James Berardinelli review - * out of ****

https://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/trap

When I say this is awful, I mean that it’s awful. Not “so bad, it’s fun.” Not “a throw-away summertime diversion.” This may be the worst movie M. Night Shyamalan has ever made, and I’m not forgetting The Last Airbender or After Earth. Prior to its release, I pondered about it being hidden from critics. Now I know why. Even the biggest Shyamalan apologist may have trouble rationalizing a defense for Trap. It’s a one-star abomination and even that seems like it might be a little on the generous side.

There are so many plot holes in Trap that the only way to repair them would have been to rip up the road and start anew. The problems start with the premise and snowball from there. The term “willing suspension of disbelief” often comes into play with a thriller but one would have to turn off the brain and throw away the key in order for anything in Trap to come close to being credible. The biggest of the innumerable screenplay problems, which is evident in the trailer (it has something to do with the nature of the trap), is explained during a “talking killer” moment. That scene, which comes late in the proceedings, is so jaw-droppingly, mind-blowingly STUPID that I couldn’t believe Shyamalan tried to pull it off.

Is it a spoiler to say there’s no real twist? Perhaps in a Shyamalan movie. Then again, maybe he thinks there is one. Or there’s supposed to be one. I became so disconnected from the story that I stopped caring about the so-called characters or the increasingly artificial circumstances in which they find themselves. How can one define a “twist” when the narrative structure is like the warped wreckage of some collapsed skyscraper? I kept waiting for something…anything… that would cause things to gel. But it’s not there.

The movie happens in an alternate reality where the police are able to detain individuals on a whim. (This does not seem intended to be allegorical.) Things like “due process” and “warrants” are meaningless. As for police procedure…let’s not go there. These aren’t just minor little irritants. They’re fundamental to the story. They call attention to themselves and indicate that either Shyamalan is ignorant of certain basic fundamentals of American jurisprudence or he expects the audience to be. As for the physical setting, this is supposed to be Philadelphia but it looks strangely like Toronto. (There’s not even an attempt to get the skyline correct.)

The movie starts with a father/daughter outing. Cooper (a hyped-up Josh Hartnett) is taking his teenage daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue), to the sold-out concert of her favorite pop diva, Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan). Cooper, who we learn early in the proceedings is a serial killer dubbed “The Butcher,” is concerned about the massive police presence, so he turns on the charm and learns the truth from an all-too-willing-to-talk vendor (Jonathan Langdon): the concert is a trap. The Feds got a tip that The Butcher would be in attendance so they plan to ferret him out, despite not knowing his name or what he looks like. Strangely, Cooper is concerned and becomes obsessed with finding a way out that doesn’t involve a police interrogation. At this point, three obvious questions arise: (1) Why is Cooper concerned when there’s no reason to believe the cops will be able to unmask him considering that they have 3000 suspects to vet? (2) What is the nature of the tip that resulted in such a massive operation? (3) Why am I still sitting in a movie theater watching this trash?

The best thing in Trap is 14-year old Ariel Donoghue, who capably plays a girl experiencing the night of her life. Josh Hartnett, however, seems to have regressed all the way back to his H20 days. I can envision Shyamalan instructing him to act borderline-unhinged because that’s what he delivers. It’s fingernails-on-the-blackboard irritating. When Riley comments that “Dad has been acting weird,” she’s underselling it. Alison Pill and Hayley Mills are wasted. Then there’s Saleka Shyamalan, the writer/director’s 28-year-old daughter, who is manifestly unsuited to the role. She lacks the necessary energy. The songs, which she wrote and performs, are bland and generic. If I went to this show, I’d demand my money back.

Shyamalan seems to think that the term “red herring” applies to introducing a potentially interesting character/plot point then quickly dropping them. Case in point: Kid Cudi’s The Thinker, who has nothing to do. Another case in point: the mother of one of Riley’s high school rivals. Third case in point: Haley Mills’ character, the police profiler Dr. Josephine Grant, who does little more than act authoritative while pretending to be one step ahead of the killer. I could go on…