In 2017, M Night Shyamalan came out with the film Split, Which was his first critically acclaimed film in a decade and a half. The film was not only a well-received by audiences but it also managed to tie back to his previous film 2000s Unbreakable.

For a brief moment, the king of the cinematic twist looks like he is staring in the face of one of the biggest comebacks in Industry history.  well… that certainly didn’t last very long.

The next three films that followed were a disappointing follow-up to Split entitled “Glass” Which dropped the ball in more ways imaginable.  then you have the lukewarm reaction to the 2021 film “Old” a movie about people rapidly aging on the Island,  and then M night went full M Night Shyamalan with last year’s Knock at the Cabin,  a film that secured our list on one of the top 10 worst movies of the year.

With three misses in a row, it was hard for anyone to get excited about yet another M Night movie entitled “Trap”  a film that features his daughter in the role of a fictionalized pop singer named Lady Raven.  On one hand, you can look at this as a cheap attempt at making the world aware that his daughter has an R&B career, to begin with, Or you can give Shyamalan the benefit of the doubt going into the movie with the lowest expectations possible. 

‘Trap’ is a movie starring Josh Hartnett as Cooper, A Middle American firefighter who takes his teenage daughter to go see Pop star Lady Raven at a sold-out concert in the Northeast of the United States. Cooper arrives at the show with over 23,000 sold-out fans but as he begins to walk around the arena he notices a beefed-up police presence at the show.  After doing some digging he finds out that the FBI and the local police department have teamed up to set a trap for him.

All of the exits have been sealed and the police are searching every man who exits the arena guaranteeing that there’s no way for him to slip past the police.  Cooper begins to panic realizing that he doesn’t have a way out,  he realizes that he must keep his daughter calm who is completely oblivious to what is happening. A dangerous serial killer trapped like a rat in a pot must go to extreme means to slip past the police and maintain his secret from the world.

Trap is the best M Night Shyamalan film since 2002.  Now face value considering the films that he released in that period that might not sound like the biggest endorsement,  however, Shyamalan managed to set aside all of his gimmicks and tricks to bring life to a psychological Thriller With three very distinct Acts.

 The first Act of the movie engrossed the movie in mystery as the setup is obvious from the jump that something isn’t quite right at this concert.  When the film drives into the second act you start to see the wickedness and mental instability of our so-called protagonist who begins to act more like a cornered cage animal than the everyday dad that he was presented as.  Finally, in the third Act of the movie, you see just how far our character is willing to go to keep his two lives separate from one another, revealing to the audience the full scope of the monster that they are dealing with.

Josh Hartnett delivers one of his best performances of his modern run playing a disturbing killer Who is as cunning as he is dangerous. The film navigates around his psyche to see how he operates under pressure. Cooper stops at nothing including staging horrific accidents, stealing security details, and even conning his way backstage and a desperate plea to escape without detection. Cooper’s ability to lie with little effort and Bs his way out of any situation shows you how he’s been able to avoid authorities for several years.

 In a lot of ways, the setup of the movie plays out like a classic mission from The Hitman video game. The only difference is that there isn’t a Target to kill in the film. Saleka Shyamalan Provides a multitude of songs for the film from her catalog as much as the first two Acts bounce around from a frantic Escape film and an end movie concert that helps blend the genres and keep the pace moving.

As an actress Saleka leaves a bit to be desired But even with limited acting experience her Ark comes full circle in a satisfactory way towards the film’s Final Act.  There are a few drawbacks with the movie as the third Act of the movie drags on a bit too long and slows down the pace to a point where it begins to bring the film to a Halt.  There are also instances where Cooper’s Batman-like Escape tactics begin to bend the realm of reality and otherwise straightforward film.

Perhaps adding his daughter to the mix gave M Night Shyamalan a bit more motivation as a filmmaker to give audiences His best cinematic effort since The Village and best story since Signs.  While we’re not going to make the mistake again to say that M Night Shyamalan is back,  Trap is a film that will make audiences forget the year’s worth of blunders at least in the short term.

3.5/5

Don’t forget to Subscribe for Updates. Also, Follow Us at Society-Reviews, YouTube,  Twitter, Odysee, Rumble, and Twitch