Trap is the latest film from M Night Shyamalan and, like so much of his oeuvre, it’s driven by an intriguing premise. But as with so many of his previous films it begins to lose momentum and credibility, especially during the unnecessarily drawn out third act.
The film opens with Cooper Adams (Josh Hartnett), a Philadelphia firefighter and typical suburban family man, taking his teenage daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to a concert to see her favourite singer Lady Raven. When they arrive at the stadium he notices a heavy police presence. During the performance he approaches Jamie (Jonathan Langdon) at a merchandise stand and queries their presence. He is informed that the police believe that a serial killer known as “the Butcher”, a serial killer who has brutally murdered dozens of people over a period of ten years. The police have learned that he will supposedly be in attendance at the concert and that they have arranged to set a trap to catch him.
Then we learn that Cooper, who on the surface seems like a respectable and devoted family man, is actually the Butcher. (This is no spoiler as this detail was revealed in the film’s trailer.) He steals Jamie’s swipe card and a handheld radio that allows him to listen in on the police radio and follow their efforts to identify him. The police manhunt is being directed by a Dr Grant (Hayley Mills), a profiler who offers insights into how to catch him.
This sets in motion a Hitchcockian cat-and-mouse game as Cooper has to figure out a way to leave the stadium and avoid capture. Shyamalan does manage to ramp up some suspense and tension as we follow Cooper’s increasingly desperate attempts to evade capture. The film’s setting adds to the claustrophobic atmosphere.
The staging for the concert itself is quite elaborate. Shyamalan’s daughter Saleka plays Lady Raven, and she also wrote and performed all of the R&B influenced songs featured in the film. The concert sequences were actually performed live on a stage to create an authentic vibe, and Saleka’s movements and performance were choreographed by Cora Kazari. Thai cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Call Me By Your Name) does a great job with the visuals.
Hartnett brings charm and a suave quality to his role as Cooper and he completely inhabits the character. Several of Shyamalan’s films have explored a character with a dual personality (most notably James McAvoy in Split), but Hartnett effectively plays down the psychotic nature of his character here, although he still makes him an unnerving and creepy character and gives him a harder edge. Hayley Mills (a former child star best known for her appearances in Disney films such as 1961’s The Parent Trap) plays Dr Grant, the FBI profiler leading the hunt for the Butcher. Unfortunately, Shyamalan has not developed the character fully enough to turn the cat-and-mouse hunt into something more tense and engaging. Shyamalan, as usual, makes a cameo appearance here, playing Lady Raven’s uncle who also works as a crowd spotter at the concert.
Shyamalan drew inspiration for the film’s premise from a 1985 sting operation conducted by police who arrested some 100 felons at a convention centre under the pretext of offering free NFL tickes and a chance to attend the Super Bowl. He pitched the film as “The Silence of the Lambs at a Taylor Swift concert”. Shyamalan has gained a reputation for his surprise twist endings, but here he gives us three endings for the price of one.
Greg King
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Greg King has had a life long love of films. He has been reviewing popular films for over 15 years. Since 1994, he has been the film reviewer for BEAT magazine. His reviews have also appeared in the Herald Sun newspaper, S-Press, Stage Whispers, and a number of other magazines, newspapers and web sites. Greg contributes to The Blurb on film