“Trap” is one of M. Night Shyamalan’s better movies.
For more than thirty years, M. Night Shyamalan has been entertaining and confounding audiences, often in equal measure. Few filmmakers have as varied and extensive a filmography as Shyamalan’s, both in terms of the types of films made and the sheer quality of the work. Despite the uneven nature of Shyamalan’s oeuvre, I can’t help but admire the filmmaker’s latter-day output.
After falling out of the limelight with big-budget misfires like The Last Airbender and After Earth, Shyamalan bet everything on himself, essentially self-funding his 2015 found-footage horror film The Visit. Following The Visit‘s success, Shyamalan secured green lights for his subsequent projects and has been consistently creating smaller yet distinctly idiosyncratic films that are wholly his own. While this run of independently-minded films has certainly yielded some favorable results, it is Shyamalan’s latest film, Trap, that feels destined to be the most potent, profound, and effective encapsulation of this post-modern era of his career. Because Trap fucking rules.
TOP FIVE THINGS ABOUT “TRAP”
5. The Writing
There seems to always be a lot of discourse surrounding Shyamalan’s writing abilities, specifically dialogue, when it comes to new work from him. Historically, his handling of dialogue and theme throughout his films has been on the blunter side. However, over the course of his last three films (Old, Knock at the Cabin, and now Trap), Shyamalan has been experimenting and honing in on a new kind of tightrope-walking tonality that balances the humor, tension, and horror inherent to his work.
Nowhere is this more evident than in Trap. The film is incredibly funny at times, often exceedingly tense and suspenseful, and sometimes all of these things at once. Shyamalan executes this balance with aplomb. While some of his earlier work has earned him an unfair reputation for being humorless, leaving audiences unsure whether they’re supposed to laugh, Trap exploits this ambiguity to its own benefit. It’s a morally complex, often subversive film, and Shyamalan’s writing mines these juxtaposing elements to incredible effect.
4. The Multi-faceted Talents of Saleka
Saleka Shyamalan plays the in-story pop star Lady Raven in Trap, whose concert Josh Hartnett’s Cooper and his daughter attend when the titular trap is set. As such, there’s a lot of music by Lady Raven playing throughout the film, all of which is truly written, performed, and recorded by Saleka herself. Not only does it work in-universe, sounding like the kind of anthems that would fill a stadium of thousands, but they’re also just quality songs in their own right.
To top it off, Saleka’s acting role in the film evolves from a seemingly minor one to something much more substantial, and she absolutely soars in the role. By the film’s end, audiences have seen Saleka try her hand professionally in a multitude of different mediums within Trap, and she seems to excel in all of them. I’m sure there will inevitably be discourse about M. Night making a film that could be viewed as synergistic advertising for Saleka’s tie-in album, but to be frank, when the quality of the work (both musical and filmic) is as high as it is here, who actually gives a fuck? Trap is great, and Saleka is great in it. May we all strive to be as good a father as M. Night Shyamalan and write films for our children in which they share the screen with Josh Hartnett.
3. An Evolution of the Trademark Twist
When The Sixth Sense premiered in 1999 with its unforgettable twist ending, it inadvertently set M. Night Shyamalan up for a challenging trajectory. As he continued to develop his craft, audiences began to expect grand twists in every film, and the conversation around his work often became dominated by these narrative surprises.
With Trap, Shyamalan seems to have found new ground for his trademark twists. Instead of relying on a singular, shocking twist ending, he utilizes unexpected narrative turns throughout the film to propel the story into fresh and surprising directions. Each act of Trap is punctuated by a twist that fundamentally shifts the narrative, raising the stakes and deepening the engagement with both the characters and the audience.
While some may miss the big, game-changing twist reminiscent of The Sixth Sense, I found Trap’s approach to twists to be innovative and exciting. The twists in this film are more integrated with the themes and characters, moving beyond mere ‘mystery boxes’ to become essential elements of the story’s substance.
2. Josh Hartnett
Over the past few years, M. Night Shyamalan has collaborated with some of Hollywood’s most dynamic performers, such as James McAvoy in Split and Dave Bautista in Knock at the Cabin. However, in Josh Hartnett, Shyamalan seems to have found an actor who perfectly aligns with his vision.
Hartnett’s performance in Trap is both mesmerizing and intense. Portraying an antagonist who is also the film’s central figure, Hartnett balances acts of horror with an irresistible charisma. His portrayal is marked by a profound range and depth, seamlessly aligning with Shyamalan’s writing and direction, making his performance truly captivating.
As Trap unfolds and its narrative twists reveal deeper layers, Hartnett’s role evolves dramatically. This kind of transformation could easily destabilize a lesser film or actor, but with Shyamalan’s direction and Hartnett’s versatile performance, it enhances the film’s impact. Hartnett’s portrayal of a sadistic serial killer provides a crucial emotional core, demonstrating his exceptional skill.
The film’s shifts in story and Hartnett’s evolving antagonist role evoke comparisons to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho and Anthony Perkins’ iconic performance as Norman Bates, which is high praise indeed.
1. Shyamalan’s Visuals
M. Night Shyamalan’s direction in Trap is a masterclass in visual storytelling. Known for his innovative approach, Shyamalan continues to push the boundaries of his craft by collaborating with exceptional cinematographers. Following his work with Michael Gioulakis (It Follows and Us) on Old and Jarin Blaschke (The Witch and The Lighthouse) on Knock at the Cabin, Shyamalan’s partnership with Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Suspiria and Challengers) on Trap delivers some truly outstanding results.
The film exhibits a profound sense of restraint and purpose in its visual approach. The first act, deeply rooted in Hartnett’s character’s subjective viewpoint, builds suspense and tension through its meticulous framing. When Hartnett and his daughter observe Lady Raven from a distance, the camera remains fixed in their perspective, enhancing the suspense as they gradually close the gap, both physically and metaphorically.
Shyamalan and Mukdeeprom also bring a classical Hollywood sense of omniscience to the film. Their smooth, fluid camera movements create an unsettling sense of impending dread as Hartnett’s character becomes increasingly trapped. This visual style, coupled with the more chaotic physicality of the actors, evokes a visceral response reminiscent of James Whale’s work in Frankenstein and The Old Dark House.
Mukdeeprom’s lighting throughout Trap is particularly striking, infusing the film with rich color and texture. The creative use of multimedia, especially in the concert scenes, adds another layer of visual intrigue. The screens displaying the concert performance at a different frame rate from the rest of the film provide dynamic compositions, blending action and reaction in a single frame and enhancing the overall impact of the film’s visuals.
RGM GRADE
(B+)
Trap isn’t without its flaws—its final act might drag on a bit with a few too many fake-outs. However, I was so invested in Shyamalan’s audacious journey that these issues hardly detracted from my enjoyment. What Shyamalan has crafted here is a taut, suspenseful thriller that also serves as a profound exploration of how an artist’s work can intersect with their personal life. While Shyamalan has always embraced metatextual elements, Trap presents them with a delicacy and insightfulness that feels particularly refined.
The film excels as both a gripping cinematic experience, featuring exceptional craftsmanship, stellar performances, and impressive music, and as a thought-provoking piece that offers viewers a range of themes to ponder. As you leave the theater, Trap provides not only an entertaining ride but also a deep, resonant reflection on the relationship between art and life.
