It’s unbelievable, but Josh Hartnett’s new thriller Trap is actually based on a true story

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Its unbelievable but Josh Hartnetts new thriller Trap is actually

In Trap: No Way Out, Cooper (Josh Hartnett) and his daughter Riley attend a concert by pop star Lady Raven. Once there, however, he discovers that the entire event is intended to catch him. Secretly, he is a serial killer who now threatens to become involved in the eponymous Police trap to go.

Trap quotes famous horror films in its hunt for killers, but what is even more astonishing is that director M. Night Shyamalan also based his film on reality. As he revealed to Empire, the thriller was partly inspired by the real “Operation Flagship” from 1985.

Operation Flagship: The true story behind Trap is astonishing

M. Night Shyamalan also recognized that the best (or most unbelievable) stories in film are often based on real events and for Trap he used a story from almost 40 years ago. covert operation on.

The US Marshals Service documented its operation in detail in December 1985: The federal agency sent out 3000 invitations with two free tickets for a football sporting event – the Washington Redskins against the Cincinnati Bengals – as well as a brunch beforehand.

The mail was sent to the last known addresses of fugitive criminals who were wanted in the Washington DC area for crimes such as robbery, drug abuse, fraud, rape, arson, etc. According to the letter, they also had the chance to win season tickets and Super Bowl tickets at the event. 167 people responded and 101 actually came.

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Trap with Josh Hartnett

On December 15, 1985, “Operation Flagship” was carried out. The criminal guests arrived at the Washington Convention Center in the morning for a pre-game party. 150 undercover police officers disguised as employees, Redskins fans and mascots checked their identities while female officers, disguised as cheerleaders, hugged them and searched them for weapons.

They were then led into a separate room in groups of about 15 people to minimize the risk. At the master of ceremonies’ code word (“Surprise”), a commando stormed the auditorium and surrounded the lawbreakers. This process was repeated with several “winning” groups. All 101 escaped criminals were caught in this way.

Financially, the operation was a success. It cost 22,100 US dollars, which meant less than 220 dollars per prisoner. According to the Washington Post, the financial cost of catching fugitives at the time was an average of 1,300 dollars per person.

In the real trap model, the police even laid out tracks for the perpetrators

Josh Hartnett’s serial killer Cooper aka “the Butcher” quickly notices in Trap that something is wrong at the concert. The 101 people caught in Operation Flagship, however, went to the law enforcement officers despite hidden clues which would have certainly prevented them from coming:

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Trap Operations Manager Dr. Josephine Grant

  • The ticket company sending invitations
    Flagship International Sports Television
    had the same initials as the police access team of the Fugitive Investigative Strike Team (FIST).
  • The letters were signed with the name I. Michael Detnaw, whose Last name backwards as “Wanted”meaning “wanted”.
  • When I called to inquire about the winner’s letter, a manager named “Markus Cran” answered – read backwards “Narc”the colloquial word for “drug investigator”.

    • Ultimately, the film Trap takes a slightly different approach with its concert. For example, Josh Hartnett’s killer is actually allowed into the stadium and the uniformed police presence is hard to miss. Nevertheless, it is easy to understand how fascinated M. Night Shyamalan must have been by the large-scale trap to build his own thriller on this idea.

    In 1989, Operation Flagship had already inspired a scene in another film: In Sea of ​​Love, Al Pacino’s police officer lures 45 criminals with his promise of meeting the New York Yankees.

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