Trap is the latest feature film from acclaimed filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan from Warner Bros. Pictures. He is known for some heavy hitters like The Sixth Sense, Signs, and Unbreakable. But on the other side of the spectrum, he is responsible for The Happening, and Lady in the Water to name a few. So walking into the theater it seems like it is always a gamble as to what audiences will get. So how did “Trap” do?

THE STORY

Trap follows the story of a serial killer named Cooper, played by Josh Hartnett known as “The Butcher”. Cooper has taken his daughter Riley, played by Ariel Donoghue to a pop concert. It features her favorite artist, Lady Raven played by Saleka Shyamalan. Through Cooper and Riley’s interactions early in the film, we see they are very close. We also see that there is a growing police presence in the area. Men are being stopped and questioned at every corner.

Trap

We soon find out through an arena employee that law enforcement has set a trap for the serial killer, as they received intel that he would be there. We go back and forth from the concert to Cooper trying to figure out a way out. As well as see that he has a camera set up at one of his places where he is holding his next victim. After stealing a walkie-talkie from a bag, he learns that a profiler with the F.B.I. Dr, Josephine Grant, played by Haley Mills, is leading the operation.

Through a series of conveniences, Cooper somehow makes it backstage with his daughter, where he learns that Lady Raven is in on the trap. Only feet away from a control room where Grant and Lady Raven are having a conversation, Cooper must now figure out how to escape without alarming his daughter. The rest of the twists and turns I will leave up to the film to tell.

WHAT WORKS IN TRAP

I thought Hartnett was a great choice for the role. He has great “dad vibes” that are showcased early in the film, along with facial expressions that go from the family man to the deadly killer that law enforcement is sparing no expense to capture. Donoghue’s character does a good job of connecting with the audience as an adolescent who is struggling with her friends for whatever reason but has found an escape in the Lady Raven concert.

Overall, the film’s premise seems like it could work as a straight-up thriller involving a cat-and-mouse game between Grant and Cooper, with Riley stuck in the middle. But remember, this is a Shyamalan film.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK IN TRAP

The classic Shyamalan twist that is supposed to connect all the dots in the end falls flat. There is no exposition throughout the film that allows audiences to build any kind of suspense. It’s all handled through a conversation. It wastes all of the early character-building we see with Riley. At no point is there a payoff to why we needed to get to know her.

Another issue is that Trap does a poor job at telling us why the Butcher is such a threat. Yes, we are told that he has killed a dozen people, and we see that he is holding his next victim hostage. But we never see Cooper do anything on screen that tells us why this elaborate trap is really necessary. This film suffers from a severe case of telling us and not showing us.

Every time it seems like the film is going to kick it into high gear, it mellows out with a lazy resolution. Leading to another poor escape that doesn’t make much sense, only to move the plot forward.

OVERALL THOUGHTS ON TRAP

It’s a real shame because there is a good movie in there somewhere. You have both Hartnett and Donoghue that could have been a lot better with a less convoluted plot. If this had focused more on the chase in the arena that involved Grant more it could have been more interesting. Time after time it builds to a variety of moments that just fall flat and disappointed.

OVERALL GRADE: C-

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