Rating: PG-13 | Runtime: 105 minutes
Release Date: August 2nd, 2024 (USA)
Studio: Warner Bros.
Director(s): M. Night Shyamalan
Writer(s): M. Night Shyamalan

I think you’re looking for me.

I’m glad M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap proved to be as goofy as that poster with Josh Hartnett’s eye opened wide to the point where his mouth can’t help smirking. When I first saw that image, I couldn’t stop thinking about the James Franco meme from The Interview where he’s wearing a scarf and standing up with a “How dare you?!” face. That whole faux rage masking the knowledge that the entire scenario is absurd. That’s what I wanted from Trap and it’s exactly what I got.

It makes sense too since the premise is so stupid. Is law enforcement really going to put more than two hundred thousand innocents in danger once they figure out the serial killer they’re after (known as The Butcher) will be attending a pop concert? Are they really going to bring every single available officer from every single branch of police to this centralized location and allow themselves to be seen so that the killer knows something is up? It doesn’t matter if their profiler (Hayley Mills) is psychic, she won’t be able to cover every exit or ensure the stadium staff she’s enlisted as undercover agents are up to the task.

So, the film needs the latitude to go crazy. Let Hartnett’s Cooper (who we know to be a murderer, regardless of whether he’s actually The Butcher, about five minutes in) do some wild stuff to test the perimeter and find weaknesses. Let the script gift him ways to do so like a loquacious merchandise seller (Jonathan Langdon) or the potential to “win” backstage passes. The more conveniently dumb things get, the more fun we get to have. Because if Cooper isn’t sweating from the heat, he’s laughing about his small victories. Then things can get outrageous upon escape.

I did not expect Saleka Shyamalan (as Lady Raven, the concert’s main attraction) to have such a large role considering she isn’t an actor. But, as we see once again with M. Night giving himself a cameo, not everyone on-screen is anyway. And that lack of experience only feeds into the undercurrent of comedy too. Both when we’re supposed to believe she’s scared and when she turns around to try and be the hero by leaning into her wheelhouse (enlisting her Swiftie-level online horde to crowd-source answers) and stretching credulity even further via half-baked attempts to psychologically subdue this monster.

The idea is surely to distract us from remembering that this whole thing is a trap and therefore realize there’s no way Lady Raven would ever be allowed to do what she does. I don’t care if you’re Madonna—no one is actually leaving that arena without being checked and no way you’re that famous and not receiving a police escort if you somehow do. This whole film is predicated on everyone but Cooper being as dumb as a box of rocks so that every angle can be compromised in such a way that the so-called blanket of security surrounding him proves to be a loosely crocheted net instead.

Again, though, none of this is a mistake. Neither is Shyamalan only casting people at least a head shorter than Hartnett so his Cooper towers over everybody. He’s a big dude on his own, but the way he’s shot here makes him seem like Andre the Giant. As a result, the fantastic “fake” acting he does when trying to get answers from unsuspecting strangers hits perfectly. All these people know a killer is on the loose and yet they melt at the sign of this hulking figure’s smile. They want to be his best friend even though it would take a moron not to know he’s lying. It all goes back to the trailer “giving away” his identity. You knowing the truth doesn’t ruin your chance to feel smart. It allows everyone else to look stupid.

So, don’t think my enjoyment of Trap means I think it’s a good film. It’s not. It’s as dumb as its characters. But boy is it entertaining. Hartnett is having a blast. Salenka’s music is a lot catchier than her concert’s obvious target for pop satire. And the back end possesses some genuinely enjoyable twists and turns insofar as how they back Hartnett into corners to see how he gets out. It’s the type of pulpy good time that we rarely get with conscious intent anymore. Too often we end up laughing at a film like this. It’s nice to laugh with this one.

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Josh Hartnett and Ariel Donoghue in TRAP; courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.