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

00s Movie Review - The Village

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Genre: Mystery/ Thriller/ Drama
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 2004
Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Brendan Gleeson, Sherry Jones, Adrien Brody, Jesse Eisenberg, Michael Pitt, Judy Greer

Description: A series of evens tests the beliefs of a small isolated countryside village.

Review: If you think of director M. Nigh Shyamalan’s best movies, you think of “The Sixth Sense”, “Unbreakable” and “Signs”. “Split” and “The Visit” will also come to mind. Usually “The Village” is not on that list. And I will not say it’s my favorite, but I certainly believe it’s much better than most people claim it is and feel it’s a bit underrated.

The film is set in an isolated village, with a close community of people that live a sober yet happy life. When dark things start happening, the villagers are made to believe it’s the inhabitants of the forest that are warning them to keep out. But the truth is hidden.

The film is never scary, but there is a lot of suspense that you constantly feel. You know something is wrong, just not yet what that is.

The film has a star-studded cast and Bryce Dallas Howard plays the main female character. She is really good and I loved her in this film. The ending/ twist is something most people don’t really like, but I personally always liked the twist of the film.

I think this movie deserves a little mote love then it’s getting. It’s absolutely not a bad movie. It’s slow and doesn’t rely on scares, but has a lot of atmosphere and a very good premise. With a surprising twist, that I just happened to like.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

 

 

 

00s Movie Review - Signs

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Genre: Thriller/ Drama/ Mystery
Runtime: 106 minutes
Year: 2002
Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin, Cherry Jones

Description: A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.

Review: When director M. Night Shyamalan found a book about crop circles, he also found the theme for his next film. The fact that there have been crop circles for so long and no one can explain them, it a mysterious, fascinating yet scary phenomenon. Off course there have been plenty of alien films, with them attacking our planet. But “Signs” is different. More than a leg in the crops, shadows, sounds and a video shot with a shaky cam we don’t get to see of the aliens. But that’s exactly what makes “Signs” so scary. Shyamalan manages to give you goosebumps, on the moments you don’t see anything but know something is there.

The cast is great, all of them. “Signs” is one of my favorite films and it always scares me. No matter how many times I see it. It’s movies like this that make Shyamalan a great director. Which he is!

Rating: 5/ 5

 

 

10s Movie Review - The Visit

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie, Kathryn Hahn

Description: Two siblings become increasingly frightened by their grandparents’ disturbing behavior while visiting them on vacation.

Review: In “The Visit”, a sister and brother go visit the grandparents they have never met before, because their mother broke all contact with them. Grandpa and grandma are just acting a little strange.
What a breath of fresh air “The Visit” is. The film contains parts horror, thriller and comedy. A strange mix that surprisingly works well.
Becca and Tyler, played by Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould, are excellently cast. With child actors, that’s always the question, but both are really good in their roles.
Gradually all kinds of possible scenarios pass in review; what will be the punchline, what twists do the makers have in store for us? The actual twist didn’t really come to mind until the moment it happens.
The hand-held camera, found-footage type of filming really adds to the tension of the film. It makes it more realistic and creepy.
“The Visit” is not a typical genre film, it is something unusual. Not necessarily groundbreaking, but refreshing and highly recommended.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Movie Reviews - Glass

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Genre: Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 129 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Paulson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Spencer Treat Clark

Description: Security guard David Dunn (Bruce Willis) uses his supernatural abilities to track Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), a disturbed man who has twenty-four personalities.

Review: M. Night Shyamalan is a very good director, but made some movies that a lot of people hate. He was praised for the thriller “The Sixth Sense” with that amazing twist. And “Signs” and Unbreakable” were also very well received. “The Village” I liked, but most people had mixed feelings. And the rest, we don’t really want to talk about. But gladly in 2016, Shyamalan came back with another amazing film: “Split”. Which was surprisingly tied to “Unbreakable”, from 2000. And with now “Glass” we got a trilogy that no one saw coming.
We already know the character in “Glass”, they were introduced to us in “Unbreakable” and “Split”. I recommend you’d see them before, but it’s possible to watch “Glass” without that knowledge. The story is very interesting and off course we’re all waiting for that twist. And all the films finally come together at the end. Before that, it’s not very clear where the movie is heading. James McAvoy is fantastic in his role, like he was in “Split”. It’s amazing to see his range of emotions and expressions and how easily he goes from one personality to another. He is definitely the highlight of “Glass”. The performances by Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson and Sarah Paulson are also very solid.
The atmosphere in “Glass” is realistic and grim. And in the superhero world, that’s a welcome addition, because they are mostly bombastic and colorful.
“Glass” is a good film, but it could have been great if it got a little more substance. “Unbreakable” and “Split” were definitely better. But I am glad I saw “Glass”.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 70: Split

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 117 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, Betty Buckley, Neal Huff, Jessica Sula

Description: Three girls are kidnapped by a man (James McAvoy) with a diagnosed 23 distinct personalities. They must try to escape before the apparent emergence of a frightful new 24th.

Review: The story of “Split” is simple: Kevin suffers from dissociative identity disorder, or split personality. One of these personalities finds darks reason to kidnap three teenage girls.
M. Night Shyamalan will never make a movie that won’t be compared with his biggest success “The Sixth Sense”. He made really good films after that, being “Unbreakable” and “Signs” and I even appreciate “The Village”. And when he gets it right, you can see what a great director Shyamalan really is. With some mishaps, he didn’t give up and now he’s here with “Split”. Is this a film that we can put on his ‘good’ list? Yes!
James McAvoy is a great actor, one of my favorites. And man does he show that here. It’s amazing how he can go from one character and emotion to another in a heartbeat, with a seamless transition. He changes his way of speaking, facial expression, posture. Fascinating!
M. Night Shyamalan always assumes that people will go along for the ride, when he decides to all of a sudden add supernatural elements to the film. And for the first time in a long time, he manages to succeed again. It’s not only to thank the great script, but also his leading actor.
I’m glad M. Night Shyamalan is back with a good film, I’m also glad for him. I think he got a lot of negative response after some of his films, but he doesn’t deserve that. Because I believe he is an amazing storyteller and director. “Split” is a really good film, with that twist right before the credits start rolling. Very clever!

Rating: 4/ 5