Trap is the latest effort by director M. Night Shyamalan to keep modern blockbusters original and interesting, this time by bringing a crime thriller to a packed arena concert. Featured heavily in the film’s first trailer, the premise is intriguing, promising a confined-space thriller that comes with a fresh twist.

Cooper Adams (Josh Hartnett) brings his teenage daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue), to a pop concert by Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan) to reward her for her good grades. The arena bursts with excitement as thousands of devoted fans scream along to the pop diva. Cooper, distracted by the overabundance of security personnel and police officers around the venue, learns from a merchandise vendor that the FBI plans to catch a serial killer on the loose known as ‘The Butcher’ after receiving a tip that he will be in attendance. Fearing the sociopath will endanger the concertgoers, the police intend to keep the details of the blockade a secret, revealing them only to the employees at the venue. Realising that he has unknowingly walked right into a trap meant for him, Cooper Adams now has to outsmart the FBI and evade the blockade.

Trap has an interesting premise from the get-go. The trailer captivates and excites me in ways that I have not experienced with a Shyamalan film in a while. The film is paced brilliantly and keeps up with the promise of a confined-space crime thriller for the most part, sustained by great camera work that highlights the claustrophobia our main character is facing. Riding a fine line between keeping the audience with The Butcher to root for his escape and keeping his psychopathic tendencies lurking in the background throughout, the film manages to keep me engaged despite the moral qualms one might have about rooting for a serial killer. There comes a turning point, however, where the film flips that balance on its head and allows Cooper Adams to grow fully into the antagonistic role – a move that I admire for its creeping subtlety until you realise that is what Shyamalan is doing.

The Butcher is written to be intelligent and resourceful in his attempt to escape. The counterpart, which is the police led by Dr. Josephine Grant (Hayley Mills), an elderly FBI profiler, however, fails to live up to the challenge in the cat-and-mouse game. Dr Grant, in particular, is disappointingly underwhelming, with dialogue that borders on Old-level cringe and plans that constantly make me wonder ‘Is that it?’ The competency imbalance between the two opposing sides causes the film to lag halfway through, leaving me wishing for more back-and-forth between them. Fortunately, as I mentioned, the film has a turning point that allows the film to pick up once again when an unexpected character steps into the limelight to carry on the cat-and-mouse with the antagonist.

Josh Hartnett is great casting for the role of The Butcher. His charming yet approachable looks work wonders for a character who you feel you can trust with your life, yet who can lie without his heart skipping a beat. Often an eye twitch away from becoming totally sinister, Hartnett’s committed performance is one of the best highlights of the film. Since a huge part of the film is set at a pop concert, Saleka Night Shyamalan, daughter of M. Night, wrote an album of songs to be featured diegetically in the film. Not only are the songs catchy, they perfectly capture the mood of scenes in the film. I highly recommend the album, Lady Raven.

All in all, Trap is a decent entry in the Shyamalan catalogue, sitting perfectly in the middle of the pack in terms of quality. Despite inadequacies in the cat-and-mouse element of the plot, the film serves as a solid reminder that Shyamalan is fundamentally still an interesting filmmaker with intriguing stories to tell.

Author: Chia Jing Heng (andreusjh99)