A father and his teenage daughter attend a pop concert, unaware that it is actually a trap set to catch a serial killer. A film by M. Night Shyamalan, starring Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Night Shyamalan, Jonathan Langdon, Marnie McPhail-Diamond, Scott Mescudi, Russell “Russ” Vitale, Hayley Mills, and Alison Pill.

Firefighter Cooper (Josh Hartnett) takes his teenage daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue), to see her favorite pop star, Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan), perform at Tanaka Arena. It’s a reward for her good grades, something he promised her. But once they’re inside, Cooper starts to notice an unusually high number of police officers around the venue.

During the concert, Cooper steps out to use the bathroom. While he’s in a stall, he pulls out his phone to check live footage showing a man chained to a pole in a basement. Meanwhile, several police cars and trucks arrive at the venue. On his way back, Cooper runs into Jody’s mom (Marnie McPhail-Diamond). It turns out there’s been some trouble between Riley and Jodie. Cooper tells Jody’s mom that Riley’s feelings were really hurt, and he’s not happy about it.

During the intermission, Cooper strikes up a friendship with Jamie (Jonathan Langdon), a vendor who admires how Cooper convinced Riley to let another girl buy the last t-shirt she wanted. Jamie tells Cooper to check back in ten minutes because he’ll have more t-shirts arriving and will set one aside for Riley. Cooper then asks Jamie if he knows anything about the police trucks and the new cameras installed everywhere. Jamie reveals that the police received a tip that the notorious serial killer known as “The Butcher” will be at the concert today, so they’ve set a trap for him. In fact, the entire concert is a trap.

Written and directed by American filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, TRAP is a psychological thriller film with an interesting premise: the lead character is the villain of the story. However, the screenplay is plagued by several illogical and unconvincing elements, making the entire plot hard to believe. While Josh Hartnett delivers a chilling performance, he doesn’t have a worthy opponent to make us root for either side. The screenplay literally makes Cooper too smart and extremely lucky, while making the police force look unrealistically dumb. The film also lacks memorable plot twists, which have always been Shyamalan’s signature.

Several scenes feel out of place and seem to exist solely to move the story forward, as they come across as either too convenient or too good to be true. For instance, Jamie, a fan of the Butcher, shares a secret code he learned in training with Cooper. Later, when Cooper is stopped by a police officer, he uses Jamie’s code to get away.

In another scene, a Philadelphia SWAT officer shows a photo of one of the Butcher’s victims to his fellow officers and explains the situation. But why? Shouldn’t they have been debriefed earlier?

Cooper easily steals a police radio so he can listen in and know every move the police will make. As he is about to pull the fire alarm to create a diversion, a voice suddenly emanates from the radio; it’s Dr. Josephine Grant (Hayley Mills) detailing her theory regarding the Butcher’s next move. She suggests he is likely trying to cause a panic, either by making an anonymous bomb threat or by setting off the fire alarm.

Then there’s a moment when Cooper approaches a spotter (M. Night Shyamalan), hoping to get his daughter chosen to go on stage so he can sneak backstage and escape. It turns out that this spotter is Lady Raven’s uncle. That’s not a coincidence, it’s just lazy writing!

The film often feels like we’re watching a concert by Saleka, who, in real life, is not only an American R&B artist but also the daughter of M. Night Shyamalan. It’s as if Shyamalan directed his daughter’s concert and built a screenplay around it.

Saleka’s songwriting skills are quite impressive, but I’m not sure her star power matches that of the mega pop star she portrays in the film. Also, Hartnett’s character is the antagonist, which essentially makes Saleka’s character the protagonist of the film.

TRAP premiered in New York City on 24 July 2024. It was theatrically released in the United States on 2 August. As of 1 September, TRAP grossed over $73 million ($40 million domestically) against the production budget of $30 million.