M. Night Shyamalan was once celebrated as the new Spielberg, turning our understanding of film on its head with unexpected twists. After a series of qualitative and financial failures, Hollywood dropped the directing prodigy. But the truth is: hardly any other filmmaker has used his blockbuster defeat as impressively to reposition himself on a smaller scale as Shyamalan.
Almost a decade has passed since the The Sixth Sense director laid the foundation for the second act of his career which for many was probably more surprising than some of the twists in one of his films. In 2024, it is clear: the failed M. Night Shyamalan no longer exists. And Trap: No Way Out is the latest best example of this.
Here, even one of the greatest horror moments in film history is re-enacted.
In Trap, Josh Hartnett plays a serial killer who is lured into a trap by the police at a concert
Trap: No Way Out is already the sixth film in Shyamalan’s post-blockbuster phase and follows on perfectly from the previous films Old and Knock at the Cabin. Once again we find ourselves in a manageable settingwhich has a special feature: after the beach that twists time and the cabin in the woods where the apocalypse threatens, we now find ourselves at a concert with a serial killer.
You can watch the trailer for Trap here:
Trap – Trailer (English) HD
Cooper is his name. He is actually a lovable family man. At least that is the impression you get when Josh Hartnett charmingly looks after his on-screen daughter Ariel Donoghue in the first few minutes, who can’t wait to see her idol Lady Raven live on stage. For us viewers, however, it quickly becomes clear that Cooper is a killer. And even more exciting: He is trapped.
Not only is there a conspicuous police presence in the stands. Before Cooper knows it, the entire building is surrounded by black uniforms with assault rifles. From now on, we watch him trying to escape from impossible situations The highlight: Shyamalan stages the thriller so cleverly that we suddenly feel for the killer, even though he is obviously dangerous.
Taylor Swift feat. Clarice Starling x Hannibal Lecter: Trap is a totally unleashed pop culture serial killer ride
What if The Silence of the Lambs was set at a Taylor Swift concert? Shyamalan makes no secret of his cinematic and pop culture role models. He skilfully combines Jonathan Demme’s masterpiece about serial killer legend Hannibal Lecter and FBI icon Clarice Starling with a film that another obsession takes center stage: the relationship between stars and fans.
Warner Bros.
Trap: No Way Out
Cooper’s daughter adores Lady Raven, while Cooper himself becomes a star who remains unreachable for the FBI. Between screaming fans and a pulsating light show, he seems to be one step ahead of everyone. When will contact finally be made? Shyamalan plays with this inaccessibility and has some twists and turns that bring the larger-than-life story down to a surprisingly human level.
It has been a long time since there was a thriller that had so much fun chasing its characters from one place to the next, to swap their roles and turns our expectations on their head with daring leaps. Trap is a screen adventure geared towards maximum suspense entertainment, which, in addition to The Silence of the Lambs, is reminiscent of two other horror classics: Psycho and The Shining.
Not only Taylor Swift: Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick also have a say in trap
It will probably come as no surprise that Hitchcock’s visit to the Bates Motel is the inspiration for a serial killer film. The, let’s say, problematic relationship between Norman Bates and his mother has inspired cinema for over eight decades. There are many echoes in Trap, too, especially when we delve deeper into the splintering psyche of Hartnett’s killer.
Warner Bros.
Trap: No Way Out
This is where The Shining comes into play. In Stanley Kubrick’s controversial Stephen King film adaptation, Jack Nicholson turns into a monster who breaks through the bathroom door with his axe and, with wide eyes and bared teeth, ultimate image of evil Trap also features a scene in which a young woman hides in the cold white walls of a bathroom.
Just like in The Shining, the man on the other side bangs against the door. At any moment, you expect a completely restless Josh Hartnett to smash the wood and one of Hollywood’s most beautiful faces to become the embodiment of horror. But Shyamalan denies us the view on terror personified and instead invites you to an even more frightening view of the wall.
Shyamalan’s trap deliberately oversteps the mark and is therefore as unpredictable as it is entertaining
A monster is raging on the other side of the door and we don’t know how far it will go until the most uncomfortable silence of the film breaks in. At the same time, Shyamalan opens the narrow room via a smartphone and activates all the fans on the Internet in an absolutely incredible live broadcastto make the killer, who has just become gigantic again due to his invisibility, small, tangible and findable.
A really great moment in which Shyamalan’s wild serial killer pop star fantasy comes true and no one can question the logic of what is happening. The Close-ups on the faces and generally the vibrant images of Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, the regular cameraman of Luca Guadagnino (!) and Apichatpong Weerasethakul (!!). This commitment alone is a stroke of genius.
Trap: No Way Out has been running since 1 August 2024 in German cinemas.