Trap

I think I was lured into the trap of the trailer for Trap in thinking that this concept was a good idea.

It wasn’t until the production logos started to appear that it dawned on me that a fair amount of explanation was going to be needed to justify the story of this film.

Unfortunately, it does have to go down as a film that spends more time having to explain its own existence than anything else. It just doesn’t quite work.

It’s a real shame as there’s clearly something here and it’s an enjoyable enough spectacle.

It also might be the best M. Night Shyamalan film in a minute, but that in itself is also a statement borne out of sadness rather than anything else.

You’ll know the blurb: Josh Hartnett’s serial killer is at a pop concert with his daughter, an event which has been set up to capture him (although the police don’t know what he looks like.)

Cue the best elements of the film: some original style blending concert film and ‘escape thriller’, some actually pretty damn good songs penned by Shyamalan’s daughter Saleka in the pop megastar role and Hartnett’s sheer charisma leaving you rooting for this sadistic mass murderer to escape even whilst he’s hurting others in order to do so.

It’s very much a ‘leave your common sense at the door’ type of film. If you’re partial to something that’s so ridiculous you won’t be able to help stifling a laugh at points then go with it, it’s good fun and it leans into that daftness.

Like The Game before it (which would make a great double-bill feature) it is daffy in how unbelievable it is at points, and will infuriate many who enjoy picking holes, but if you can enjoy the ride for what it is then there’s plenty of fun to be had.

Is it a comment on modern fandom and how actually it can be a force for good? Maybe it is Shyamalan playing that card, maybe it is just a showcase for his talented family, maybe it is an attempt to ‘recapture the magic’ of his early career, maybe it’s another attempt at an original thriller like Split that hasn’t really been done before. You could argue for any of those descriptors.

It does seem that no one involved with the film has ever actually been to a concert before though. The sheer numbers of people swanning around the outside areas rather than actually watching the show and the presence of full SWAT teams loitering outside perhaps borders on insensitivity given recent events but it’s another aspect that you just have to ‘allow’ to get anything out of the movie.

So a divisive film for sure but, ultimately, for a movie fan, it’s just so gloriously silly (and knows it) that it'll surely bring a smile to your face.

⭐️⭐️⭐️