“You know the Butcher? That freakin’ nutjob that goes around just chopping people up? Well, the feds or whatever heard that he’s gonna be here today, so they set up a trap for him. This whole concert? It’s a trap. They’re watching all the exits, checking everyone that leaves. There’s no way to get out of here. It’s kinda dope, right?”
The idea is actually based on a true story, with a lot of differences. In 1985 the FBI managed to round up over 100 high-profile criminals with a ruse that involved tickets to an NFL game. There have been plenty of other scams where promises of prizes have attracted otherwise cautious wanted people. I was at a promo for some home improvement club store, and while there, a couple of folks were nervous that it was a sting because they had outstanding warrants. It wasn’t, but these things can and do indeed happen. The way it’s done here leaves one to stretch credibility a bit more than I’m usually willing to go.
Josh Hartnett plays Cooper. He’s better known in media circles as The Butcher. He’s a brutal serial killer who likes to leave body parts all over the place. To Riley, played by Ariel Donoghue, he’s just Dad, a bit awkward and a little bit out of touch with the teen scene. He wants to bond with her, and so he gets tickets to an add-on afternoon concert put on by her favorite singer, Lady Raven, played by M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter, Saleka. She wrote the songs and created the concert in which this titular trap is set and sprung. The setting is supposed to be full of Hitchcock-like suspense once Cooper discovers through a merch salesman named Jamie played by Jonathan Langdon who talks too much and lets out the secret that the FBI know The Butcher is at the concert and they’re going to trap him. Langdon’s performance is some of the best life in the film, and he serves as the comic relief and eats up every scene he’s in. He’s even part of a stinger during the credits that is pretty funny. From here the film goes downhill.
First up there are a lot of people just walking around during the concert. Lady Raven is supposed to be the Taylor Swift of this universe. Trust me; no one is walking around when Swift is singing. To give a little explanation, the concert gets paused from time to time for set changes. Yeah, because teens are so patient. Concerts move like a well-oiled machine with changes happening in a flash and providing a nearly seamless experience for the crowd. To make it worse, Lady Raven doesn’t even have much of a set. There’s a piano at the top of some stairs and the requisite video monitors towering over the stage. That’s it. But Shyamalan needs to give Cooper plenty of time to walk around, and while it ruins the story and pacing, it offers us what is really the only redeemable part of the film, and that’s Josh Hartnett himself.
Hartnett is a brilliant choice here. He manages to emote with facial expressions better than some folks can do with their entire bodies. He goes from caring dad to hyper-smart psychopath in the blink of an eye. He’s totally entertaining throughout the film, and he’s compelling enough to hold our attention and make us ignore the sleight of hand that is the rest of the film. This is an award-worthy performance.
The plan falls apart as Cooper manages to outsmart them. He gets a backstage reader card, and Jamie even told him the password to identify real staff members. He manipulates a spotter, played by Shyamalan himself, into getting Riley picked as the show’s Dream Girl. A girl gets selected at each show to dance with Lady Raven during a number and offers backstage access which Cooper plans to use to escape. But I’m not sure what he’s worried about. We’re told there are 3000 men who fit the description, and this profiler is going to eyeball each as they pass, and she’s going to instantly recognize her prey. Not in a million years. Hayley Mills is horribly miscast as the profiler without a clue. Cooper was smart enough to realize he only hurts his chances by trying to avoid the exits.
The last act has him taking Lady Raven hostage, and she plays her cards so that they end up back at Cooper’s house, where the drama falls to soap opera level. The film is no longer going downhill. It’s crashed, and all we have left is to watch the wreckage, which we happily do because we can’t take our eyes off Hartnett as Cooper.
Shyamalan is from the same place that I grew up near Reading, 9pronounced Redding), Pennsylvania. He sets his films in those areas and often films them in those locations. This time the film was delayed because of the strikes, and he even tried for Ohio, but ended up in Canada. The film is still set in Philadelphia, but I do enjoy seeing those familiar places of my childhood in his movies and felt a little deprived here. But credit that he hasn’t forgotten where he came from.
Video
The Trap is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The ultra-high-definition 2160p image is arrived at by an HEVC codec with an average bitrate of 65 mbps. It was also shot on 35mm film so is natively 4K. Because the film is taking place at a concert, it isn’t one of his most visually stunning films. It looks quite realistic in the dark settings of the concert because of a nice bit of contrast thanks to the HDR effects. Black levels are nice but reveal plenty of detail in the shadow definition. Things change once we’re in the outside world. The film becomes brighter and more colorful.
Audio
The Dolby Atmos audio presentation defaults to 7.1. This is a concert setting, so there is always source music going on sometimes in the background sometimes in the forefront and the surrounds do give us a good reference point to immerse us in the venue. Dialog cuts through but often realistically shouts over the loud concert environments. Still, it’s pretty natural. The music is quite clear when it is supposed to be. A great example of this is when Lady Raven does a song on the family’s upright piano.
Special Features
There is only the UHD disc with the following extras:
Setting The Trap – A New M. Night Shyamala Experience: (4:08) Cast and crew talk about the concept and shooting method. A good bit of casual behind-the-scenes footage.
Saleka As Lady Raven: (5:08) Father and daughter talk about the musical aspect of the film.
Deleted Scenes: (6:16) There are three with a play-all option.
Extended Concert Scene: (3:29) No, it’s not. It’s Lady Raven at the family piano.
Final Thoughts:
It appears that Shyamalan has fallen a bit from those first few films. He’s trying, maybe too hard, to be Alfred Hitchcock. That’s not a bad model to aspire to, but he has a style of his own that I would suggest he try to follow. He’s capable of brilliance. This is not an example of that. “Don’t tell anyone. I’ll get in deep crap.”
