When I first heard about M. Night Shyamalan’s latest project, I knew it was going to polarize its viewers. Shyamalan’s reputation precedes him– and while audiences both love and hate his distinct style of filmmaking, one thing everyone can agree on is that he’ll always manage to surprise you, one way or another.
I walked into the theater mostly expecting to be disappointed at most, and possibly amused and/or confused at the least. But Trap caught me by surprise in more ways than one, and I left the cinema thinking that the film, despite some shaky moments, was maybe the most coherent, straightforward thriller Shyamalan’s made in years.
One of the hallmarks of a Shyamalan movie is an absurdly simple premise, though its plainness doesn’t make it any less intriguing: what if nature suddenly caused mass suicides? What if you found yourself aging rapidly on a beach? What if a kid could see and talk to ghosts? – although the execution can be hit-or-miss, he almost always manages to set a distinct tone, all ominous and omniscient with his long pans and closeups, without taking himself or the subject matter too seriously for too long.
And with Trap’s premise being what it is– a serial killer finding himself in the middle of a sting operation to catch him at a pop concert with his daughter– Shyamalan plays with the preposterousness of it all, flip-flopping between suspense and levity in a way that seemed out of place in some of his other films, but perfect for this one.
Warner Bros. Pictures
It’s hard to say any of it would be as effective without Josh Hartnett’s performance as father-slash-firefighter-slash-serial killer Cooper, who commands the tension in a scene with the simplest of twitches and smiles. As Cooper simmers with stress and apprehension at the visible police presence at the concert, and the arena of teen girls around him add to the foreboding knowledge we have of his murderous nature, Trap keeps the suspense palpable– what happens when a dangerous man like this gets cornered?
By default (and thanks to Hartnett just being that good), you want to root for Cooper, and see if and how he can manage to get out of this, even as the walls seem to close in on him when the show winds to an end. Despite a shaky third act that seems to throw one absurd plot development after another at you, Trap still manages to remain compelling even after leaving the concert setting behind and shifting into full-fledged, albeit slightly played out, psychological family drama.
Warner Bros. Pictures
I’d argue that the big twist in Trap is that there’s no twist. Shyamalan’s been synonymous with plot twists, and it makes people view his films in a certain way often to the detriment of their viewing experience– reading into everything and expecting one big revelation to change everything. Although Trap doesn’t have any moments comparable to “I see dead people”, we do still get led through the film’s mystery on a tightrope, always one step behind Cooper as he tries to find a way out, and encounters more and more obstacles that he indubitably seems to weasel out of.
And in my opinion, this is where Trap is most compelling, though others might see it as a weakness. Even after we fully discover Cooper’s maternal traumas and the root of his neuroses, it doesn’t feel like some big cathartic moment that suddenly makes us root for or against Cooper any more or any less. Discovering why something is evil or rotten almost doesn’t matter, and there’s far more horror in just knowing that it is, and it exists and has festered in people like Cooper.
Trap is not some deep contemplation on the nature of evil and how it manifests in people, or even how we compartmentalize our own darkness and trauma (“Never let the two lives touch,” Cooper whispers.) But it doesn’t have to be. Shyamalan has crafted a film that, despite having his signature darkness and absurdity, is also just plain fun.
