Writer/director M. Night Shymalan has been a big presence in movies for 25 years since the debut of his 1999 breakout film, The Sixth Sense. In 2024, he is doing everything in his power to pass his film legacy down to his daughters, first by producing The Watchers, the directorial debut of his daughter Ishana, and now by putting another daughter, Saleka, at the heart of his latest directing effort, Trap.

The thriller follows Cooper (Josh Hartnett) and his daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue), as they attend a concert by her favorite singer, Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan). While Riley is enthralled with the whole experience of being in the presence of Lady Raven, Cooper can’t help noticing a police presence that is larger than normal. Buddying up to a friendly vendor named Jamie (Jonathan Langdon), he discovers that the police have used the concert as a trap for a notorious serial killer nicknamed “The Butcher.”

It’s only a small spoiler (it’s featured prominently in the trailer) that Cooper is revealed early in the film to be said killer, and he spends the majority of the film trying to figure out how to escape the dragnet the police, led by profiler Dr. Josephine Grant (Hayley Mills), have planned out. His schemes get increasingly desperate, with seemingly no chance to get out without putting his daughter and others in danger.

The film is a change for Shyamalan, who typically likes to build up to a big twist toward the end of his stories. Here, the “twist” comes so early that it can’t even be considered one. Instead, it forces the audience into an odd experience of watching a lead character who has the dichotomy between being a great father to his daughter and a monster who kidnaps and kills people. Shyamalan shows both sides of Cooper throughout the film, putting him in Jekyll and Hyde mode constantly.

The story as a whole is hit-and-miss, with Cooper’s machinations being the most engaging part of the film. Some of the situations do start to get silly, especially after he nabs a police radio and starts listening to Dr. Grant lay out loads of exposition for the audience. The script is also sketchy, with Cooper engaging with a series of people in conversations that are often inane in nature, and lots of “just go with it” kinds of plot devices.

There has been much talk about “nepo babies” in pop culture in recent years, but this film might take the cake in that respect. It’d be one thing for Shyamalan to give Saleka, a budding singer in the real world, the honor of playing the massively adored Lady Raven and showcasing her songs/singing ability. But she also plays a key acting role in the second half of the film, and suffice it to say that she’s not quite ready for prime time in that area.

Hartnett is enjoying a career resurgence, with a big part in last year’s Oppenheimer and a cameo on season 3 of FX’s The Bear. His portrayal of Cooper strains believability at times, but he ends up on the positive side of the ledger when all is said and done. Donoghue doesn’t have much to do other than cheer for Lady Raven and wonder why her dad keeps disappearing in the middle of the concert, but she does well overall. The aging Mills is saddled with a raspy voice and clunky dialogue.

Trap is far from the best film that M. Night Shyamalan has released, but it’s also not an unmitigated disaster. It’s a decent thriller that could have used a bit more thrills, and a psychological trip into the mind of a man who has to fight to keep his opposing worlds separate.

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Trap is now playing in theaters.