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Trap (2024): A ‘Crispy’ New Horror Favourite and the Ultimate Girl-Dad Movie

Deputy Editor Zaynab Khuder gives us a review on why Trap is not just another strong, experimental offering from M. Night Shyamalan but how it works as a girl-dad film!


Warning: Major spoilers ahead and mentions of murder, suicide and violence.


Trap (2024) Movie Poster
Trap (2024) Movie Poster

From the director who brought us The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000), Split (2016) and many more notable thriller-horrors, M. Night Shyamalan is no stranger to experimenting with filmmaking. His latest horror-mystery titled Trap (2024) made its debut in cinemas in early August and of course, being both a horror movie enthusiast and an advocate for the Josh Hartnett renaissance, I took the opportunity to catch it during its limited theatrical run. 


The premise of the film surrounds Cooper (Josh Hartnett), who accompanies his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to the concert of her favourite pop-star, Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan). It all seems innocent in the beginning, but to his dismay, Cooper soon realises that the concert is a trap organised to lure out infamous serial killer, The Butcher – who just so happens to be our handsome, tall, leading man himself. Finding himself in quite the predicament, Cooper works actively to try and escape this elaborate Eras-Tour-esque prison. Hartnett himself describes the film best, “it's like watching Die Hard from Hans Gruber’s perspective. Would that be interesting? Turns out it would be.” [1] 


Josh Hartnett as Cooper and Ariel Donoghue as Riley in Trap (2024)
Josh Hartnett as Cooper and Ariel Donoghue as Riley in Trap (2024)

On the surface, Trap (2024) is a film that takes us through an anxiety-inducing narrative where we almost want to root for Cooper’s escape. The FBI profiler, Dr Josephine Grant (Hayley Mills), has us convinced that they’ve thought of everything and that there is no plausible way of Cooper’s escape without getting caught and apprehended by police. We begin to see Cooper’s killer instincts kick in once he, in a very lucky sequence of events, makes it through a resounding number of police officers debriefing their goal of catching The Butcher. He apprehends a very conveniently placed police radio and this is around the time the reality of this inescapable situation sinks in. But Cooper is calm, methodical and clean – they even fill in Josh Hartnett’s tooth gap to create an almost ‘too perfect to be true’ appearance to his character (much to my dismay, of course, I love Josh Hartnett’s tooth-gap). This guise is more than enough for him to convince literal strangers to trust him – like unsuspecting T-shirt vendor Jamie (Jonathan Langdon), who Cooper manipulates to his advantage to find out the secret protocols given to all stadium workers. Jamie, of course, trusts him – Cooper is, after all, a great dad and a firefighter, so the poor vendor sees no reason not to trust him. 

Cooper goes to immensely drastic lengths to find a way to escape – from instigating an oil explosion in one of the stadium’s kitchens, which severely burns an innocent worker, to creating an elaborate lie about his daughter being a recovered leukaemia patient just so they can get backstage; the only safe way out. It’s just his luck, because this completely false yet impactful anecdote works, and everybody wins – Riley gets to dance on stage with her favourite pop-star and Cooper is one step closer to freedom. And if the story about his daughter’s fake cancer wasn’t enough for Lady Raven and her team to trust him – he even helps out a young girl who is about to faint (with totally no ulterior motives there). And while a lot of this film is Cooper using this nice-guy-father-of-the-year persona to get what he wants, it also brings up an interesting character study, which may not be what audiences particularly watch this movie for, but it's definitely in-character for M. Night Shyamalan’s filmmaking. 

Josh Hartnett as Cooper and Ariel Donoghue as Riley in Trap (2024)
Josh Hartnett as Cooper and Ariel Donoghue as Riley in Trap (2024)

In the beginning, we are subjected to a version of Cooper that is a performance for the world around him. He’s a good father to his daughter and we see that through his actions. He’s supportive, kind and even provides a sense of empathy towards the teenage conflicts that plague Riley, giving her both the comfort and advice we expect from a paternal figure. For the most part, the father-daughter dynamic within this film is wholesome, which is in striking contrast with Cooper's true nature, which we see slip through his facade as the film progresses. The role of a father is a performance to Cooper. Although he harbours a dark and sinister nature, the relationship he has with his kids, in particular his daughter, allows a very human side of him to flourish, even without him really acknowledging its authenticity until the end of the film. 


Saleka Shyamalan as Lady Raven in Trap (2024)
Saleka Shyamalan as Lady Raven in Trap (2024)

After realising that being backstage is not enough to secure his safety, he reveals his identity to Lady Raven – who had known about the trap to catch the killer the entire time. After scaring the poor girl half to death and threatening to kill one of his victims from the convenience of his phone via carbon monoxide (“it's like… Calling an Uber!” He says to her) – she has no other choice but to drive them out of the stadium in her limousine. Lady Raven then uses Riley’s love for her to her advantage and offers to drive them home, where she inserts herself directly into the belly of the beast – risking her own livelihood to capture The Butcher. Although a lot of the film can oftentimes be clichéd or corny, like the extended focus on the concert performance (Shyamalan’s daughter plays the central pop-star for God’s sake, so his focus on her is very girl-dad of him) or Lady Raven’s call to help via Instagram Live to save The Butcher’s current victim, I don’t think this negates the enjoyability of Trap. I’m willing to forgive M. Night’s clichés and cast them aside (even his little cameo as Lady Raven’s uncle) because in the midst of all the horror remakes and endless sequels that have been filling up mainstream horror-thriller, Trap is refreshingly fun and experimental (I won't forgive the tooth-gap thing, though). 


I believe what has drawn me to like this film, much more than I expected I would, is the depth and commentary we receive from Cooper’s character on the subjects of family, identity and social isolation. Throughout the film, The Butcher is referred to, in many ways, as a monster, or even a freak. People acknowledge his violence and react to it with such a visceral rejection of who he is and what he’s done. Even when Cooper is confronted with images of his past victims throughout the film, displayed in his signature killing-style and chopped up into pieces, we almost feel a sense of rejection and shame – like he cannot let that version of himself clash with who he’s pretending to be as a father, husband and member of his community. The idea of Cooper having two lives becomes very prominent as we progress through the narrative, to the point where he expresses that he can “never let the two lives touch.” There is a profound sense of social isolation that plagues him, his life as The Butcher, his true nature, is one that holds great depth. Cooper is obsessed with the idea of humanity as broken and flawed. He is rejected by his mother as a child, as she senses something wrong with him, therefore he feels rejected in the expression of his true identity. There are even multiple instances throughout the film where Cooper experiences hallucinations depicting his mother, who can be seen as manifestation of his shame and anxiety. Dr Josephine Grant, who harbours a very Dr Loomis/Jack Crawford role to the film (therefore making Cooper a Michael Myers/Hannibal Lecter type) poses a great analysis of his character:


“This individual is not a projection of our fears. He’s real, comfortable and thriving. He doesn't set off warning signals in our nervous system but he’s profoundly different. A parent might have sensed this at the beginning, but no one else after could.”


As the intensity of the entire situation unfolds, we see the frustration and anger that manifests within Cooper towards the people around him. He even recalls to Lady Raven his observations of her character and gives us an insight into his view of humanity:  


“When I saw you waiting behind the curtain on stage. I got the urge. It's strange when I get the urge. I think it's when I see someone who thinks they’re whole. That could never be true. Everyone’s in pieces.” 


Cooper’s constant need to reassure himself of the flawed nature of humanity is a direct reaction to his own feelings of inadequacy and rejection. Even when Lady Raven tries to assert a sense of control over him and speaks to him in the tone of a scolding mother, telling him that monsters aren’t real and that he can “turn himself good” he rejects the idea and tells her, no, monsters do exist and he’s in control – the only way to get rid of the monster is to get rid of himself, therefore bringing an end to his own natural-born violence and the rejection he feels as an outsider amongst society. 



Josh Hartnett as Cooper in Trap (2024)
Josh Hartnett as Cooper in Trap (2024)

When we reach the end of the film, Cooper is encompassed with an all-consuming and flesh-eating rage at the realisation that his wife, Rachel (Alison Pill), had planted the seed for the concert trap that ensued. And what brings this narrative full-circle is the reasoning for his rage towards her – it isn’t her suspicions or her setting the police on his trail, but the deep frustration and pure anger of not being able to see his children. It's here in the film where he’s forced to sit with the real, genuine care he feels for his children and the thought of not being a part of their lives. The process of his anger is unexpected but both insanely human and feminine-coded. And before I lose you to this point, let me explain why. Cooper, who has felt rejected and isolated by his mother, by society, for his uncontrollable differences and nature – finally grasps the one thing he genuinely cares about, his children. And instead of lashing out in anger and violence – he is calm and composed. He feels such an intense and pure anger that he tells us it's eating him from the inside, and that he’s never felt so out of control, and yet he doesn’t yell or scream, but masks it with an expertise of patience and, ironically, control. Cooper’s expression of rage, with such focused composure really resonates with me and the way women are expected to control their anger, especially in situations of great intensity and frustration. He harbours so much control in many aspects of his life, through his outward reputation and the way others perceive him, but the overwhelming and daunting realisation of not feeling in control is what shows us an unexpected sliver of his humanity; he just wants to be there for his kids.


After the confrontation with his wife, he realises that she’s drugged him. Here, he begins to hallucinate about his mother again – and the idea of stopping the monster is confronted again. His initial idea was to murder-suicide the situation and drag his wife down with him, but this hallucination has him held firmly in its grip. This manifestation of his mother doesn’t reject him, she tells him, “I accept you,” and it's emotional and pivotal for him, even if it isn't real. 

Josh Hartnett as Cooper in Trap (2024)
Josh Hartnett as Cooper in Trap (2024)

Then of course, he is caught by a swarm of police as they taser and restrain him. But is that really the end of it? Well, no. Cooper is then escorted outside of his house, and fixates on Riley’s bike that is splayed out on the lawn. He leans down to fix it, (as is his nature, he must fix everything – his OCD is alluded to quite a lot during the film) and then Riley herself appears in one last heart-wrenching moment and hugs him. Remember that thing I said about how he totally never has ulterior motives? Well that bike thing was totally for show (maybe not entirely, but he seized the opportunity). As he is locked inside the back of the police wagon, he fashions out a wire – which he had stolen from the bike. With a chilling onslaught of laughter, the cuffs click open and he breaks himself free of them. I guess he did escape the trap, one way or another. 







ENDNOTES

[1] “Josh Hartnett on Trap and shedding his heartthrob label.” Youtube, uploaded by Q With Tom Power, 3 August 2024 https://youtu.be/nV8Aqm3oB0w?si=1PIOHji6NqxHx81q

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