Susan Granger’s review of “Trap” (Warner Bros.)
Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan is known for his twisty, tension-filled thrillers, which is why it’s so odd that viewers know – right at the beginning – that doting father Cooper Adams (Josh Hartnett) is really a scheming psychotic serial killer.
Firefighter Cooper has bought pricey stadium floor seats so that his teenage daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) can be front and center at a Philadelphia concert featuring her favorite pop icon, Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan), channeling Taylor Swift.
While ecstatic Riley’s adoring attention is on the show, Cooper’s twitchy eyes shift from the roving security cameras to the extensive police presence. A cat-and-mouse game has been launched in the venue and he knows something’s afoot.
After befriending and questioning one of the concessionaires (Jonathan Langdon), cagey Cooper learns that an F.B.I. profiler, Dr. Grant (Hayley Mills), has ascertained that a fiendish, middle-aged white man known as The Butcher is somewhere in the audience.
An elaborate ‘sting operation’ has been set up all around the massive arena – with no obvious means of escape. But there are always unsuspecting relatives to charm, staff badges/keycards to steal and security passwords to discover, so there’s no doubt that slyly subtle Cooper has plenty of tricks up his sleeve.
Eventually, however, the initially intriguing psychodrama becomes a bit too implausible and illogical, particularly when Cooper’s wife Rachel (Alison Pill) surfaces. But do stay for an amusing post-credits sequence.
After his initial success with “The Sixth Sense,” writer/director M. Night Shyamalan has varying levels of acclaim/disdain with “Signs,” “Unbreakable,” “The Happening,” “The Village,” “Split,” “Lady in the Water,” “The Visit,” “Old” and “Knock at the Cabin.”
Yes, 28 year-old Saleka Shyamalan is the director’s daughter; she wrote and sang much of her own material, amplifying Herdis Stefansdottir’s score. Another daughter, Ishana Shyamalan, directed “The Watchers” (2024), which is shown on a billboard. And it’s fun to see former Disney child-star Hayley Mills – now 78 years old – come out of retirement.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Trap” is an implausible yet suspenseful 6, playing in theaters.
