At some point we’ve gotta stop giving M. Night Shyamalan creative control of his projects right? Trap is another in Night’s recent resurgence that starts strong but falls to pieces by it’s end. He’s gotten so powerful now that his daughter did the soundtrack and co-stars in this one. This thin facade will eventually collapse at some point, but for now…enjoy the ride I guess? This is an ok one.
Like all of Shyamalan’s films, Trap starts with a banger premise. Cooper Adams (Josh Hartnett) is excited to take his teenage daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to see Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan), the Taylor Swift of this movie’s world. Cooper notices that there’s an especially large police presence at this show for some reason. He asks staff member Jamie (Jonathan Langdon) what’s going on when buying a T-shirt; Jamie informs him that “the Butcher” the famous serial killer, is likely at this show, and the FBI and police have set up a trap for him here, to apprehend and bring this man to justice.
That’s a hell of a pitch right? Other than The Sixth Sense and maybe Signs, that’s what Shyamalan is best at: movie premises. Like all of his films, I was pretty excited from the jump because of that pitch, but especially because of Josh Hartnett’s involvement. Oppenheimer reminded everyone how good that guy can be, and back in the leading man role he’s pretty great here, diving into a really fun character to play. As the movie goes off the rails, Hartnett does his best to hold the thing together, and his relationship with Ariel Donoghue is a totally believable dad/daughter one at a concert. The third act is a mess, but Josh Hartnett at the middle isn’t, doing what he can to try to make Trap work for his writer/director.
And there’s the real Trap. I only every want to see in the credits “story by M. Night Shyamalan” ever again. If he’s writing/directing, I’m already probably dubious with what I’m about to watch. The script is the big problem in this one, telegraphing the “twist” the trailer gives away instantly with the way Hartnett speaks to everyone he encounters. As a result, it’s amazing no one in the FBI/police suspects Cooper because of how creepily he’s written, and how Shyamalan shoots him, with severe unblinking closeups that make Hartnett look like a maniac about 10 minutes into the film. And because of these fatal flaws, the movie writes itself into a corner, and has to leave the concert early. From there, the movie throws a bunch of stuff at you like the power of fame, or psychological profiles of serial killers, hoping to keep you engaged, but at that point it’s lost the plot. A better director would have written Cooper better, and saved the big reveal until about 45 minutes into the film, turning it into a 45 minute claustrophobic nightmare of him trying to get out of this trap, staying mysterious, and upping the suspense ante. But because Shyamalan lacks that natural writing style needed to pull Trap off, the movie, like all of his films since his first couple, just falls apart by the end, leaving you frustrated, yet again, at another missed opportunity.
If you’re a studio, here’s what you do with M. Night Shyamalan. You bring him in, 3-4 times a year. Have him pitch his ideas to you, and promise to film 1 in Philadelphia, and use his kids if he wants. Then you bring in a GOOD writer and director to direct his pitch. Hell, even a decent one will do. And if you’re Night: dude, live in the real world for a little bit please? Get out of Philly, and start going undercover in middle America, relearn how people talk to each other, then get back to me with your script.
Finally, I’m putting the trailer down here, but it gives away a LOT, so tread lightly if you want to go in clean.