Pop music can change everything. This forms the basis of M. Night Shyamalan’s near miss thriller “Trap,” a movie that to me feels less like the Night Brand than many of his other twisting turners, stripped-down version of Shyamalan that needs a few more passes at its rawest ideas and furthering its visual language. When he has an array of artisans to help bring up his best concepts in films such as “The Sixth Sense,” “Old” (which has grown on me), and “The Village,” Night is at his peak, although “Trap” lacks too much craftiness it should have had to make it fizz with energy or suspense most times. Josh Harnett almost makes “Trap” worth watching if not for certain missteps he makes in the character that adds playfulness to him.
Most of Trap takes place at a place that would frighten any parent who has been forced to fork out hundreds for tickets to see the newest pop sensation. In this instance, it is Lady Raven played by Saleka Shyamalan – Night’s daughter, where she plays a pop star created in the mold of someone like Taylor Swift – one of those shows where everyone there knows all the words and all audience members are teenagers. Most of the music was written and performed by Saleka herself, but honestly speaking, there is too much music from her side considering how uncatchy it sounds compared with T.Swift.
Among them are Philadelphia native Cooper (Hartnett) taking his teenage daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) along with him on a night out together seeing her favorite singer: Lady Raven’s concert event/show which happens to be taking place in their city this evening! Moments after arriving however, without almost no characterization occurred for them both; Cooper observes tight police security present within the venue with countless armed guards standing beside each entrance door. By sharing a brief moment of politeness, he gains the trust of a vendor (Jonathan Langdon) who tells him what’s really going on: there are swarms of cops and feds because they were tipped off that a notorious serial killer by the name The Butcher is in this auditorium.
They would stop any men leaving the building and basically make them go through ace profiler Dr. Grant (a woefully miscast Hayley Mills, likely here just because she’s famous for a different “Trap” movie and Night thought that was funny) to determine guilt. Yet, people pay money to go see movies like “Trap” knowing its premise; the film hits the ground running and thrives for a good amount of time partly because it gives Hartnett room to breathe during its first act. Harnett’s choices show Cooper as a very particular guy with insight into his personality, such as when he smirks mischievously in this scene that demonstrates how much he loves challenges when they come out of nowhere.
Regrettably, in Shyamalan’s script, Hartnetts performance does not have as much room as it should. Cooper is supposed to be a clever genius who has managed to keep his identity secret and only needs to do it for a little while longer so that he can evade being caught once more. Instead of portraying Cooper as the most intelligent person in the company, Shyamalan makes him come across as fortuitous to an absurd level. In what can only be described movie magic, cooper continues to dodge exposure by the skin of his teeth time and again. However this idea leaves its place of origin and ends up becoming unglued with an assortment of scenes that are less meaningful.
There is quite an unusual energy at a concert for a pop superstar; people scream (usually happily), there are unexpected lightings, and someone among the audience might not be what they seem like. A smart environment for a thriller, which is where most of “Trap” takes place but Shyamalan hardly exploits space enough. In a better film, even an immense arena would feel claustrophobic when thousands crowd you round about. But DoP Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (“Challengers”)’s photography just stares at the big screens on stage rather than the actual performer somehow captivated by them instead. This approach is clearly meant to bind us more within Cooper’s POV; however instead it turns Lady Raven into just another dull performance since we see almost all of her on a screen on a screen.
Also Noemi Katharina Preiswerk’s editing that also cut Night’s “A Knock at the Cabin” lacks what was needed in “Trap”. Ultimately, there’s something that could be said about any guy who can get a picture like “Trap” made today.”
It is strange unpredictable movie without pre-existing IP and we are in an age where blockbuster filmmaking suffers from depressive lack new ideas. This is what makes it tempting to let “Trap” slide, if for no other reason than that Joshaissance is happening right now with “Oppenheimer”, and this. Too bad that in the end however it sounds like one of those words people always throw at pop music candies: throwaway.
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