M. Night Shyamalan has been on a bit of a hot streak, not so much critically or even having major commercial success. But he’s operating at a rate, and at a level that many film makers would admire. At $30 million dollars ‘Trap’ is one of his more expensive features as of late, but also his third feature to come out in four years. All of them have also been original concepts, written and directed by the man himself. He just cannot be stopped, and while none have had the level of success of an MCU movie, or even within striking distance of the much sought after 100 million dollar mark, they’ve been successful, both in cinema and on streaming, so the man keeps rolling.

I for one largely enjoy his body of work, and ‘Trap’ I found to be a refreshing take from Shyamalan, relying less on twists, and more on performance than most of his other films. The major reveal is a part of the trailer after all, Cooper (Josh Hartnett) is taking his teenage daughter, Riley (Ariel Donaghue) to a pop diva concert, like any dutiful girl dad would. While talking to one of the arena employees he finds out that the whole concert is set up to catch this serial killer that’s supposed to be in attendance. Only problem? He IS the serial killer! Genuinely brilliant marketing for a Shyamalan movie.

As the movie unfolds Cooper has to balance spending time with Riley, while also planning an escape, and avoiding the police presence. There’s a lot of remarkable aspects to the structure of this movie, one is that Hartnett’s dopey dad is cringey, convincing, and charming all at the same time. As he bops between enjoying the concert, and stealing radios from cops, he flips seamlessly from The Butcher, terrifying serial killer, to Cooper, awkward dad trying to learn what ‘slaps’ means. Shyamalan’s time being a father is baked into the DNA of ‘Trap’ in a massive way. And as you see that side of Cooper, a major part of you wants him to outsmart the cops, wants him to escape. Not only because this dutiful dad is showing off how much he loves his daughter, but because he is packed full of goofy charm all the way through the concert.

And then comes a twist, not exactly a plot twist, as everything that’s been set up is being spoken out loud, just not by Hartnett. Eventually Cooper comes clean, and the reveal is terrifying enough to flip the audience the other way. Now we need The Butcher to be caught, not only because of all the awful things we’ve heard he’s done, but it feels like he murders Cooper right in front of us as he takes over. It’s a combination of acting, writing, and directing that pulls this bit of movie magic off without any special effects to speak of.

The movie winds up being about not only about fatherhood, but male relationships and how those change. Relationships with sons, daughters, strangers, other parents, and partners. And it’s through this lens that we see the damage ‘The Butcher’ has done, not only to his victims but to the other people in his life. It’s devastating because we’ve seen him show empathy to the ones he cares about as Cooper. Through a strained voice Cooper points out to another parent he meets at the concert “Riley was really hurt by all of this” speaking not of his actions as The Butcher, but of some unspecified teenage drama that his daughter is going through. While he is a monster after everything is said and done, he’s a monster that loves his daughter. He so clearly is living two fully separate lives by the end of the movie, he’s deluded himself that he can keep this up right up until the last second. His first line on screen is him slamming the brakes to not speed through a yellow light, “I’m not gonna break the law Riley!” Much to the angst of the teenage girl desperate to make it to her concert. He’s not playing a part when he’s with his family, he’s just not speaking his full truth, which is just as damaging as outright lies, a truth neither Cooper, nor The Butcher is ready to hear.

While Hartnett is the centerpiece of the movie, through his actions we see marvelous performances from the people he hurts. Not his victims, we only see one on screen, but his family, and the women that work to stop him. His wife Rachel (Alison Pill), his daughter Riley, Pop Star Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan), and FBI Profiler Dr. Josephine Grant (Hayley Mills) all give great performances as they grapple with the monstrosity that is this demon in the form of a lovable dad.

Shyamalan shows that he’s matured as a film maker, while keeping his own tricks fresh. An oddly personal story of fatherhood in the trappings of a genre thriller, with a serial killer performance that blows Nic Cage’s recent attempt completely out of the water. If the smaller budget horror vehicle continues to flourish the way it has over the past few years, I can think of few greater standard bearers for the movement than Director Shyamalan.

4/5