Asking yourself, “How can I make a movie that will act completely as a promotional tool for my daughter’s singing career?” probably isn’t the best way to begin the scriptwriting process. Trap is the latest film by M. Night Shyamalan, which he crafted so that the film centered around a concert that helped make the music feel as though it helped propel the movie forward. He and his daughter, Saleka Shyamalan, said that Prince’s Purple Rain was an inspiration to the style of the film, but it’s clear by the ridiculousness of everything that happens on screen throughout that Shyamalan was mainly trying to put eyes and ears on Saleka’s music with the plot coming a distant, distant second.
The movie stars Josh Hartnett as Cooper, a firefighter who takes his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to a sold out, impossible to get tickets for Lady Raven (who is played by Saleka) concert. I’ll say that even if you didn’t watch the trailer, know that there isn’t a twist. Shyamalan is known for them, and that can often take away from the viewing experience as you inadvertently spend time trying to figure out what it may be. When Cooper and Riley arrive at the concert, Cooper begins to notice that there are an unusual amount of police and security everywhere. After they find their seats he excuses himself, goes to the washroom, checks his phone and reveals that he’s got a live feed of someone tied up in a basement somewhere.
So Cooper is not a good guy, despite his best efforts to come off as one around Riley. When the pair go to buy a t-shirt, Cooper strikes up a conversation with the guy who works at the arena and he asks what’s up with all the cops everywhere? This guy just gets into it all, explaining that the entire concert is a setup and they know that a serial killer called “The Butcher” is going to be there and that there’s no way for him to escape.
Again, this sounds like a lot of the movie is being ruined, but not only is this in the first 30 seconds of the trailer, but it’s also really early on in the film and pretty much the entire plot. Cooper has to figure out a way to escape this beyond over-the-top trap that the FBI and a profiler have set up for him, despite the fact that their source of “The Butcher” actually being at the concert is paper thin. Not to mention how incredibly dangerous it is for the public that they’ve knowingly placed inside this arena alongside a vicious serial killer.
Also, for as organized as they seem like they are, using an insane amount of police and FBI resources to pull this off, they’re also really bad at noticing when a serial killer is right under their noses. Cooper weaves in and out of places that are quite literally filled with officers and nobody even questions it. Nobody just says, “Hey, here’s a white guy in his late 30s/40s that’s walking right beside us…should we talk to him briefly?”
I’m all for suspending disbelief in movies as well. I love doing it, to be honest. When an action star is being shot at by 40 bad guys and all the bullets miss them? I’m there for it. And even in a movie like this, I’m okay with Cooper outsmarting the police at various points because it’s a movie and he should…but it happens so often in a movie where the entire point of this concert is to capture this killer that you lose any sort of tension you want to have in a thriller and it gets rather silly fairly quick.
As Cooper bounces back and forth between checking on his daughter during the concert and trying to find a way out we get to hear a number of Lady Raven songs, some in their entirety, which, to Shyamalan’s credit, do at least blend into the movie and would be better had the actual story been better, but the plot feels like an afterthought to making sure the soundtrack is heard throughout. Even in the second half of the film when they do make it out of the concert Lady Raven still finds time to sing an entire song acoustically.
I know what you’re thinking, “Wait, they make it out of the concert? Spoiler!” I mean, slightly, yes; however, there’s absolutely no real hurdles that Cooper has to jump in order to do so. Once he finds out that the concert is a trap he learns the one possible way out and exploits it because there’s zero secrecy in regards to this FBI plan and vital pieces of information are given out exactly when he needs it by random characters. To be fair, the concert setting is the most intriguing part of the movie, and once they leave the movie really begins to spiral out of control in terms of any sort of logic. Add on the fact that Lady Raven randomly becomes the film’s protagonist and you kind of get the idea that there was no way this story was making a clean landing.
We all know that M. Night Shyamalan is completely capable of making great movies, even though many would argue his best were his first two major releases in The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable all the way back in 1999/2000. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it, but I feel like Signs can also make the cut, and 2016’s Split definitely deserves high praise alongside his best works. With that said, Shyamalan has also taken some big swings and missed completely. I’d argue that Trap belongs in the latter category, but I don’t think this was a big swing, and its point to get his daughter’s music out there was somewhat achieved. With that it seems he accomplished what he set out to do with the film; but especially in this age where Taylor Swift’s Eras tour is just doing massive, record-breaking numbers, it feels like a hugely missed opportunity to not have taken the time to build a stronger story here that could’ve capitalized on that and potentially added to his own greatest hits.
4K Blu-ray Video and Audio Review:
If there’s a place where the film excels it’s the 4K HDR10 transfer, which captures Shyamalan’s filmmaking style wonderfully. There are some great visual shots that really take advantage of the concert setting, and the bouncing back from the darker concert floor to the lit-up arena hallways is seamless in terms of wonderfully lit scenic to nice, deep blacks that set the mood. There’s really nothing to knock the film for visually, so if you’re a fan of Shyamalan and want to own all his works good or bad then I definitely recommend picking this one up in 4K.
On the audio side we’ve got a great Dolby Atmos mix, which does its job of showcasing Saleka’s music in wonderful surround sound fashion. Again, the music does fit well enough, it’s just that the rest of the story doesn’t do anything justice, but if you’re a fan of Saleka then know that her vocals are done justice in this audio mix. The dialogue is also nice, clean and easy to hear at all times, whether they’re talking over the songs or in a busier hallway. Both the audio and video deliver on their end, for whatever that’s worth to you.
Special features:
Setting the Trap: A New M. Night Shyamalan Experience – This is a 4-minute behind-the-scenes piece that basically touches on Shyamalan wanting to combine a concert with a thriller. He’s been around long enough that I feel like he’d have to know that the thrills just weren’t here, but maybe I’m wrong. Hartnett also speaks about getting into the mindset of his character, and while I didn’t talk about it above, I also would’ve liked to have seen a stronger script for Hartnett to flex his acting muscles on more, as Cooper could’ve been a really fun and creepy character.
Saleka as Lady Raven – Here’s a 5-minute piece where Shyamalan talks about developing the film with Saleka, how they were inspired by Purple rain, and making the movie feel as though it was a concert film. Again, it just makes it feel like the intention and focus was more on showcasing her songs over making a captivating movie.
Deleted Scenes – There are four deleted scenes for those interested in seeing what didn’t make the cut in the movie.
Disclaimer: A review copy of this Blu-ray was sent to me to cover in honest and truthful fashion.
Warner Bros. Pictures Presents Trapped. Written & Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan. Starring: Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Alison Pill, Hayley Mills, Jonathan Langdon. Running time: 106 Minutes. Rating: PG-13. Released on 4K Blu-ray: Nov. 5, 2024.
About Brendan Campbell
