Trap Review

Trap is one of the most peculiar movies of the year. It’s a movie that I have never heard anyone talk about. Even if people were discussing it, I doubt they would have the slightest idea what the film is about due to the intentionally vague trailers. I recall seeing the trailer for this movie multiple times earlier in the year and being interested in what the concept would be, but never enough to see it in theaters. I managed to catch it on Max the other night, and I’m glad I did, as it was a methodical and mysterious movie from start to finish.

Story

The film begins with average dad Cooper (Josh Hartnett) driving his teen daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to see pop sensation Lady Raven (the director’s daughter, Saleka Shyamalan) in concert. This part of the movie is pretty campy and starts slow but shows the bond between Cooper and Riley, with Riley singing one of Lady Raven’s songs at the top of her lungs in the car to the wincing of her father. There’s some banter over the word “crispy” and chatter about some former friends of Riley who are now too good for her. This bored me to death, and I was almost ready to turn the movie off until I realized Cooper wasn’t quite the man he was leading us all to believe.

The Twist

Trap takes a turn when Cooper notices police in the crowd checking on different people and pulling them out of their seats. This leads him to go to the bathroom to check on a live camera feed of what looks to be a kidnapping victim. I can’t review this movie without slight spoilers, so SPOILER ALERT! We learn that Cooper is indeed a serial killer known as The Butcher. Cooper then becomes a bit paranoid after learning from a merch guy that the FBI knows The Butcher will be attending this show and that they have the entire arena surrounded. No adult male will be leaving without being questioned. It’s all a big trap. This makes sense, considering this is a matinee show, which is quite a rarity for indoor concerts. This is when the movie takes a turn and becomes a much more exciting watch.

Cooper and Riley

The dynamic between Riley and her father becomes increasingly complex as the movie progresses. She notices that he’s acting more bizarrely as he tries to figure out his next move. He still reverts to being the Dad of the Year and tries to keep her happy while searching for a way to escape. I sometimes found myself rooting for the evil menace because I was intrigued by how he would try to escape this seemingly perilous situation. The movie constantly pulls you back and forth between hoping this killer gets caught and that he somehow makes it out of there without anyone noticing. There are a few dastardly acts that Cooper performs to try to get the attention away from him, and they are pretty cunning.

Plot Holes

The film isn’t without its faults, though. The third act is full of plot holes. Some are dismissible or explained away in less-than-adequate ways, while others are simply inexcusable. It felt like Cooper had thought of everything near the end of the movie, but it just wasn’t very believable. There are only so many times an ordinary man can escape an entire police force. There is also the underlying fact that this movie was used as a vehicle to spotlight M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter, Saleka’s, music career. This is very noticeable throughout the movie, as there are relatively long sequences of just watching Lady Raven sing. I could see some quick cut-ins here and there for context, but there was a bit too much of it.

Top Notch Acting

The acting in Trap was top-notch by everyone involved. Josh Hartnett demonstrated excellent range, transitioning seamlessly from a loving father to a stone-cold killer and back throughout the movie. Ariel Donoghue played the prototypical excited teen daughter who loves her father about as much as anyone could. Alison Pill doesn’t have many scenes in this film as Cooper’s wife, Rachel, but the ones she does have are very impactful. Saleka delivered an outstanding performance as Lady Raven after the movie leaves the arena setting. She surprised me the most with how well she portrayed her character and the depth of emotion she brought to it. There may have been a bit of nepotism there, but she had commanding performances in the scenes she was in that weren’t just part of the pop show. Hayley Mills even joins the cast as the expert criminologist tasked with taking down The Butcher.

Conclusion

Trap is a simple movie at its core, but once it gets going, it’s hard to deny how much it glued me to the screen. It’s an unpredictable ride right to the end in both good and bad ways, but I think it’s worth watching. It’s a movie I thoroughly enjoyed, even with its minor negative aspects.