Trap is a hoot of a tour inside the Shyamalan funhouse

Dylan Masvidal | Staff Writer

What does it mean to embody the duality of man? For M. Night Shyamalan, that answer came in the form of family. 

A filmmaker who never shies away from mixing the personal with the professional, especially at the height of his career. 

By contrast, Cooper Adams—the bestial protagonist of Shyamalan’s latest thriller “Trap”—has no choice but to juggle two lives without ever letting them touch, like a child separating their chicken from their vegetables on a paper plate. 

Quenching your thirst for senseless murder while also striving to be Philadelphia’s number one dad is quite the herculean task. 

Now I’m obviously not likening Shyamalan to his serial killer creation nor am I excusing his recent failures to produce a worthwhile picture that flaunts just an ounce of his early wizardry. 

I am, however, declaring that his zany writing sensibilities and heart on your sleeve approach to characters and themes clashes rather splendidly with “Trap’s” wicked fun premise. I’d dare say Shyamalan is back to his old ways of technical brilliance. 

The live concert setting works wonders at giving way to vigilance and claustrophobia scurrying around the audiences’ minds through shot framing. Since we’re digesting this story through Cooper’s eyes, crafting scenes meticulously is both a visual and thematic treat. 

Characters being precisely centered on screen when conversing with him, having half of his face stuck to the right side of the frame therefore giving us a peek into his sick thoughts with negative space, and creating the illusion of a split image by positioning the camera between a slightly opened security door and Cooper tucked away in the corner of a hallway. 

Shyamalan has an unreal knack for blocking. 35mm never felt so tangible thanks to his artistic vision being executed by cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom and a dazzling use of the split-diopter. 

There’s memorable side character showings from Marnie McPhail as a sycophant soccer mom and Jonathan Langdon as Jamie the merch vendor who deserves his own slice of life short film. Ultimately though, “Trap” hinges on Josh Hartnett’s performance as Cooper, a match made in camp heaven. 

After several years of trial and error, Shyamalan has finally found the ideal vessel for his quirky dialogue that isn’t named Bruce Willis. Dipping its toes in a more Sam Raimi-esque execution of the genre gives Hartnett the green light to go full-on earnest psychopath. 

Balance of tone is key here, shifting from hysterical villainy of Cooper nudging a woman down a flight of stairs to endearingly corny dad energy when trying to sound hip and cool in front of his daughter. 

There’s a standout sequence that finds Cooper flashing a genuine smile on his face when seeing her on stage with her music idol yet struggling to keep it on knowing what he’s done will inevitably catch up to him and put a kibosh on their relationship. Hartnett turns it on and off with such calculated restraint.  

Nothing gets me up from my seat more than those defining moments in a character’s fall from grace, even the irredeemable. 

Complications in the pacing strike Shyamalan again to no one’s surprise. “Trap’s” second-half was still bubbling with creativity and controlled intensity but ended too abruptly for my taste. 

Leaving the concert at the midway point wasn’t entirely a misstep, except it felt wrong reaching a climax that wasn’t taking place in “Tanaka Arena.” 

Faulty endings are something I’ve come to expect from Shyamalan nowadays so I’m relieved to admit it went over much smoother than other infamous attempts. 

Many defenders of Shyamalan including myself can rejoice once more with “Trap” in our clutches. 

Who would have thunk a cameo from Russ wouldn’t be an H bomb of a party pooper. And yes there will be some who see this as just another gratuitous nepotism project revolving around the love he has for his family yada yada yada. 

Where they see bland, I see crispy!

7/10