M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Is a Juicy, Sinister Thriller
M. Night Shyamalan has made a career out of jaw-dropping twists, but the most surprising thing about his latest, Trap (in theaters August 2), is that it works better during its back rather than its front half.
Suspension of disbelief is an absolute must with this serpentine thriller about a dad and daughter’s trip to a concert that transforms into something far more deadly, and some of its conveniences are bound to elicit eye rolls and exasperated guffaws. As a pulpy game of cat-and-mouse, however, it provides enough thrills to compensate for its illogicalities, and in Josh Harnett, it boasts a star adept at locating the fiendishness in fatherhood.
“Don’t let people fool you,” says Cooper (Hartnett) to his tween daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) as they dismiss a scalper outside the arena where they’ve come to see a Taylor Swift-esque pop sensation named Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan) perform to throngs of adoring fans. This is a bigger red flag than Cooper’s prior announcement that “we’re not going to break any laws,” although Shyamalan doesn’t wait long before letting the cat out of the bag.