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<\/a> <\/div>\nTrap<\/i> is the latest M. Night Shyamalan film and he\u2019s been solidly making consistently memorable thrillers for much of his career \u2013 on the wrong end of borderline xenophobic humour that is ill-deserved and frankly, unjustified. His output, dating back to the days of Unbreakable, The Sixth Sense<\/i> and extending onto his more recent work of Knock at the Cabin<\/i> and Old<\/i>, has produced consistent hit after consistent hit. And Trap<\/i>, a concert thriller set during a live performance of fictional superstar, Lady Raven, loosely modelled after Taylor Swift and her adoration by a young fanbase, played by Saleka, Shyamalan\u2019s daughter, is maybe his best since The Village<\/i>, a return to the old school tense horror. <\/p>\n
30,000 fans. 300 cops. 1 serial killer. No escape \u2013 the headline is catchy and lets you know what you\u2019re in for. It\u2019s not really a spoiler to say that Josh Hartnett\u2019s seemingly loving father has a dark side, he\u2019s the serial killer that the cops are looking for, led by an experienced FBI profiler who\u2019s capable of one-upping his every move. You see Hartnett play a serial killer increasingly losing his cool and looking for a way out from the get go \u2013 he pushes a girl down a stairs in a bid to distract the cops and is willing to melt someone\u2019s face, causing horrific bruises and scarring, in order to get into a secluded area. Hartnett\u2019s Cooper is having a field day with this one \u2013 he notices that an unusual number of police officers are present at the event from the off and is constantly looking for ways off. Dr. Josephine Grant (Hayley Mills) is looking for him \u2013 and the game of cat and mouse begins \u2013 Grant\u2019s experienced, commanding voice boxes him in at every turn. <\/p>\n
Shyamalan isn\u2019t immune to tapping into Freudian complexities \u2013 the man himself would have a field day with Cooper\u2019s relationship with his mother and her overbearingness \u2013 it\u2019s profiled later on that multiple attempts made to catch Cooper are by impersonating his mother and Grant is smart enough to recognise that only the mother of the child at birth, and only for a short period of time, can detect that something is wrong. Marcia Bennett is on terrific form here in her few brief scenes, scary and chilling. The visions of her that Cooper sees are chilling, terrifying in those brief moments \u2013 and you\u2019re in Cooper\u2019s shoes. <\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\nShyamalan tackles the relationship that Cooper has with his family and explores the concept of the serial killer always being referred to as being \u201cnormal\u201d and \u201chaving a loving family\u201d before they snap. He keeps his two lives separate until they collide \u2013 and when you learn the revelations that follow in the typical Shyamalan third act; it\u2019s enough to keep you hooked. His family, played by Alison Pill, as good as ever, and the talented Ariel Donaghue, capable of matching in synch with Lady Raven and buying into the adoration of a celebrity \u2013 of which Shyamalan comments on here \u2013 fame and how celebrities can\u2019t have normal lives \u2013 and also how useful and at the same time, alienating an always online world can be \u2013 he pulls plenty of punches and they largely all work.<\/p>\n
The real star of Trap<\/i> is Shyamalan\u2019s daughter, Saleka \u2013 he\u2019s given her a career path and a full album as a star-making Lady Raven turn. Her songs like Release<\/i> and Dreamer Girl<\/i> are just good pop songs in general in addition to being ideal movie songs, and Shyamalan uses his film to not just elevate his daughter\u2019s fame but also poke fun at himself \u2013 he\u2019s the bridge here, between the psycho and the singer \u2013 Raven addresses the complicated relationship with her father, and we\u2019re seeing her stardom and rise to fame complete with the next step after Old<\/i>\u2019s terrific end credits song. She has the stage presence capable of being someone who could command that level of fanbase \u2013 and the ability to blend her music performance with acting is a real breakout talent. <\/p>\n