Trap ★★★½

Trap is built around a trap set for a serial killer known as “The Butcher”. It is set in an arena at the concert of popular musician Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan) after the police received a tip that “The Butcher” would be in attendance. Armed with criminal profiler Dr. Josephine Grant’s (Hayley Mills) analysis of what this vicious serial killer would look and behave like, the police, FBI, SWAT, and more throw every resource they have at ensuring this brutal killer cannot escape the arena undetected. Even Lady Raven is brought into it, while she, everybody on her team, and on the arena staff are given code words, briefings, and insight into what this killer will be like in person. Everybody, naturally, expects somebody noticeably unusual. Yet, the insidious part of director M. Night Shyamalan‘s Trap is that, outwardly, Cooper (Josh Hartnett) does not fit that expectation.

Rather, he is a man one trusts unquestioningly. He is casual and confident. He flips between his dueling lives as a brutal serial killer and a devoted family man – he is at the concert to reward his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) for her recent good report card – with ease. Around strangers, he is laid back, raising no red flags. Around his daughter, he plays the goofy dad always armed with a cringy joke. He fits the bill of a normal guy. It gives the film its thrilling edge, one it plays well for dramatic irony but also one that exemplifies how challenging it can be to identify somebody like Cooper as a serial killer. His entire persona is like a magic trick. Even when the audience knows that Cooper is a wanted man with his next victim already tied up in a basement, it is hard not to root for him. One wants to see the culmination of his desperate attempt to escape the trap. It is thrilling to watch him scan every inch of the arena and try to devise a way to get out while not raising any of Riley’s alarms or that of the police. 

Hartnett is engrossing and the work of DP Sayombhu Mukdeeprom draws the audience into his calculating eyes, scheming face, and the evil lurking behind both. Mukdeeprom and Shyamalan capably bring us into this maze with him with a mix of close-ups, point-of-view, medium, and tracking shots. The bright, oppressive lighting of the concert adds to the visual tension, while the packed crowd in the background and presence of Riley, often right next to him drives the spatial and emotional suspense. Hartnett both charms and chills with equal effectiveness, playing the role with devilish appeal and a slight insanity that he covers well but, naturally, begins to reveal itself more as the film develops. Hartnett’s strong performance extends beyond this to the subtle comedy that he manages to capture. Even the intense climax is mixed in with hilarity, either in a glance or the wild actions his character takes and Hartnett sells so casually. Cooper’s scheming to evade the police can be quite impressive, but some of the ideas he tosses out there to Riley or even puts into practice are so outlandish that one cannot help but laugh.

Trap’s balance in being thrilling and funny often rests on its cast, including Hartnett and beyond to smaller characters like arena employee Jamie (Jonathan Langdon). His dialogue can be exposition-heavy, but his giddiness to yap away and unwittingly give up the entire scheme to the serial killer it is designed to catch is rich in dramatic irony and hilarity. Langdon sells every word, while feeling like a natural send-up of true crime aficionados who, despite their obsession with blood-soaked crime scenes, would not be able to identify a killer even if they stood right in front of them. An in-joke about Hayley Mills starring as the originator of this trap after starring in The Parent Trap when she was a young girl is a nice touch, while Mills’ direct and often omniscient presence establishes Dr. Grant as a strong and formidable foe for Cooper. The developing chess match between the two is fascinating to see unfold, adding to the claustrophobic feeling of Trap with Cooper left to not only deal with security and a crowd, but with a rival who seems to anticipate his every move. The introduction of Cooper’s wife Rachel (Alison Pill) to the mix is well deployed with Pill selling the oblivious wife angle well, then switching up into an intense and very authentic character in the film’s climax.

Trap’s story is admittedly absurd, falling apart both in the moment and upon later thought. Yet, that is just part of the charm. It is a movie, Shyamalan never tries to hide that and he encourages the audience to cast aside all pretenses, giving themselves fully into the setting, vibe, and plot. Shyamalan and Mukdeeprom deploy every trick they have to cast the viewer under his spell. A split diopter of Dr. Grant in the foreground while Cooper lurks in the background, keeping an eye on her to see if she can detect him, is perhaps the stand out moment of Trap’s cinematography. However, the film’s climax with a teapot reflection, the dramatic pans throughout the film that unnerve in their abruptness or in their mechanical precision, and the repeated visions Cooper has in the film that slightly throw him off, are tremendously calculated and further establish Trap’s overall visual flair while amplifying its suspense.

One can criticize the role of Lady Raven and the nepotism of Shyamalan propping up his daughter Saleka’s music career with the role. It is nepotism, yes but there is a charm in seeing Shyamalan revels in setting up moments for Saleka to be cheered by Lady Raven’s adoring fan base with one practically seeing Shyamalan himself standing there cheering along with them, awed at the songs his daughter created for the film. It does not hurt that the songs are good, matching the tone of the film well. Nonetheless, the film’s digressions into the music can stall the pacing, while Saleka Night Shyamalan’s growing role in the film as an actor is a mixed bag. She has large expressive eyes that help sell the peril her character is in, but as a dramatic force, she lacks the refinement of screen counterparts Hartnett and Pill.

M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap will likely play better for fans of his work. It has great merit as both a thriller and a deadpan comedy with Josh Hartnett’s brilliant performance as the serial killer “The Butcher” key to the film’s success on both fronts. Its diverting attention away from the thriller storyline to focusing on the nepotism-based Lady Raven is an issue, but there is enough charm to not detract from the film too severely. Excellent cinematography from DP Sayombhu Mukdeeprom and Shyamalan’s top-notch direction elevate the film at every turn, while ensuring that Trap is a fun thrill ride that offers a well-rounded cinematic experience.