Movie Review - Trap

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Genre: Thriller/ Crime
Runtime: 105 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Night Shyamalan, Ariel Donohue, Alison Pill, Hayley Mills, Johnathan Mills
 
Description: A father (Josh Hartnett) and his teenage daughter (Saleka Night Shyamalan) attend a pop concert only to realize they’ve entered the center of a dark and sinister event.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 38: A FILM FROM 2024
 
Review: With director M. Night Shyamalan, you never know. Somethins the makes great films that really keep you on the edge of your seat and sometime he makes film that are pretty bad. I have liked most, loved some, hated a few. “Trap” is his latest thriller.

Teenager Riley is attending the sold-out concert of world star Lady Raven, together with her dad Cooper. Her dad is acting a bit weird, and somehow that is not strange, since the place is swarming with police. Soon Cooper realizes that they are looking for a serial killer named The Butcher. In fact, the FBI thinks he is at this concert today and they are doing everything they can to capture him.

Josh Hartnett was up and coming in the late 90s, early 2000s. I always loved him as an actor, but he hasn’t done anything major for a while. He was in an episode of the latest season of “Black Mirror”, which was fantastic and where he again showed what he could do. And now he’s starring in M. Night Shyamalan newest film. He plays Cooper and he is kind of perfect for this role.

Night Shyamalan is known for his twists, that, when they deliver they DELIVER! Since the trailer for this movie already showed us a big twist, you would think that there is more to it. I was a bit disappointed that they showed us that twist already, because it really changes the viewing experience. Even though it does have a few surprises, I was still waiting for the final, crazy, unexpected twist. But sadly, that never came. A lot of the things happening in the film, are very convenient for story telling and this way the film loses its credibility a bit. But the first hour of the film is filled with tension and does keep you on the edge of your seat. After that, the tension drops a bit.

Not one of Night Shyamalan’s best films, but it’s certainly not on the list of bad movies. I enjoyed it for the most part, but was disappointed that we didn’t get a better twist. Or any twist for that matter.

Rating: 3/ 5