‘Trap’ Review: A Thrilling Triumph from M. Night Shyamalan
M. Night Shyamalan has been operating under the mantle of critically divisive director for the better part of a decade now, and there are few things more shameful in the industry to this day. Shyamalan is going to preserve regardless, but without a doubt, he’s one of the most prolific, consistently striking filmmakers out there, and has been for a long time.
Say what you want about bits of his filmography (The Last Airbender is everyone’s first punch) but the man writes his own stories, shoots with a specific sense of style and space, and always finds a way to put himself in the film, in one way or another. Not only does his latest, ‘Trap’, check all these boxes, but it downright dwarfs just about every other theatrical effort we’ve seen this year thus far in every category. M. Night has truly delivered one of his best works here, and with a filmography with such highs as his, that’s saying something.
Leading up to release, the director has been teasing the film on social media with various facts in reference to the production process, with the most compelling being that the screenwriting process for Trap was very similar to Signs, arguably M. Night’s most influential film. There’s a youthful air of creativity that permeates Trap all the way through; it’s a real testament to Shyamalan’s resilience as an artist.
He finds so many avenues to move audiences here, in one way or another, that he hasn’t explored before. The concept alone is enough to draw a crowd, being a father turned serial killer who must escape a concert with his daughter after finding out that the FBI has set a trap there for him. Any exploration of the story beyond that would bring about spoilers, and if there’s any film that can’t be spoiled this year, it’s this one. If you can somehow go in completely blind, it’ll elevate your time tenfold.
Though Shyamalan’s restless creativity isn’t the only key. Josh Hartnett’s lead performance, among a bevy of solid supporters, is the gasoline that fuels the greater machine. He’s playing what feels like a socially adept Michael Myers, weaving in and out of slippery interactions of various stakes with an unspoken ease. He’s an entity in that way; unavoidable, yet hard to grab. Everywhere yet nowhere, present yet hidden, you get the point.
Hartnett feeds off of the endless twists and turns that Shyamalan bakes into this thing, eventually tipping over the edge and evolving his turn into an almost completely different, awfully tantalizing final stage. He just does so much with a character that was dependent on his effort; Shyamalan does a lot more in setting up the actor with the screenplay than he does in developing any sort of background for the killer beyond the basic context. It allowed Hartnett so much room to create on his own terms, and the result rules.
Shyamalan and cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Challengers) frame Hartnett’s ever-deceiving scowl in a way that allows you to feel so close to him, yet still completely on the outside of his mind. The camera is still, restrictive, and ominously suggestive. There’s a fear-factor to how little of the environment is explored unless it’s being shown for the first time with Hartnett. If he doesn’t see it, it’s likely that you don’t, either.
As awful as it is, you’re in this thing with him. You won’t pull for him, but at the same time, it’s hard not to be caught up in both the expert lead actor and the filmmaking antics that lift him up along the way. Trap is one of those “can’t look away” kinds of films. It’s similar to the suddenly viral Longlegs in that way, only it’s both more compelling and perhaps even scarier, in a way.
The film is also subtly very funny. Shyamalan has a way of situating details and structuring reactions to form a bubble of dark humor that certainly won’t appeal to everyone, but for the folks already feeling this one out, it should land with ease. Hartnett, to no surprise, excels here too. There are a few moments of candid nothingness wherein he very visibly just wants to strangle his interlocutor that add so much to his character in a charming, almost cartoonish way.
If anything could hold one back from this film, it’d likely be the inverse of the praise: M. Night Shyamalan. It’s true that, for some people, his stuff just doesn’t click. If you don’t like his work, Trap certainly won’t change your mind. The film is a shameless, indulgent undergoing in all things M. Night. As much as such a thing can be debated, to an extent, not everyone can connect. If that’s you, Trap may be an unfortunate skip.
But for everyone else and all other parties, this is a must see at the cinema. Shyamalan’s modernistic subversion of the classic thriller genre will without a doubt go down as one of the highlights of a year that was already going strong. At this point in his career, if he hasn’t already stopped, he really may never. Why should he? This is a guy at the top of his game, expanding his catalog year after year in unceasing, increasingly impressive fashion.
Enough can’t be said about not only his work, but the film as a whole. Whether you call yourself a casual movie fan or a cinema diehard who’s seated as often as you can, Trap should be the next ticket you punch. Get to the theater and lock in.