the next generation of Shyamalan. It almost makes you believe that nepotism isn’t always a bad thing.

I don’t want to delve too much into what happens in the latter half of Trap, particularly what the now-traditional Shyamalan twist entails this time around. However, the film as a whole ends up being a very gripping thriller with a solid lead performance by Josh Hartnett. Probably my only real gripe is the over-the-top delivery of much of Harnett’s dialogue, even though it is likely an intentional element, meant to show a sociopath trying to mask his lack of emotions. Altogether, Trap is a recommended entry to M. Night Shyamalan’s filmography.

Purchase Trap from Amazon

Trailer for Trap