• Release year: 2024
• Director: M. Night Shyamalan.
• Producers: Marc Bienstock, Ashwin Rajan, and M. Night Shyamalan.
• Screenplay by: M. Night Shyamalan.
• Cinematography by: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom.
• Music by: Herdís Stefánsdóttir.

Shotgun Commentary: what an absolute riot of a movie!

Review

Trap has been heavily criticised by critics and audiences since it came out. So it’s high time someone offers a different perspective. Honestly, it’s a pretty fun experience for anyone in the mood for a light thriller. Particularly if you are looking for entertainment instead of rigorous logic.

Granted, there are many things that are wrong with this feature, mostly scriptwise. However, you can find thousands of reviews and articles about those. So, to switch things up, let’s keep the negative short and sweet, and focus on why watching this film might be a good choice for you, shall we?

The key is wrong

The film focuses on Cooper (Josh Hartnett), aka The Butcher. He is a serial killer who also happens to be a husband and father of a young boy and a pre-teen girl. The girl, Riley (Ariel Donoghue), is obsessed with a pop star Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan). Thus, as the good father he is, Cooper takes her to a concert. What he doesn’t know is that the police has found a clue that The Butcher will be at that concert and have set a trap for him. Now, what is wrong with this? The clue itself. Not so much what it is or how it comes to be in the hands of the police, that eventually makes sense. The issue is in the connection between that clue and The Butcher.

Avoiding details to not spoil it, the fact that the police would set up a humongous trap, putting teenagers in danger and leaving the rest of the city completely unprotected, over an incredibly weak clue that could as well have been planted by the killer himself to distract them, seems incredibly far-fetched. Hence, the premise is already flawed, even if the whole “cornered in a pop concert” idea is compelling.

Everyone is dumb

In addition to this, the police seems even dumber than usual. They forget their own protocols and make ludicrous exceptions for no reason at all. This highlights Cooper’s intelligence and manipulation skills. Nevertheless, there are times when the characters are just answering to the script, completely forgetting common sense, taking the whole “security services are useless” a bit too far.

As for the rest of the characters, it feels like Cooper and his family are the only reasonable ones. From staring closely at something that is clearly about to explode, to leaving your post for no reason, to using your aloof voice to ask for help instead of yelling; it seems like everyone around them has either gone completely insane, or is breathing a different type of air.

Last bit about the negative bits. Despite him being white, there is no way you are going to make me believe that the American police would go after a serial killer WITH TASERS. Because everybody knows that the American police force is not armed nor trigger-happy, that’s what they are known for… Are you serious right now?

Hartnett is a gift to cinema, there, I said it

Now that’s out of the way, let’s talk about why you should watch this and why you might enjoy it. As previously mentioned, the premise is quite compelling. Motives aside, it is fun to see a movie where the main character is the bad guy at a big event, trying not to get caught, as opposed to the countless films about the hero that saves the day at an event during an attack of the bad guys. This 180º flip on the classic narrative is cheeky and quite riveting.

Additionally, Hartnett delivers one of his best performances of the last few years. It is so common to see him as the hero or the good guy, that this duality of awesome father and sick murderer fits him like a glove. So much so that, had the trailer not gutted the whole film, the reveal of him being a killer would have been absolutely jaw-dropping. Truth be told, despite having watched the trailer, Hartnett still manages to convince you that he is the greatest father in the world within two minutes.

Great acting and possible promises

If you are a sucker for multiple personalities in the same character, you’ll probably be familiar with previous Shyamalan works like Split (2016) or Glass (2019). Now, while Hartnett’s work is not as magnificent as McAvoy’s, it is not too far either. In fact, at least Hartnett has decent co-stars and a more solid story than the Scottish actor did, which helps a lot in terms of spectator experience.

Be that as it may, Cooper manages to worm his way into your heart through his relationship with his daughter. Between the wholesomeness of the pair and how dumb everyone else around him seems to be, it is easy to root for him despite his crimes. He is a very interesting character with lots of resources and zero scruples. Two attributes that would normally bring fear, but in this case only bring wonder and amusement.

As a small note, it is also worth mentioning that, while cosmetic surgeries in your 20s are almost as hard to swallow as blatant nepotism, Lady Raven’s songs are fire, her voice is solid and, while Saleka Shyamalan doesn’t act very well, she somewhat gets by. On the other hand, Donoghue as Riley shows a lot of promise in horror. It would be fantastic to see her taking on more relevant roles in the genre.

All in all, Trap might not be perfectly written, but it’s one hell of a good time, especially for those who like thriller but are a bit faint of heart. Hartnett is spot on, and his character is so compelling that he encourages you to devour the story. The soundtrack creates a great atmosphere, and there is a ton of dark humour that makes watching very pleasant.

Advice to take from this movie:

• Be careful with your phone.
• Don’t reveal important mission details to civilians who don’t need to know said details, even if they are working at the event where the mission is happening. That’s just asking for a leak.
• If you want to get away with something, the cancer narrative is usually quite effective.

What’s your take? Have you watched Trap? Are you a Trap lover or hater? Why?

Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀