Trap is the latest film by director M. Night Shyamalan. Photo: Warner Bros.
M. Night Shyamalan is one of the most polarising directors in Hollywood today.
Originally touted to be this generation’s Steven Spielberg after putting together an initial run of movies that included The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs, M. Night’s star began to fade with a slue of horrendous films that spanned from 2006 to 2019.
What was once, “OMG, this movie is incredible!” turned into “WTF, this movie is awful!”
There perhaps hasn’t been a bigger transition in audience opinion for a single director ever. So now, looking to regain some goodwill that he once had, M. Night has gone back to some smaller-budget, less highbrow concept films – the most recent of which is Trap.
Trap follows a father and daughter as they visit a concert of one of the largest musicians in the world. Once inside, the father begins to notice some strange occurrences about the concert.
Between a massive police presence, people getting pulled out of the concert by security at random, and certain places within the venue being blocked off, it all unravels a larger mystery.
From here on, I will be discussing minor spoilers, not anything that isn’t seen in trailers; however, there will be some things that the casual fan may not know (so there’s your warning).
We learn pretty early on that the concert is actually a sting operation to capture a notorious serial killer who has been abducting people. Police have set up the concert to catch the killer. We also then learn that the killer is none other than the father.
In terms of the best horror/thriller movies of the year, this isn’t one of them. It is, however, an incredible amount of fun. It has a real B-Grade, first date, hanging out with some friends at the movies kind of charm.
There were several times I found myself laughing in moments that should have been serious or thrilling and moments where I should have been scared but couldn’t help but sit in amazement at certain story decisions.
Despite how silly it all came across, I still loved it. The best way I can describe it is that it’s like watching a Fast and Furious movie. You aren’t there to watch an actual gritty film that dissects the minds of serial killers; you’re there to watch a movie about a guy at a concert trying to get away with murder.
In traditional M. Night fashion, there is a twist in this film. Don’t go in expecting a “Bruce Willis has actually been dead the entire time” level twist, it isn’t that good. Although, I do believe it serves a purpose for this film.
It won’t blow audiences away, but it did leave me saying, “Huh, I didn’t see that coming”, which is more than I can say about M. Night’s last three or four movies.
Overall, this film is a lot of fun. It’s just not very good.
I enjoyed it a lot but probably won’t recommend it for anyone going alone. If you’re planning on seeing Trap, go with a big group and have some laughs. That’s the best way to enjoy this unintentionally silly movie.
Trap is showing in cinemas across the country.
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