It Feels Like A... - Trap
M. Night Shyamalan’s storied career has become so closely associated with twists that when he put the big twist for Trap in the trailer, people thought there must have been an even bigger twist in waiting. But twists should have never been his hallmark. Yes, The Sixth Sense left the world slack jawed with the revelation that Bruce Willis was dead. And yes, those people in The Village could have had iPhones. But Shyamalan’s real trademark was always heart. His films ooze sentimentality. They are replete with characters driven by love and familial ties. So it should come as no surprise that this high concept thriller is infused with the same kind of sincerity—even if there is no real twist to blow the audience’s hair back.
The setup may be one of the greatest concepts in movie history. Law enforcement has turned a Lady Raven (played by Saleka Night Shyamalan) concert into a trap for a notorious and brutal serial killer. Legions of officers are stationed all around the arena to keep an eye out for “The Butcher,” who just so happens to be our protagonist (played by Josh Hartnett), who is attending the concert with his teenage daughter, Riley (played by Ariel Donoghue). Once he learns that the authorities are looking for him, he whipsaws back and forth between trying everything he can to escape and trying to continue to be the doting Dad enjoying a concert with his daughter.
The film takes something of a turn when his final option turns out to be revealing to Lady Raven that he is “The Butcher” and that he has a victim he will kill if she doesn’t help him escape the concert. Seeing no other option, she agrees and they wind up back at his house with the rest of his family. What follows is a series of close calls and great escapes as everyone tries to trap The Butcher.
Now, in order to even find a modicum of enjoyment in this experience, one has to go beyond suspending disbelief—one would need to forget that disbelief is a thing. This is a Tyler Perry level of straining credulity. You just have to accept this Jenga tower built on ratcheting up stakes and increasingly ludicrous acts by the main players. But just because nothing about this is believable or grounded in reality, that doesn’t mean that the end result isn’t highly entertaining. If you can get beyond the patented stilted Shyamalan dialogue, there is a lot to admire here. Josh Hartnett is throwing 100 mph and giving the film enough thrust that audiences will probably at least care what happens next, which is more than most movies achieve.
Make no mistake; this is one that will divide audiences deeply. Some people will think this is a comical farce that fails to achieve liftoff based on a ridiculous premise and over the top plot lines. Others will think it is a knowing thriller that does what it sets out to do—keeps the audience guessing. Both may be right. But those in the latter camp are the only ones welcome to sit with me.
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