To Catch a Killer

Josh Hartnett in "Trap"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

When it comes to writer-director M. Night Shyamalan’s filmography, while it may be popular to point out that the quality of his movies is all over the place, you can’t deny that it’s been fascinating to see him fluctuate between genres.  We’ve seen him tackle the supernatural with “The Sixth Sense,” sci-fi with “Signs,” superheroes with his “Unbreakable” trilogy, found-footage horror with “The Visit,” body horror with “Old,” and apocalyptic horror with “Knock at the Cabin.”  As divisive of a filmmaker as he might be, you almost can’t resist the intrigue of seeing what kind of spin he’ll put on a genre or sub-genre.

Up until now, Shyamalan hasn’t really done a film that could be seen as a straight thriller, something that doesn’t have ghosts, aliens, or superheroes.  However, he tries his hand at that with his latest film, “Trap.”  Although this movie isn’t one of Shyamalan’s best, there’s still much to enjoy with his so-absurd-it’s-good big-screen offering.

Cooper (Josh Hartnett) is a serial killer known as “The Butcher,” whose identity remans unknown.  When he takes his daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue), to a pop concert, he notices a heightened police presence and finds out its in place after a tip said he’ll be there.  As the concert goes on, Cooper will have to do whatever he can to avoid being found out and captured.

Hartnett looks like he’s having a lot of fun playing a villain.  He imbues his character with a slight fatherly goofiness that mixes well with his malicious side, creating a person that can make you chuckle in one scene and unsettle you in the next.  As Hartnett moves forward in the story, he does well in showing how his killer’s mind works when he tries to think on his feet as evading police presence becomes more difficult.  Hartnett shows his character with a jitteriness of being caught, but also a confidence of being able to get away with more of his heinous acts, a killer who keeps a level head, yet is anything but on the inside.  His impulse to inflict harm on his targets will have you wonder what he plans to do next, and Hartnett keeps us absorbed as a killer who’ll do whatever he can to keep his evil impulses alive.

The screenplay by Shyamalan unfolds as the most Hitchcockian narrative he’s done.  While it isn’t anywhere near as tightly plotted as the films from the Master of Suspense, Shyamalan manages to construct a story that still immerses you in the thrills.  Despite the off-kilter construction of the story, the narrative still seems pretty straightforward for the first two thirds of the film.  However, once you hit the third act, you’re in for a wallop as the story will have you grinning from ear to ear when it swerves into something that has an abundance of gleeful throw-logic-out-the-window fun.  Although the movie overstays its welcome by about 10 minutes, that certainly doesn’t dilute the whacky fun that precedes it.

One aspect of the script that provides some tension is how you pretty much experience the concert in real time.  By doing so, you feel the tension that Cooper experiences more and more as the event goes on, with him knowing that he only has a certain amount of time to accomplish what he wishes to accomplish.  This story unfolds as somewhat of a concert-thriller, and Shyamalan enhances that by including a few sequences of performances with catchy songs that were written and are sung by one of his daughters, Saleka Night Shyamalan, who plays Lady Raven, the pop star at the center of the concert.

As a director, the goofiness that Shyamalan gives some of his movies can be an enjoyable factor, so long as it doesn’t go completely off the rails, like in “The Happening.”  For “Trap,” he hits that sweet spot where he brings us enough of that humor, but doesn’t make it so that the film goes into “bad movie” territory.  Even with the bonkers nature of the third act, it’s still handled in such a way where you’re having fun instead of cringing.  In the middle of his take-it-or-leave-it brand of humor, Shyamalan still manages to keep your pulse pounding with the scenario in which he places his characters.  Part of that comes down to his collaboration with cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, who’s working with Shyamalan for the first time.  With his camerawork, Mukdeeprom captures the many details of the setting, bringing us onstage, backstage, through the crowded hallways, and into the access-only areas.  By doing so, you’re immersed in the environment as you’re placed in Cooper’s frame of mind when he realizes there are eyes everywhere and he must avoid suspicion. 

This movie might not have all of the trappings that make for a top-tier thriller, but it certainly has enough to keep your attention ensnared.

Grade: B