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In Trap, all of M. Night Shyamalan’s greatest ticks are as blunt as they can get. Even down to the point that he’s having fun with the fact that his most ardent critics are harping on the same things that they always do, finding means of applying it to whatever he does next. Perhaps that alone might be where one sees that he knows that he’s playing a game with everything new that he makes, and sometimes that might just as well be all one needs to have a good time. I’m not just saying this because I’ve been a fan of M. Night Shyamalan, even through his more reviled period (I’m not going to defend The Last Airbender or After Earth), but I think that he continually remains a fun filmmaker to follow because he remains so distinct among many other filmmakers working in the studio system now.

Even down to the way that the film’s premise is built, it seems that M. Night Shyamalan is making this ride as personal as it can get. Josh Hartnett stars as Cooper, a father simply taking his daughter to a highly anticipated pop concert. He bakes himself right into that premise to the point that you can find he’s having fun with the idea, and then it amps itself right up to the fact that Trap is built around the fact that one of its attendees is a serial killer, so police presence is maximized. As many of Shyamalan’s critics would expect, the twist is that Cooper is the serial killer, but even there it seems like Shyamalan is trying to have fun with how people expect his usual plot twists by making the obvious one into something that isn’t a twist.

For what it’s worth, Trap might be the most self-aware film that M. Night Shyamalan has made in quite some time. People can continue ragging against the inclusion of a character who’s a critic in the underrated (in my eyes, at least) Lady in the Water, but Trap feels like it’s coming from a place of earnestness. The whole conceit of Trap is essentially M. Night Shyamalan playing around with his daughters, who are trying to get him together with the times but he stands out like a sore thumb. That he’s having fun with it is the most inviting thing about Trap, and it’s also part of why I think this might be the best film of his supposed “renaissance” period.

Josh Hartnett performs wonderfully though, as M. Night Shyamalan’s own self-insert into this story. It’s not hard to imagine how Shyamalan sees himself in relation to how his own daughters would bring him around to a concert that’s far past his own area of interest – but there’s still a sense of claustrophobia present that would at least make for something fun here. Not only is that same anxiety felt in Josh Hartnett’s performance, but through the entire concept of navigating the interests of a generation far younger than yourself can already feel very frightening too. It helps that Hartnett is playing this role, despite what we know of his character from the start, as a very loving father: and in fact that just might be what makes the whole ride all the more fun.

Granted, M. Night Shyamalan has always been a very idiosyncratic voice in the present-day studio system. I don’t think all of his films are successes, but I think that there’s a sense of heart to be found in how he delivers it all. The script, has indeed been rightfully pointed out by many as the film’s weakness. But when the film is directed in such a way that feels so assertive, you can’t help but have fun. That’s always been what I liked about M. Night Shyamalan’s work, even through his more critically reviled period, because he directs these films with such energy that presents the work as a standalone voice. And it looks beautiful too, especially considering how Shyamalan transforms Toronto and Hamilton into Philadelphia, together with the fact that the film was shot by Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, perhaps notable for having also shot films for Luca Guadagnino (including this year’s excellent Challengers) and Apichatpong Weerasethakul.

I do think though, that even as Trap finds Shyamalan firing on all cylinders, his weaknesses come forth in his denouement. There’s no overt plot twist, which is very refreshing for M. Night Shyamalan, but there’s a very long exposition dump that just keeps going right when you think the movie might have hit the perfect ending. It’s not egregious enough to the point that it ruins every bit of good will that the movie has, but even as it indulges in what I find to be some of Shyamalan’s more regressive traits, it just feels exhausting. At that point, it just stumbles towards its ending, which feels like an inevitability more than the sense of closure that one would hope for.

Nonetheless, Trap might very well make a perfect case for being a movie about how truly terrifying it is to try and maintain your position as the best father to a child you can be. It’s all in good fun, though, as I imagine M. Night Shyamalan simply wants for the audiences who continue watching his movies. Trap won’t win over those who haven’t been converted by his new praise, but I think that as long as you know what sort of game M. Night Shyamalan has in store for you, you’ll have a lot of fun with Trap. It’s also nice to see that M. Night Shyamalan went for a more tongue-in-cheek approach too, and I continue looking out for what he has next.

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Watch the trailer right here.

All images via Warner Bros. Discovery.

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Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Screenplay by M. Night Shyamalan
Produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock, M. Night Shyamalan
Starring Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Night Shyamalan, Hayley Mills, Alison Pill
Premiere Date: July 24, 2024
Running Time: 105 minutes