Film Review – TRAP (2024): M. Night Shyamalan Doesn’t Disappoint Although He Has One Too Many Twists Up His Sleeve
Trap Review
Trap (2024) Film Review, a movie written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Josh Hartnett, Alison Pill, Hayley Mills, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donoghue, Tim Russ, Kid Cudi, Marnie McPhail, Vanessa Smythe, Jonathan Langdon, Andrew Rotilio, Marcia Bennett, Lochlan Miller, Hailey Summer, Peter D’Souza, Malik Jubal and John Andrews.
M. Night Shyamalan turns one-time Hollywood heartthrob Josh Hartnett into a serial killer in the high-concept Hitchcockian thriller, Trap. Shyamalan’s new picture might have been along the lines of what the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, would have been making if he were living in modern times. Shyamalan plays almost each twist to perfection in this tense nail-biter but the ending proves to be a bit too repetitive for its own good. This film is set in a stadium during a concert for a good deal of its running time and that’s where it succeeds the most. When the action leaves the stadium, some scenes are either hit or miss though one has to hand it to Shyamalan- he’s got a gimmick here that actually provides some real tension. If Bill Murray’s Quick Change from 1990 was a horror film, this would be it.
This film opens with Hartnett’s character, Cooper, a fireman, taking his daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to a concert. Not just any concert. It’s that of a musical superstar that bears resemblance to the likes of Taylor Swift in terms of popularity. It’s Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan)! Riley is ecstatic and everything seems poised to go nicely for the father/daughter as they attend the concert. But, when they get there, the place is crawling with cops and law officials. When Cooper is trying to buy Riley a t-shirt, an employee at the event (Jonathan Langdon) informs Cooper that this concert is a trap to catch a serial killer who’s been on the news. So (spoiler alert), it seems Cooper is the man that the authorities are seeking. He’s got a monitor on his phone showing his latest victim, who can die at the push of a button. Cooper has all the power and nobody’s even noticing him because he’s with his daughter and he looks pretty normal. But, is there any chance he can escape the stadium without getting caught?
What’s going on here is a great concept. If only director Shyamalan could have pulled it off without leaving the concert. Instead, the last half hour or so involves twists in the plot that lead outside of the stadium. I won’t give anything away but M. Night Shyamalan could have had a masterpiece here if he just stayed within the confines of the concert for the film’s entire running time. The ending feels like a cheat and too many twists are thrown in willy-nilly and when I say that, I say it with the utmost sincerity.
The supporting cast is solid. Hayley Mills portrays profiler, Dr. Grant, who is there at the concert trying to find the serial killer known as the Butcher. Mills gets to add sophistication to her role until Shyamalan tries to emulate Hitchcock’s own Psycho with a twist that’s telegraphed a bit early in the picture. You just have to pay attention to the clues to figure out where this is all going. Alison Pill also enters into the equation as Cooper’s wife, Rachel, who has a much bigger role in the action than was expected. Pill shares some intense scenes with Hartnett that are surely going to get under some viewers’ skin. Saleka Shyamalan is the quintessential Lady Raven and steals the movie with some of the most memorable scenes in the picture. To say more, would give too much away. Langdon is funny as the stadium employee who makes friends with Cooper.
In the meantime, Donoghue is just about perfect as the teenage Riley although one can’t help but feel bad for her knowing that her dad is more interested in getting himself out of the stadium than in giving his daughter a memorable experience. Riley certainly won’t ever forget this concert but Cooper is doing it almost all for his own benefit, contrary to what Riley initially thinks.
Trap had so much going for it that it could have and should have been more. M. Night Shyamalan’s cameo here is him doing the Hitchcockian homage again. Hartnett plays the character, Cooper, as he is written. We can root for him for a bit of the film up until the point where he ends up in Lady Raven’s dressing room and that’s where the movie dropped the ball a bit for me. I think Cooper would have been smarter than to let his guard down but whatever. Director Shyamalan may disappoint in that regard but as for the rest of the movie, the director holds the audience’s attention firmly for pretty much the majority of the picture.
It’s easy to say Trap could have been a masterpiece because it’s true. It could have been. This is the type of late night movie that audiences could eat up because of its terrific concept. Even as it is, thanks to the character of Lady Raven, the film saves face and then some with a few tricks at the end that feel justified and add to the suspense the film so provocatively creates throughout. You certainly will never get bored here.
M. Night Shyamalan could be hit or miss as a filmmaker. I think this one ultimately qualifies as a hit. Hartnett hasn’t had a role this juicy in years and he sinks his teeth into a comeback role for the actor that was unprecedented. This is the type of screenplay that could have been written several different ways at the end. M. Night Shyamalan doesn’t exactly do what I wished he would have with the ending but, surprisingly, that didn’t make me enjoy Trap any less as a whole. Go see it.
Rating: 7/10
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