- Date of Release: 02 August 2024
- Genre: Crime, Horror, Mystery
- Language: English
Trap
Introduction
It is often frustrating to witness a Manoj Night Shyamalan film because it simmers with tension, entices the viewers only to head south in its concluding act. And his latest outing Trap is no different. It has such an exciting premise of the cops zeroing on a serial killer at a local concert but the third act completely headed the other way, thereby making it a rather frustrating watch. For me, Shyamalan is in a bit of a creative jail of sorts because he remains a pale shadow of himself that had directed some iconic films like The Sixth Sense, Signs or even upto an extent Split. And it always remains futile to expect a twist in the tale from his films, particularly because his films often flatter to deceive even as the twist seems forced. This is what happens when you just wish to stick to a particular genre as opposed to exploring other genres as a filmmaker. You tend to lose your audience along the way! There will be a section of loyal Shyamalan fans that will disagree and lap up most of his mediocrity along the way but it is important to call it out just so the message is loud and clear!
Story & Screenplay
The premise of Trap will have to be a rather intelligent and an exciting one. A father-daughter duo visiting a local concert against the backdrop of police being on high alert, only for the viewers to discover that a serial killer is on the loose, and in full attendance. And even as you get suspicious about the actions of the protagonist, the revelation itself is shocking even as a tense game of cat and mouse ensues. One of the main things that works in the film’s favour is the setup of the local concert. Given the amount of people attending it, the stakes are definitely high even as the authorities are tasked to identifying and unmasking the killer from the crowd. And inexplicably, the biggest asset of the show which is the setting, is completely abandoned in its extended third act where the drama shifts elsewhere to a confined space that could never have replicated the levels of tension that were in store for its initial 2 acts. And hence, the screenplay standing at 90 odd minutes woefully suffers in its concluding act, so much so that it derails the film in its entirety.
Shyamalan is a master of building up tension in almost all his films – be it with respect to the setting (for instance – Devil) or with respect to the characters (for instance – The Sixth Sense). And more often than not, the tension is simmering enough to draw the viewers into the drama. The same is the case with the setting as well as the character of the protagonist – both are coupled into an amalgamation of tension that is inviting and entices the viewers initially. Most Shyamalan premises rely on conversations and here too, the conversations begin to brew that have a tongue and cheek humour tagged to it while also indulging the viewers in the proceedings. The events by the way, have a nice little rhythm to it even as you find the protagonist jostling in the corridors inexplicably, only for the realisation to don in to the viewers that he is indeed The Butcher, a serial killer whom the police wish to nab.
The game of cat and mouse that ensues between the protagonist and the authorities is an exciting proposition. There is an underlying trace of humour accompanying the actions of the protagonist that often wins the viewers, while you discreetly begin to root for him. The entire staged hustle from the concert seating area to the corridors to back to the seating area and eventually the backstage made for an exciting viewing, even as you wonder on how the protagonist would escape from the arena with his daughter who is oblivious of his intentions. But the film comes crashing down after a pivotal scene featuring the protagonist revealing his true identity to Lady Raven (who is performing at her own concert). This would go down as plain and lazy writing in my books.
The film never recovers from this ordeal of mediocrity even as the writers start taking its viewers for granted (or alternately didn’t know how to conclude the drama). As a result, the chain of events of events that follow are so amateurish and weak with the writing that I began to get disconnected from the drama that started to get from bad to worse with the passing of every minute. The change in the setup diffused much of the tension that was already built in the drama, even as the proceedings went on a tangent of sorts, neither quite justifying the motives of the protagonist and neither focusing on his past. It was a tepid route towards its finale that had me facepalming myself given how poorly staged the finale was. The argument would be that this might be an origin story or a sort of the start of a universe, but that wouldn’t be any excuse in ending the film on a whimper, particularly because you had such a solid premise in the first place. Overall, the screenplay here is astonishingly bad in its third and most important act that completely overhauls the good work done in its first two acts.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are conversational and exude of traces of humour along the way, but also inexplicably silly at a few places given the context of the drama. The music and BGM are decent and they atleast do their bit in conveying the intended emotions of the drama – be it of comedy or mystery. The cinematography is adequate but at no point do the frames elevate the tension in the drama, mostly relying on the writing to do a lot of the heavy lifting here. This meant that even the frames took a beating in the third act when the writing began to fail. The editing impressed in the first two acts but fell woefully short in the fragmented final act that itself was confused with what it intended to focus on. Director M Night Shyamalan yet again flatters to deceive, a trend that you will see for most times in his filmography. At this point it is frustrating to watch a talented director try very hard to infuse a twist late in the day, and thereby refusing to acknowledge the core of the drama in the first place. It is utterly disappointing to watch him loosen the grip on the narrative everytime when he has the drama held by its neck. The direction here scores in its first two acts but completely misses the mark in the third act, to the point that the drama also comes crashing down.
Performances
The performances are decent here but none of the members of the craft manage to save a sinking ship. Saleka as Lady Raven is decent and manages to make her presence felt. Ariel Donoghue as Riley is pretty impressive and she plays well with her expressions which are often in a reactive mode. Josh Hartnett as Cooper is excellent here, doubling up the tongue and cheek humour quotient in the narrative while also playing with his ‘sinister’ presence effectively. All other actors are adequate but there is only so much you can do when the ship has begun its journey, southwards.
Conclusion
Trap is yet another frustrating thriller suffering from the ‘Shyamalan’ syndrome. It sizzles and threatens to take off before completely nosediving amidst a sea of mediocrity. It is fun to begin with but largely forgettable by the end of it. Infuriating is the word for the filmography of M Night Shyamalan, in what is another letdown by him in the form of ‘Trap’.
