Trap review – classic Shyamalan, hold the twist

M Night Shyamalan sets the stage for a killer game of cat and mouse as a psychopath attempts to outsmart the FBI while taking his daughter to see her favourite pop star.

Much of M Night Shyamalan’s filmography focuses on the supernatural and exterior threats which his protagonists must face stoically, but in a handful of his features, humans are the true danger, unique in our capacity for cruelty and violence toward one another. Taking this one step further, the protagonist of of his latest film is also its antagonist – handsome, dorky dad Cooper Adams (Josh Hartnett) who arrives at a pop concert with his tween daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) only to discover the whole event is an elaborate sting operation. And he’s the target.

See, when Cooper isn’t playing house with his family or working at the Philadelphia Fire Department, he’s chopping up locals as serial killer The Butcher, racking up 12 confirmed victims with another potential currently chained up in his basement (this was revealed in the trailer, negating the usual “twist” that audiences have come to expect from the filmmaker). The king of compartmentalisation, Cooper isn’t kee on his two worlds clashing in such a violent fashion and starts trying to work out how he can evade criminal profiler Josephie Grant (Hayley Mills) without blowing his cover or ruining the concert for his excited daughter, who’s already having a tough time at school without the baggage of a serial killer father to contend with.

For the first 45 minutes, Cooper attempts to gain the upper hand through various acts of subterfuge, utilising his charm and authoritative presence to gain access to restricted areas, lying through his teeth and at one point mortally wounding a service worker. Despite the excellent set-up of a concert as a powder keg, this isn’t really utilised as well as it could be, and ultimately leads into a more conventional third act which moves away from the intriguing setting. Cooper’s job as an emergency services worker could be better integrated to demonstrate the social compliance phenomenon, and while there are gestures at a traumatic childhood, there isn’t much given in the way of motivation for his methodical murder spree. As it stands, Cooper doesn’t really face much in the way of challenges until he comes up against his daughter’s idol, the pop star Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan).

If the plot leaves something to be desired, the casting of Hartnett is Trap’s greatest feat – it’s been too long since we saw him in a decent leading role (though he was excellent in his small Oppenheimer role) and he excels as both goofy dad trying to bond with his daughter and cold-blooded killer who knows all the right moves and isn’t going down without a fight. Shyamalan’s daughter Saleka also fends off nepotism complaints as a credible pop singer (she wrote and performed all her own music) while Kid Cudi has a fun cameo as one of her collaborators.

Cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (best known for his work with Apichatpong Weerasethkul and Luca Guadagninoo) also puts in a fine showing – it’s not easy to capture the chaos and spectacle of a pop concert – and there’s plenty to admire about the technical craft of the film, demonstrating Shyamalan’s continued enthusiasm for cinema and appreciation for his work. Although he’s no stranger to IP-based films (his last two were adaptations) Trap is a reminder that Shyamalan is one of the few A-List directors who still seems dedicated to original storytelling, and even when the scripts don’t quite fully deliver on their elaborate premises, his knack for creating interesting characters and casting the right actors to play them picks up the slack.

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Published 9 Aug 2024

Tags: M Night Shyamalan