Trap had me intrigued from the start, but by the end, I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, the film follows Cooper, played by Josh Hartnett, as he takes his daughter to a pop concert. Seems like a normal dad-daughter outing, right? Well, not exactly, because Cooper is secretly a serial killer, and the concert is actually a trap set up to catch him. The premise is pretty wild, and I’ll admit, I was hooked at first.
The film kicks off with some real tension. You can feel Cooper’s anxiety as he notices the heavy police presence at the venue, and the camera work does a great job of making you feel like the walls are closing in. Hartnett nails the part of a guy trying to play it cool while panicking inside, but as the story goes on, things start to get a little out there. Some of the plot points just don’t add up, and I found myself questioning how believable it all was, which took me out of the moment a few times.
One thing that stood out was how much screen time was spent on the actual concert. Shyamalan’s daughter, Saleka, plays Lady Raven, the pop star performing, and while the concert scenes are fun at first, they start to drag on. I get that he wanted to showcase her talents, but it felt like it slowed down the pacing of the film. By the time we got to the big twist in the final act, it just didn’t land for me. It was like the film was trying to be too many things at once - part thriller, part family drama, part concert film - and none of it really clicked together.
TSHC Score: 5.5/10
Trap has its moments. There’s some solid tension early on, and Hartnett does a good job as the conflicted dad-turned-serial killer. But the film loses steam as it goes along, and by the end, I was left feeling a bit underwhelmed. It’s not terrible, but it’s definitely not one of Shyamalan’s best. It might be worth a watch if you’re curious, but don’t go in with high expectations.
Comments