Trap

Trap
Starring Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Alison Pill
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Earlier this year, M. Night Shyamalan's daughter Ishana released "The Watchers" with her father serving as a producer, and I can only imagine what the dinner table was like. She would gush about thanking her dad for helping her make her film, while his other daughter Saleka whined that he doesn't support her music pursuits by having a movie that showcases her vocal talent, so he goes to his office and pens this story out just to feature her other daughter and calm her down. That's the only thing that makes sense, because to be honest a lot of this movie doesn't, but at least it gives Josh Hartnett a chance to spread his wings and give a tremendous, unforgettable performance.

Cooper Adams (Josh Hartnett) takes his teenage daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to a concert where her favorite singer of all time, Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan) is performing in front of a sold-out crowd of over 30,000 screaming girls and parents. Cooper notices immediately that the venue is swarming with S.W.A.T. and police officers, and asks one of the employees, Jamie (Jonathan Langdon), what's going on. He tells Cooper that the police were tipped off that the infamous Butcher - a man who's murdered numerous people - was going to be at the show, and the entire show was a way to trap him. Cooper - who's actually the Butcher - finds himself trapped as he desperately tries to figure out a way to get out without getting arrested.

For the majority of the film, "Trap" really works with the film's setting. A huge musical venue filled to the gills with people, flashing lights, silhouetted darkness and an odd sense of claustrophobia are all prevalent, and Shyamalan does a great job at setting up the tension. Watching Cooper go from one moment to the next in hopes of finding an escape is somewhat exhilarating, even though it's also mildly frustrating. It's during these times that one of the major issues of the film arises - the script itself. Cooper is a man who's always twelve steps ahead, but he finds himself like a caged animal trying to break free, and instead of relying on his wits, the film almost assists him accidentally as he stumbles across different ways of making it out unseen (we usually call that "plot armor").

In fact, the whole premise of the movie doesn't make a lick of actual sense. The Butcher is this serial killer that the police have been hunting for awhile, and are tipped off that he would be attending the show, so they set up the show as a trap to catch Cooper. So instead of doing actual detective work, they put 30,000 people at risk in the event that he could have a bomb or something on him, and they still don't even know what he looks like although they have a rough idea. This could've gone wrong on so many levels, and the police and S.W.A.T. team that were involved was so numerous I wonder if any other crimes were going on in the Philadelphia area, who would be able to stop it? It seemed a bit much to catch him, and there were too many variables that could prevent it from happening.

Cooper's antics during the show itself is sus at best, if taken into the real world consideration. The way he was frantically talking to the employee Jamie would've been a huge red flag in and of itself, but the fact that he later interacts with the S.W.A.T. team to get a walkie talkie, making his way to the roof for some reason, and doing numerous other antics that could've easily been picked up on any of the numerous surveillance cameras installed. Yet he somehow keeps avoiding capture because, again, plot armor.

You can tell the movie was made so Saleka Shyamalan could showcase her singing (and, in a much lesser way, her acting). The film is essentially a Taylor Swift-light performance piece, where you hear way too much of her singing as opposed to any actual dialogue. She's a decent singer (at least I think so, don't know how much autotune was used), but it would've been better if Shyamalan just made a concert film for his daughter as opposed to this half-brained story.

The third act completely unravels like a speeding locomotive, where Cooper suddenly gets the ability to perform Houdini-like vanishing acts time and again, where the film could've rightfully ended in four different places but it keeps going. And going. And going.

All of this would make for a terrible movie, but thankfully Josh Harnett manages to craft a character so multi-layered and chaotic yet psychopathic it's amazing to watch. He hasn't had much work lately, but this will be something that will help re-solidify himself as a respectable actor once again. Cooper is a flawed man with a troubled past and possibly a mental disorder that is a sociopath and psychopath in equal measure, and is chilling to watch. He anchors what's otherwise a sinking ship and keeps it level. It's interesting seeing the film through the eyes of the killer and how he has to both manage to escape and also keep his secret from his daughter (who also gives an admirable performance for Ariel Donoghue's first role). Sadly there's not enough of those moments, especially in the third act.

In what could've been a decently tight thriller, "Trap" falls into its own trap of running too long, offering too many nonsensical plots, and supplying the main character with more plot armor than a Medieval knight - but thankfully Josh Hartnett more than carries it to completion.

The Score: B-