The best part is trap The idea is trapWritten and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, the film follows a man who brings his daughter to a concert only to discover that the entire event is a trap designed to trap him. At first glance, this man, a normal dad named Cooper, is actually a brutal serial killer nicknamed The Butcher, and he will stop at nothing to not only escape his trap, but also to keep his daughter from ever finding out about it.
Josh Hartnett gives the best performance of his career as Cooper/Butcher. With every scene we see Cooper transform between the two opposing sides. It creates a lot of tension and at times we feel his thoughts reverberating across the screen as half of him wants to kill and half of him wants to be a cool dad to his daughter (Ariel Donahue). Unfortunately, the rest of the trap It doesn’t have the same level of energy or excitement, and while it’s entertaining and surprising, it just lacks the fun factor to take it to another level.
The film is set at a concert by Lady Raven, a fictional pop star played by real-life artist Saleka Shyamalan. Shyamalan, the director’s daughter, helped conceive the film with her father and composed all of the music for it. On the one hand, it lends a welcome realism to the character of Lady Raven. On the other hand, none of the songs are particularly catchy or have any notable impact on the film. As a result, it all feels flat. Pun intended.
Also, most trap The film is set in a single location, a concert venue, and there are good and bad things about this venue. Shyamalan explores every inch of the venue, making it feel like a suitable place to capture The Butcher. But whether The Butcher is on the roof, in the locker room, buying concessions, or walking through the hallways, it’s all in the same place, so it all feels very similar. It reflects Lady Raven’s music, and both work together to hold the film back just a little.
Countering this is an inherently interesting idea, that the audience simultaneously wants to see The Butcher get caught, but also wants to know how he’s going to get away. Shyamalan puts everything against the character, but then frequently, and quite obviously, drops little hints that give his hand: “There’s no way out, except behind the scenes, of course,” etc. So, halfway through, we have an idea of where things are going, but are desperate to see how it plays out. The problem is, because we know The Butcher isn’t going to get caught within 20 or 30 minutes of the movie, the tension is essentially muted, at least at the beginning.
But the third act changes the entire nature of the film, dramatically. I won’t give away any spoilers here, of course. trap The film focuses on characters rather than traps and starts to work well. You realize that Shyamalan’s ideas are a bit hampered by guardrails and you wish the film had focused more on the end than the beginning.
Either way, the parts are there. trap It’s never boring, and Shyamalan is good at coming up with ideas that will keep you glued to the screen until the full reveal is revealed, which is aided greatly by Hartnett’s excellent performance, and of course Shyamalan has a few tricks up his sleeve for the second half of the film. trap It doesn’t reach the level of the director’s best work. (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, Split) But it’s far away far It doesn’t get any better than the worst of the series, but if you’re a fan of his or are interested in the premise, you’ll enjoy it. trap It’s much more likely to do so than not.
trap It’s currently in theaters.
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