Iconic director of thrillers, M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Split, Old) returns with Trap, a psychological thriller that plunges its viewer into constant tension. The film follows Cooper, a family man who turns out to be a serial killer and finds himself trapped in a crowded concert hall, surrounded by police.
With its original script and immersive staging, Trap promises to keep audiences on the edge of their seats by playing on the confinement and urgency of the situation. Josh Hartnett, recently seen in Oppenheimer, plays this complex character, while Ariel Donoghue and Saleka Shyamalan complete the cast. At the same time, the director is producing Les Guetteurs, the feature debut of his other daughter, Ishana Shyamalan.
Trap will be broadcast on Canal+ from Friday, March 21, 2025 at 9:10pm.
Synopsis: 30,000 spectators. 300 police officers. One killer.
Cooper, family man and serial killer, finds himself trapped by the police in the middle of a concert.
Will he escape?
With Trap, M. Night Shyamalan returns with an intense, original thriller that plunges the viewer into a suffocating in camera experience in a crowded concert hall. Carried by an impressive Josh Hartnett, the film explores human duality, the nature of evil and the illusion of deceptive appearances. Through constant tension and unpredictable twists and turns, Shyamalan once again plays with audience expectations, delivering a film that divides but leaves no one indifferent.
The plot of Trap is based on an atypical scenario, far removed from the traditional thriller. Cooper, played by Josh Hartnett, is a family man who has come to attend a concert with his daughter Riley. But underneath his appearance as a caring parent, he hides a double life as a serial killer. When the police set up an operation to arrest him in the middle of an event, he must do everything in his power to escape without arousing the suspicions of his daughter or the frenzied crowd.
This " real-time" concept, confined to the space of a noisy, brightly lit concert, creates constant tension. Every passing minute brings Cooper closer to capture, and yet, thanks to Shyamalan's deft direction, we can't help but feel a strange fascination for this criminal on the run. His bond with Riley, full of tenderness and ambiguity, adds an unsettling emotional layer to the story, blurring the viewer's moral bearings.
With Trap, M. Night Shyamalan once again proves his ability to create constant tension through immersive, meticulous direction. The director locks the viewer into the confined space of a crowded concert, transforming the crowd into an oppressive trap where Cooper 's every move is scrutinized, and every misstep could lead to his capture.
The camera adopts an almost subjective approach, following Josh Hartnett closely as he attempts to escape. The fluid dollies that film him making his way through the audience reinforce immersion and accentuate the adrenaline of the story. On several occasions, Shyamalan uses tight shots of Cooper's face, capturing his anguish as he struggles to maintain his composure in front of his daughter. The contrast between the mass of people around him and his psychological isolation is brilliantly captured by the mise-en-scène.
Visually, the film is imbued with a dark color palette, dominated by bluish and gray tones that underline the chilling, oppressive atmosphere of the story. Thesubdued lighting, punctuated by flashes of light from the concert stage, plays a key role: it creates a play of light and shadow that reflects both the duality of the main character and the constant threat hanging over him.
After years of low profile, Josh Hartnett delivers an impressive performance here, aptly capturing Cooper's duality. His unsettling gaze, his ability to oscillate between benevolent paternity and predatory cold-bloodedness, make his character both fearsome and strangely endearing.
What's striking about Trap is this inversion of moral expectations: despite his status as a serial killer, we want him to get away with it, because his bond with Riley is so well-constructed that it becomes difficult to see him falling in front of her. This father-daughter relationship, as moving as it is disturbing, is one of the film's most striking aspects.
Reviews of Trap have been divided, with some critics criticizing Shyamalan for failing to deliver the major twist he's accustomed to, while others hail it as an effective, immersive thriller. And yet, it's hard to deny that the film fulfills its role perfectly: it keeps you on the edge of your seat, multiplies the twists and turns, and offers immersive direction coupled with intense acting.
If you like tense thrillers, films that play with characters' morality, and oppressive closed-door narratives, Trap is an ideal choice. On the other hand, if you're looking for an earth-shattering revelation a la Sixth Sense, or a more conventionally developed story, you're in for a real treat.
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