Having only seen Split (2016) and Knock at the Cabin (2023) beforehand, engaging with an M. Night Shyamalan film comes with a bit of nuance for me. I often find myself confused by joke after joke about his status in Hollywood as “the director with the big twist at the end.” In my experience, I’ve always left the theater satisfied in one way or another. Luckily, his latest film Trap (2024) is no different.

The premise is shockingly simple for a Shyamalan film: a trap disguised as a concert is set to catch a serial killer. What really intrigued me about this premise was the concept being set from the perspective of this killer, Josh Hartnett. Hartnett — who I knew from 30 Days of Night (2007), The Faculty (1998), and more recently that little movie Oppenheimer (2023) — as well as his former status as ‘90s heartthrob is what drew me the most to the film. I was honestly unsure if he would be able to pull off a role so demanding and sinister.

Hartnett plays Cooper, AKA The Butcher, and is by far one of the greatest aspects of this film and could possibly be the height of his craft. He carries himself with a calmness that can shatter at any minute, and he steals the screen when it does. Hartnett’s prowess is only matched by Shyamalan himself, who directs with pinpoint precision. Shyamalan consistently keeps the audience on the edge of their seat until the last second and is able to maintain focus on the central father/daughter relationship.

Hartnett and Shyamalan’s specific combination reminds me vividly of his work with James McAvoy in the aforementioned Split. The audience never really quite knows what Cooper is going to do next to try to find a way out of the stadium. Despite Hartnett’s demented performance when calculating his escape, I particularly liked how truly loving he was towards his family. When considering the sinister double life he leads, it adds a really important complexity to his character that almost makes you feel bad for him.

Another significant aspect of this film was the inclusion of Shyamalan’s daughter Saleka Night Shyamalan as Lady Raven, the artist Cooper and his daughter (Ariel Donoghue) are seeing perform. Shyamalan’s acting debut here is decent enough, taking on some particularly challenging material for a first-time actress. While she is by far the weakest in the cast, I think she still manages to embody an engaging character. I really enjoyed how she slowly became more significant by the film’s climax.

Despite these consistently good performances and direction, the writing is weak in places and can leave viewers with more questions than answers. Some of the dialogue is oddly written and comes off too artificial at times, but I found it served to further the progression of the plot than anything. It’s a technique that can be seen in some of his other films and sometimes serves as a way to spoon-feed the film’s central theme. In my opinion, Shyamalan is very much a filmmaker more skilled at concepts than dialogue. There are also some plot threads and situations that, while not major, still leave me scratching my head.

If you’re thinking about seeing Trap, go for the experience and the suspense that M. Night Shyamalan’s track record promises. It is certainly an enjoyable theatrical experience that has one of the most complex performances in recent years. Seeing Josh Hartnett deal with the stress of feeling like he’s caught while trying to maintain his relationship with his daughter is compelling and unnerving, even if the writing is not the neatest.

Review Courtesy of Nadia Arain

Feature Image Credit to Warner Bros via Variety