-Written by Kyle Bain.
At a concert with his daughter, Cooper (Josh Hartnett) realizes that the event is a Trap to capture a serial killer called The Butcher. Now immersed in a game of cat and mouse, Cooper must do what he can to protect his daughter and make it out alive.
M. Night Shyamalan is back with another horror/thriller that, to me, looked to be the most intriguing of his ventures in some time. I had high hopes going into this film, but I also thought I was certain to find myself disappointed with the film’s ending. This is likely Shyamalan’s most effective film since Signs, and I found the film’s conclusion much more entertaining than nearly anything he’s ever played a role in developing.
Trap’s final act plays out slowly, giving suspense time to build, characters time to develop, and viewers the chance to mull over the many possibilities of the film’s denouement. While the exact ending I had hoped for didn’t come to be, the twist that does come is certainly welcome and a fitting conclusion to an enticing film. Trap is a tad predictable in the closing seconds, but it’s also brutally honest, effective in its storytelling.
There are a number of conveniences present throughout the course of Trap that sort of damper the film, and exist only to propel the plot forward. They do their job, however, viewers are intelligent enough to question the validity of many of the things present throughout the film. Do they ruin Trap? Certainly not, but there were a number of times that I rolled my eyes, that I wondered why Shyamalan didn’t find a more organic way to move forward in the story. This feels typical of his films, so, honestly, I wasn’t all that surprised in this regard.
The crème de la crème of Trap is Hartnett. The last time I saw him in a featured role was back in 2001 with O. It’s been twenty-plus years since I’ve seen him presented a chance to really showcase his talent, and he doesn’t miss the opportunity. He plays the crazy guy with a chip on his shoulder. He has something to hide. He’s passionate, caring, loving–and yet he’s the opposite as well. Hartnett is tasked with something massive here in Trap, being asked to showcase nearly every emotion without doing too much. He must be available to viewers, and, yet, he must remain a mystery. There have been some truly beautiful performances in the past year, and I highly doubt that a film of this genre will see its lead get an Oscar nomination–but I believe he’s of that caliber. He showcases his talents like I haven’t seen in years, and he makes Trap a better film.
What you’d normally expect from M. Night Shyamalan is exactly what you get in Trap, with the exception of the frumpy, illegitimate ending. Trap is wrapped up nicely, potentially being the most acceptable ending to any Shyamalan film that I’ve ever seen (note that I have never seen The Sixth Sense). I’m truly impressed with this film, it does just enough to keep viewers engaged, entertaining our senses along the way–and with Hartnett as the lead, this film is a legitimate success and one of the better films in Shyamalan’s oeuvre.
Written & Directed by M. Night Shyamalan.
Starring Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Night Shyamalan, Alison Pill, Hayley Mills, Jonathan Langdon, Mark Bacolcol, etc.
8/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING
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