M. Night Shyamalan’s latest, Trap, is a silly cat-and-mouse game between serial killer Cooper (Josh Hartnett) and the FBI at a pop concert. While Hartnett gives a beguiling and highly entertaining performance, Shyamalan’s film crumbles under the pressure of one-too-many plot holes, poorly written dialogue, and implausibility.
Firefighter and charming dad Cooper takes his meek, bullied young daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to a Lady Raven concert after she gets a good report card. Lady Raven (played by Shyamalan’s daughter, Saleka) is a concoction of Rhianna, Rosalía, and Taylor Swift, a young starlet who is deeply loved by her fans.
Soon, Cooper is surrounded by screaming, singing young girls with their phones high in the air. Riley is so thrilled that she doesn’t pay much mind to her frequently disappearing dad. Cooper makes up every excuse in the book (to get a funnel cake, he forgot his credit card…) to abscond to the bathroom, where he checks on his latest murder victim via his cellphone.
Cooper, despite all his charm and good dad vibes, is wanted serial killer The Butcher. He finds out from a highly irresponsible but funny stadium employee, Jamie (Jonathan Langdon), that the concert is a façade and is a trap to catch him.
As panic sets in, Cooper seeks to covertly find an exit not covered by police, FBI, or SWAT.
It’s hard to determine if Shyamalan intended for Trap to be so unserious. The forced, often outlandish dialogue feels generated by AI—as if a computer that wished to be human wrote the script. It just doesn’t feel genuine, and it’s made worse by the plot holes that litter the story.
Why would the FBI put so many people, many of whom are young girls, at risk to catch one killer? Why would an employee give up such sensitive, life-threatening information to a stranger? And, in what reality would anyone be patient enough to be interrogated by the FBI, one by one, as they leave a sold-out concert venue?
The final act of Trap goes off the rails, with Lady Raven going to Cooper and Riley’s home to meet the rest of their family, including Cooper’s kooky wife, Rachel (Alison Pill). The film’s pacing goes out the window, as does a semblance of reality, with Cooper capturing Lady Raven in a limo and making three costume changes within thirty minutes to escape the police, á la a Scooby-Doo villain. Our star criminal profiler, who has lurked in the background without any introduction or notable scenes, suddenly appears to save the day like she’s been the hero all along.
It’s a strange movie that you can’t help but laugh at. But, perhaps, that’s what Shyamalan intended—a hint of dark humor is a noticeable undercurrent.
Hartnett remains committed to being a likable, L.L. Bean-wearing suburban dad with an obsessive craving for blood and guts. Hartnett’s enticing nature and the duality of the character are Trap’s saving graces and will make Shyamalan’s latest a decent comfort watch for many horror and thriller fans down the road.
Trap is what it is—don’t expect something with depth or poignancy like Signs, as that will set back many moviegoers. Take it as it is, throw all logic to the wayside, and accept that Trap fun flick that’s good for a night in with popcorn in your lap.
Trap
2024
dir. M. Night Shyamalan
105 min.
Now in theaters everywhere.
