M. Night Shyamalan has been a polarizing filmmaker throughout his career, having made some massive hits as well as some flops by some people standards. On the contrary, what he can say is that a majority of his films are highly original stories written and directed by himself where no two films feel exactly the same.
Some may say his plots can be convoluted or unbelievable but that is one of the things that makes M. Night Shyamalan so unique. The worlds he sets his stories in appear to mirror the world we live in, even if supernatural elements inhabit them. Although it may look and feel like our world, his films often play by their own set of rules, making the moviegoing experience that much more enjoyable.
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Trap, his newest film starring Josh Hartnett and his daughter Saleka Shyamalan, as popstar Lady Raven, lays out Shyamalan’s signature style with just enough surprises to make the moviegoing experience beyond delightful. Trap is a tense thriller that is amplified by Josh Hartnett’s unsettling performance and Saleka Shyamalan’s incredible stage presence and talent.
Cooper Adams (Josh Hartnett) takes his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to see Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan), the biggest popstar for young teenage girls. As he looks around the arena he notices police and SWAT teams surrounding the premise, only to find out they received a tip that The Butcher, the biggest serial killer in the Philadelphia area, would be in attendance that night. Riley seems to be so zoned in on the concert that she doesn’t notice, so much so she doesn’t catch on that Cooper has a dark secret that has the ability to destroy not only himself but everyone around him.
Marketing for the film has remained relatively secretive to the direction Trap goes, making it that much more of a surprise by the end. Trap is very centered in its story and approach even if its pacing isn’t as clean as it could be. However, the beauty in this is it coincides with Cooper’s personality, very specific in his planning but also anxiously executed. What makes Trap one of Shyamalan’s best recent films is that it is surprising while also while also remaining based in reality as to how the story unfolds. There isn’t as much a moment where he pulls the rug out from his audience but the “twists” and turns the film takes is worthwhile.
Shyamalan continues to achieve a style all his own that is difficult to mimic. Although some may not buy into the stories he tells, this critic admires the clear passion and joy that he puts into his films. Somehow he has been able to maintain the mid-2000s thriller feel in this movie while also creating an intriguing premise that feels modern in its display of popstar-fan culture. At the end of the day, not only does Trap succeed in its suspense and direction but it is one of the most fun this critic has had at the movies in a long time.
The film feels very much like a love letter to his own daughter who stars in the film as Lady Raven. Saleka Shyamalan’s presence in the film is felt immensely and she was able to write 14 original songs for the film that are playing during the course of the concert. Her talent and charisma radiates on stage like a real popstar (because she is) and it makes the film even that much more believable in its concert structure.
Seeing Cooper and Riley’s relationship on screen feels extremely fitting in the realm of the film as M. Night Shyamalan essentially made a concert film for his daughter in the same love that Cooper clearly has for his daughter, getting her floor seats to the biggest concert of the year. In this way, this film explores familial love and secrets that allows Hartnett’s character to be impossible to look away from, seeing him genuinely as a loving father while simultaneously also being a monster. Trap is one of Shyamalan’s best films in years and is beyond entertaining between its performances, music, and chills and thrills.
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