Trap Review: An Unpredictable Pressure Cooker Thriller

M. Night Shyamalan’s movies are finally funny with Trap, and this time, on purpose!

When you purchase a ticket to a Shyamalan movie, you typically have no idea what you’re in for. You may get the masterpieces of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, or Signs, or the painfully hilarious The Happening and Old. I’ve been a fan of his for many years. Even in his lesser efforts, he has something interesting to say. Fortunately, Trap is Shyamalan’s best movie since Signs, offering the most unpredictable and engaging experience of the year.

From a conceptual level, Trap is one of Shyamalan’s most accessible films. This is an exceptionally mainstream, straightforward thriller that shines in its simplicity. This movie is about a serial killer trying to escape a concert. It’s a high concept that requires the audience to suspend some disbelief. The biggest issue with Trap is how much it strains credibility occasionally, but once you accept the “movie logic” and the craziness of the premise, you are guaranteed a wonderful time at the movies. This film knows exactly what it is and succeeds in what it’s trying to do.

We are first introduced to Josh Hartnett as Cooper Adams, a charming dad bringing his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to a Lady Raven concert. Lady Raven is played by Saleka Shyamalan, the director’s daughter. It’s easy to criticize the film for nepotism, but Saleka is a talented singer and actress who designed the soundtrack to match its tone. This movie’s atmosphere is fantastic, with Shyamalan filling the stadium with background actors and sending them the music beforehand so that they could accurately sing along to the songs once Lady Raven performs them in the film.

Everything in the concert is from Cooper’s perspective. We learn about every piece of information alongside our protagonist, noticing all the police officers and the security cameras once he does. Shyamalan also makes a wise creative choice to never put the camera in a closeup of Lady Raven at the beginning of the concert. He keeps the camera at the same distance from the stage as Cooper and only moves the camera closer when Cooper gets closer to the stage. We’re locked into everything he sees, and we problem-solve with him once we discover that the entire concert is a trap to find him.

Shyamalan sets the stage by introducing us to a dorky father who is trying to learn Gen Z lingo from his teenage daughter. But once we learn that he’s the serial killer the police are looking for, it’s all fun and games. For once, Shyamalan doesn’t take himself too seriously, knowing the right ways to have fun with this premise. It’s also surprising how funny this movie can be. There’s a dark sense of humor this movie has. Some of Shyamalan’s movies have ventured into unintentional hilarity, and this film has very well-placed jokes that never undercut the tension that exists throughout the entire film, keeping the audience entertained and engaged.

The protagonist is an intelligent character. You can’t exactly root for him because he’s a serial killer, but you can’t look away. Everything he does is calculated and reasonable as he searches for an escape route. The odds are stacked against him the entire time, and you can’t help but wonder how he’ll get out of this. It’s hard to predict what will happen next. Will he be caught by the authorities, or will he escape undetected? Throughout the entire film, you never know where Trap is going to take these characters, making it a riveting watch.

Hartnett is finally back as a leading man. He stepped out of the limelight after his late 90s and early 00s stardom with Halloween H20, The Faculty, The Virgin Suicides, Black Hawk Down, and Pearl Harbor. We finally got to see him again last year in some high-profile projects like Operation Fortune and Oppenheimer, and now, he’s owning every bit of his stardom. His line delivery can be priceless, but it’s very intentional. Some actors can have difficulty selling Shyamalan’s dialogue because it doesn’t always sound natural, but he makes it work as a serial killer masquerading as an ordinary father.

Donoghue does a wonderful job as the daughter obsessed with Lady Raven. Alison Pill gets to shine in her limited screen time as Rachel, Cooper’s wife. Vanessa Smythe also proves that there are no small roles, as she brings a naturally lovable presence as the tour manager. One of the most surprising elements of the film is the way that it shakes things up halfway through. The marketing does a beautiful job, primarily using footage from the first half. The second half goes in a different direction. For some, this may be where Trap loses its momentum. For me, this is where the film gets even better. It becomes harder to guess where this movie will go. Whenever we think the movie’s about to end, it keeps going in the best way possible.

Trap offers a unique, brilliantly crafted experience that proves that Shyamalan is one of the best filmmakers working today. He’s had a few misses over the years, but this is him operating at the top of his game. It doesn’t tell the touching emotional story of his earlier work because of how morally repugnant the main character is. Still, even Cooper has a few moments where humanity shines through. The movie locks us into his perspective so well that during one scene where we enter another character’s perspective, our imaginations are left to fill in the rest. It’s a brilliantly crafted pressure cooker that keeps you guessing from the first minute to the last.

SCORE: 8/10

As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 8 equates to “Great.” While there are a few minor issues, this score means that the art succeeds at its goal and leaves a memorable impact.

Jonathan Sim

Jonathan Sim is a film critic and filmmaker born and raised in New York City. He has met/interviewed some of the leading figures in Hollywood, including Christopher Nolan, Zendaya, Liam Neeson, and Denis Villeneueve. He also works as a screenwriter, director, and producer on independent short films.