Trap: Film Review
M. Night Shyamalan‘s films have been a real mixed bag over the years but he is a filmmaker I will always show up for because he takes big, bold wings and doesn’t play it safe.
In his new thriller Trap, Josh Hartnett plays Cooper Adams, a family man who takes his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to a concert by her favourite pop star Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan). Noticing the heightened security at the venue, Cooper is told that the concert is a trap for a serial killer known as The Butcher. Turns out Cooper is The Butcher – and he needs to find a way to escape undetected.
As with most of Shyamalan’s movies, I loved the exciting concept but it slowly fell apart as it progressed, as if Shyamalan didn’t know where to go with his amazing idea. The film is the strongest when it’s set within the concert. The show and crowd atmosphere are very realistic (Donoghue is a convincing fan girl) and it was interesting watching Cooper try out different exit strategies without revealing his true identity to his daughter.
But the film really loses the plot once it leaves the concert and becomes too ridiculous and improbable. How Cooper keeps evading capture is beyond belief. Are the SWAT team really that incompetent?! There’s no way! I’m all for implausible twists and turns when they’re self-aware and fun, but Shyamalan plays it totally straight. I wanted to laugh, which can’t have been the intended effect.
Thankfully, Hartnett holds it all together with his committed performance. While he has to overcompensate for the iffy script, he believably portrays the dual lives of a family man and a serial killer. It gets particularly exciting once the latter personality appears later on. Alison Pill also does a brilliant job as Cooper’s wife Rachel.
This film is very clearly a promo for Shyamalan’s daughter Saleka and a way to show off her talents to the masses. Her acting is patchy (and she has a bigger role than I thought) but she is a good performer and I enjoyed the songs she wrote for the film.
I didn’t dislike Trap but I certainly didn’t find the silly plot developments as entertaining as some.
In cinemas now