- Director: M. Night Shyamalan
- Screenplay: M. Night Shyamalan
- Cast: Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Night Shyamalan, Hayley Mills, Alison Pill
- Cinematography: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom
- Editing: Noëmi Preiswerk
- Score: Herdís Stefánsdóttir
- Genre: Psychological thriller
- Runtime: 105 minutes
M. Night Shyamalan has built his divisive career on twists. So much so that, with every directorial effort he makes, the anticipation of what the twist ending is has the power to overshadow the full contents of the film. Some twists can uplift a movie enormously and, as a result, demand a second viewing while others deflate what could’ve been another classic.
In ‘Trap‘, Philadelphia firefighter Cooper takes his teenage daughter to see Lady Raven, a fictional popstar played by Shyamalan’s real-life daughter Saleka. He quickly finds out that the whole concert is one big FBI operation to catch ‘The Butcher’, a notorious serial killer. Cooper is revealed to be said killer early on, thus eliminating this as ‘the twist’ (we already knew this from the trailers anyway). Ergo, he must escape the venue before the cops ensnare him.
The first half, set in the arena, feels immersive – almost like we’re in the audience, surrounded by hordes of screaming, phone-wielding teens. We get a movie AND a little concert all in one, a pretty good deal. Fortunately, the momentum isn’t lost in the latter half; it’s a gripping cat-and-mouse chase from start to finish with captivating performances from a convincingly menacing Josh Hartnett, Alison Pill as his wife and Ariel Donoghue as his daughter, though Hayley Mills (Pollyanna herself) is wasted in a supporting role as an FBI profiler in charge of the sting. Saleka is a star – ‘Trap‘ showcases her talents for both singing (she composed 14 original songs for the soundtrack, all diegetic) and acting. What a talented family the Shyamalans are.
Ultimately, I was expecting a more outrageous ending due to Shyamalan’s reputation as an auteur. I won’t give anything away but I’ll say this: I guess I let my anticipation get the better of me.
My rating: 6 / 10
SilverScreen 