It should come as no surprise that M. Night Shyamalan‘s execution of the classic Hitchockian suspense thriller Trap isn’t quite as straightforward as the marketing materials suggest. The central hook, which sees a serial killer unwittingly let in on the secret that a pop concert is an elaborate trap to catch him, seemingly gives the trademark “twist” away at the start. That’s no twist, though, but rather a key component in Shyamalan’s methodical escalation of a suspenseful battle of wits. The simple premise merely sets the stage for an engaging and highly entertaining thriller that keeps the surprises coming.
Josh Hartnett’s Cooper comes across like an “aww shucks” doting dad, complete with an endless repertoire of dorky dad jokes that only mildly annoy his young teen daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue). It helps that Riley is overwhelmed with excitement to attend the highly coveted concert for mega-pop star Lady Raven, played by the filmmaker’s R&B pop singer daughter Saleka Night Shyamalan, who produced, wrote, and performed the original songs featured in the film. The wholesome father and daughter bonding day at a concert goes off swimmingly as the pair arrive at the crowded stadium, but Cooper can’t help but notice the place is swarming with cops. Far more than your average concert.
Cooper soon learns the truth: Lady Raven’s latest show is a cover to catch the serial killer dubbed “The Butcher.” Coincidentally, Cooper is the Butcher, kickstarting a race against the clock for the monster to evade authorities, led by Hayley Mills, and find a way out of the venue before he’s caught.
It’s the type of setup that seems perfect for creating suspense. Cooper and the audience almost immediately become cohorts in his dirty secret, with no one else the wiser that the killer is present and aware of the trap the entire time. But Shyamalan isn’t one to fall in line with expectations easily. Once Cooper learns the truth about the event, he immediately sets about finding escape roots and testing boundaries, but it doesn’t yield the edge-of-your-seat intensity you’d expect. At least not yet. For a long stretch, it’s an entertaining waiting game watching the disarming Cooper dart around the stadium, dealing with risky obstacles and near misses, but it’s not necessarily suspenseful because Cooper is so savvy and adaptable. And extremely lucky. When this killer is running laps around the place, Shyamalan lulls you into an easy complacency. Then Cooper meets his match, transforming Trap into an electric battle of wits and wills.
This is Hartnett’s show, playing Cooper as he is: a psychopath doing his best impression of a suburban dad. Much of the joy in Trap’s first half is watching Cooper’s “Leave it to Beaver“ charade continually fool others, but the more precarious things get, the more Cooper drops the mask and reveals an intense darkness. But Shyamalan refreshingly offsets Cooper’s sadistic cunning with a cast of characters that match the serial killer’s intelligence; this is a rare thriller where every single character is smart. It lends an exciting unpredictability to the proverbial closing noose around Cooper’s neck; anyone and everyone is capable of noticing something’s amiss.
What begins as a lighthearted throwback-style romp slowly evolves into a darker than expected thriller. Shyamalan maintains a propulsive, high drama energy throughout with fast tracking shots, extreme closeups, slip diopter shots, and stunning camerawork that touches on Hitchchockian suspense for the first half. Then the gloves come off, and Trap shifts into a tauter, psychologically meaner affair. The filmmaker continues his exploration of family bonds here, in more ways than one, with Shaleka’s well-rounded and surprisingly complex Lady Raven on screen, ensuring that we’re emotionally invested in whether Cooper is ultimately caught or not. More intriguingly, do we even want him to get caught?
The short answer is no. It’s just too much fun to watch Hartnett in this role.
It’s a simple thriller in terms of plotting, but the film’s complexities lie within its deeply complicated characters. Much like the duality of Cooper/The Butcher, Trap also plays like two halves. The first is every bit as cheeky, warm, and even silly as Cooper’s dad persona. The second is a riveting series of standoffs, delivering tension and thrills as the Butcher drops the act. Both halves are vital to Shyamalan’s thriller, but it only really comes alive when the Butcher’s shackles come off.
Trap is out in theaters now.