Streaming Standard: Trap (2024)

 Is M. Night Shyamalan overrated?  Is he a genius?

I'm somewhere in the middle with him (for now), but I did check out his latest Film on Netflix.

It's a...

A big-time concert is happening in Philadelphia.

Everyone is there to see Lady Raven.

Specifically, we follow a Dad and his young Daughter.

She's a huge fan and this is her reward for good grades.

Everyone wins.

So why does the Dad get more and more nervous as the Show goes on?

Is it the massive Police presence?
The fact that all of the Exits are blocked?

What does he have to hide?

Well, it turns out that he's a Serial Killer called The Butcher.

A piece of evidence led them to believe that the man- who they have a vague description of- would be there.

Naturally, they send in ALL of the Police and an FBI Mindhunter...played by Hayley Mills?!?

What a twist!

Can he keep up the disguise of a normal person?

Can he find a way out of the Arena?

More importantly, will the Film know what a good Ending is and stop there?

To find out, stream or rent it now.

A Film that is really good...until a certain point.

Shyamalan is famous for his 'twists.'  They can be revelations about the lead, a random connection you didn't expect or the sudden stop of his Film cold.

It has been a long time, but we're still not forgiving him for The Happening.

This one is not one you would think of for its twists, at least at first.  
The premise is pretty simple and sounds silly at first.

When you embrace it, the Film becomes a longer version of that Death Note Episode where Light is trying to get the lady's name before she gets home and exposes him.  You root for him to win, but realize that you are rooting for the killer.

A good Film can trick you.

The big problem is that the Film reaches a nice Ending that subverts what its Lead expects in a natural way.  It takes away his power...and then he escapes...and escapes like six more times.

It goes from a taut thriller about a guy trying to escape justice to what feels almost like a parody of the 'serial killers are the most smartest people ever' trope that really took off with Silence of the Lambs.

So close, M. Night.

On the plus side, his Cameo is not the most distracting one...

Basically, a Film that tells a good Story, subverts things...and then can't stop when it should.  It is a great 2/3 of a Film...nothing more.