Trap

!SPOILERS!

When I was first introduced to the world of M. Night Shyamalan, it was through the film Split and God I was enthralled by the genius of that film. I was completely blown away by the artistry it held and the amount of layers that were built in so effortlessly, creating a world and, most importantly, a character we had never seen before. Split was completely unique to the rest of the world, as well as some of his other films.

However, Trap was missing that wow factor, the layers, and most importantly, a twist. The film seems to follow one line throughout its entire runtime. We are practically just watching a serial killer try to escape in multiple settings. The idea is super fun and not something I had ever seen before. I believe that if M. Night Shyamalan were to play with the plot more, adding a few more shocks for the audience, then it wouldn’t feel as mundane and repetitive by the end of the film. I can’t completely blame the film for this, since whoever made the trailer decided to spill all the beans about this film—and I mean all of them.

I have a thing about trailers recently; they seem to love giving away the entire film, and the issue is that it leaves the audience with nothing when they actually go to watch it. Since we already know the entire plot, it just seems like a longer rerun of the trailer, though this time with multiple deep stares into the camera.

I feel like maybe if we were given more twists or if it was set within the world that we’ve seen M. Night Shyamalan create before, where there is somewhat of a supernatural element, then the film would have earned more stars. It felt like half the film was watching a concert, and the other half was watching him walk around trying to escape.

The general technical aspects of the film are up to his usual level of work—they are all so crisp and clean—which is especially exciting since he had so many people and compositions to work with, given that the setting is an arena.

However, the person who earns the three stars is Josh Hartnett, who is a delight to see back on the big screen. I only really knew him from The Faculty, and a few of his smaller roles, but this character is a complete 180 in my eyes. I think he is a very fun actor to watch with his physicality, and he definitely has a sense of charisma within this film that perfectly matches a serial killer vibe (believe me, I’ve watched enough Netflix docs to know, ahaha). I really enjoyed his performance, though I do believe that he drags it out a little too much at points, but I think this may have been a characteristic choice made by the director.

Overall, the film has its problems, but it is enjoyable to watch. You do have fun at points, and there is that darkness that M. Night Shyamalan does so well. I just wish, and I’m telling you all now, that with this film: DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER. I feel like if you were to go in completely blind to the plot, then yes, the film would have been a completely different experience.

Imagine going into Gone Girl knowing everything beforehand. Does it make it a bad movie? No. But is it a little more disappointing? Yeah.

What did you think of Trap? Whats your favourite M. Night Shyamalan film?