After directing two critically acclaimed box office hits to kick off his career, M. Night Shyamalan has traversed some of the highest peaks and lowest valleys of any Hollywood director working today. The roller coaster continued this summer with the launch of Trap, a psychological thriller about a serial killer trying to evade police capture at a concert with his daughter. If you missed Trap while it was in theaters, you can now watch it on Max.
Josh Hartnett stars as Philadelphia firefighter Cooper Abbott, aka “the Butcher,” alongside Ariel Donoghue as his daughter, Riley. The two attend a concert featuring the fictional popstar Lady Raven (played by Shyamalan’s daughter, Saleka), but shortly after they arrive, Cooper realizes that the entire event is a ploy to root out a killer.
Written, directed, and produced by M. Night Shyamalan, the reaction was decidedly mixed, as is the case for most of the auteur’s feature films. Many critics saw the movie as little more than set dressing for the director to promote his daughter’s music career.
“Hartnett does his best, but director Shyamalan seems more interested in trying to convince us of his daughter’s pop-star credentials,” said Empire Magazine’s review.
Not everyone saw the movie through as cynical a lens. For instance, The Atlantic said that Trap “builds to a cohesive whole, and the movie’s peculiarity is gratifying at this stage in the director’s career,” while Vulture said it has “a twist worth savoring.”
If you are not a fan of Shyamalan, Trap is unlikely to change your mind, but if you appreciate the director’s eccentricities, you’ll probably have a good time.