M. Knight Shyamalan’s latest, “Trap,” has been out for only three days and is already getting a lashing by critics and audiences. And honestly, I don’t know why. The film is slick, sardonic, tense, and gripping. It’s Shayamalan less twisty and more mature. In many ways, it doesn’t even feel like a Shyamalan film at all, and maybe that’s why audiences and critics aren’t warming to it. “Trap” isn’t perfect and certainly has its criticisms. However, it isn’t “boring” or “contrived” as critics have argued, nor was it “improbable” or “a dud” as users have lamented. The film is interesting, funny, heady, and features Josh Hartnett at his absolute best. Besides being an effective and tenseful thriller, it’s the most fun I’ve had at any Shyamalan film to date.
“Trap’s” plot was given away in the trailer, but had it not been outlined ahead of time, much of the film’s tension would have been erased. Hartnett’s character Cooper is a serial killer named ‘The Butcher,’ and has taken his teenage daughter (Ariel Donoghue) to a pop concert as a reward for good grades in school. The catch is, the place is crawling with cops and FBI. Cooper finds out it’s a sting operation to catch him, and the film’s tension stems from there. One could imagine a weaker film where we don’t find out until the climax that Cooper is a killer as a twist. But that would have dented the film’s motor. The tension in “Trap” is palpable… and it all flows from the fact that Cooper is a ticking bomb and we don’t know when he’ll explode.
A Tense Thriller that Takes its Time
What works about “Trap” is the claustrophobic nature the film’s concert becomes, and the two-fold way Cooper experiences it. Firstly, he sees it through the eyes of his daughter, Riley, and Donoghue is mesmerizing in the way she emulates a star-struck teen gushing over an idol. But secondly, there’s the way Cooper starts to piece together the trap he’s in, eyes darting futilely to the exits, the aisles, etc., looking for any way out. He’s learned from a vendor (a fun Jonathan Langdon) that the FBI have ‘The Butcher’ profiled and will be questioning all men upon exiting. The FBI profiler is Hayley Mills of “Pollyanna” fame, and is great here. The set piece of the concert works well. The event starring Lady Raven (the director’s daughter, Seleka Shaymalan) feels like a real concert. 20,000 people wall Cooper in, and his desperation rises as his escape plans falter.
However, this film couldn’t work without Hartnett. He absolutely kills the role, giving a masterclass on facial acting and tension-breaking comedy. As Cooper jokes with people he meets during the concert—trying to find a way out—we laugh with him, even though we know he’s a monster. We’ve already seen a video cam of his next victim languishing in an undisclosed location on his cell phone. Yet, we don’t really know what he can do. Or what he’s capable of. We learn it, slowly (the film clocks in at 1 hour and 45 minutes), as Cooper tests one idea after another. Some are pure psychopathy—such as one concertgoer he pushes down a flight of stairs to test the cops’ reaction—while others (namely his sinister smile) are less so.
Josh Hartnett is in Top Form
“Trap’s” humor exists to mask its dark side and save it for the film’s climax, and it succeeds well. Yet, I couldn’t imagine the film being as powerful without what Hartnett bring to the table. Leaving in his wake a line of good guy roles, he truly makes you believe he’s a monster. The parts that worked best for me are his slight facial tics, only letting his psycho side slip when he thinks no one’s watching. And as the noose around him tightens, you can get a sense that amidst his fear, Cooper is actually getting off on this. It excites him. A group of cops discuss his profile and he grins; he likes hearing about himself. But where a less well made film would fill in exposition, or have him gloat, Hartnett keeps it reserved. He keeps it only to himself.
Aside Hartnett, the other actors in the film do well—most notably Donoghue and Alison Pill, who plays Cooper’s wife. Additionally, Saleka Shyamalan does a great job throughout (it’s her feature film debut and she wrote and performed the songs for the film). M. Night Shyamalan has a cameo as Lady Raven staff, and even that is more fitting and mature than his other cameos. “Trap” has something special to offer, yet is not a typical Shyamalan film. I suspect that’s why it’s failing to find favor amongst its critics. It’s not a slasher and it’s not twisty-turny. It’s what would happen if Mr. Brooks were surrounded by police, not Jason Voorhees.
A Good, Different Film From Shyamalan
“Trap” is a good film. It’s not perfect, and as it swings into its third act it clambers around for a scene or two too long. It’s closing shot seems ill placed and too “movie-like”—but after all, this is a movie. The film is brutal in unlikely places and never drops its tension and thrill as it moves along. Yet, most of all—aside Hartnett’s perfection—what makes “Trap” succeed is that Night Shyamalan drops the indie plodding of most of his other films and instead creates a widely approachable tension-fest. You’ll first root for the villain and then later root against him. The camaraderie Hartnett has with Donoghue is palpable, and makes you ask uncomfortable questions. Can a serial killer really love his family?
You’ll have to watch the movie to find out. But in creating Cooper, Hartnett and Shyamalan broke the mould. “Trap” is about a psychopath (in the true sense of the word) and what happens when he’s cornered. The rest of the film shouldn’t then come as a surprise. That it’s performing poorly on Rotten Tomatoes (46% critic score, 64% audience ) says more about people’s expectations of what constitutes a Shyamalan film than anything about the movie itself.
*Note: The plot for “Trap” was inspired by a US Government sting operation named ‘Operation Flagship’ in 1985.
Currently, “Trap” is only playing in theaters.
