We learn early on that Cooper was actually a butcher.
The creative minds who added the phrase “I see dead people” from the 1999 horror film The Sixth Sense to the collective consciousness. Director/screenwriter M. Night Simarayan. And he has a new movie on the shelf. It's called Trap, and it's a movie that has the potential to draw audiences into an orgasmic thriller. But instead, it's frustratingly close to a good ride. Still, it's worth the popcorn.
The setting is just as crazy as the plot. Josh Hartnett plays Cooper Abbott, a firefighter who takes his daughter Riley to a concert by pop star Lady Raven. It was a reward for her good grades. The excitement of Riley, played by 14-year-old Australian Ariel Donahue, is genuine.
However, while father and daughter were getting used to the show, there was an unusually large police presence around the venue, which bothered Cooper. After a brief conversation with the vendor, he discovered that the FBI was conducting a raid on the butcher. A serial killer was reportedly in the audience.
The murderer's double life
We learn early on that Cooper was actually a butcher. And while he was enjoying time with his daughter, he was keeping tabs on his latest victim, who was being held in the basement, on his cell phone.
See: Trap Trailer
The first half of the film depicts the dichotomy between his middle-class family and his father, as well as the darkness that remains in his heart. It's like Dexter's Dark Passenger. This is because Cooper becomes increasingly desperate to find a way out of the arena. Through a cunning plan, Riley finally appears on stage with Lady Raven, and the two exit backstage for the second part of the story.
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In a chilling confrontation, Cooper reveals his true identity to Lady Raven and then, in a sense, takes her hostage. He used the star to allow himself and Riley to escape safely. Lady Raven, played by Simalayan's daughter Saleka, reluctantly agrees and gives the father and daughter a ride home in a limousine. Once there, Lady Raven attempts to secretly reveal Cooper's true identity to his family, upsetting him, and secretly attempts to inform the fans of Cooper's true identity. This allowed him to rescue the victim, who he had been monitoring on his cell phone, and contact his family, who had little suspicion.
FBI conflict
The main reason is that it was Cooper's wife Rachel, played tenderly by Alison Pill, who was always suspicious of Cooper's dark passenger.
Then there's a confrontation, a raid on his home by the FBI, and of course it all ends well with Cooper handcuffed. I agree.
There's a lot of tension there, and Hartnett's demented murderer is very convincingly executed. Too true to what anyone can imagine what the nature of such a person is like. Ariel Donahue is an up-and-coming actor whose continued success is expected. Another layer that transforms Lady Raven's vacuous pop star look into a heroine is well done.
As for the rest of the movie, the first and second halves don't quite represent the whole experience. The pacing is too fast and character development is left behind. Depth is sacrificed to speed up the storytelling. But then again, perhaps this movie was never intended to be anything other than a dramatic development of a serial killer's baggage. Although the audience is mostly satisfied, there remains a subtle request for better storytelling in the second half. It seemed like Simalayan wanted to cram the story towards the end without really thinking about how to make the audience feel comfortable.
movie in half
But Simarayan is to thrillers and horror what Tim Burton is to macabre storytelling. And while some of his films are difficult to watch, others are refreshingly simple and intriguing, but what lies beneath the surface is often very dark. He is a cult filmmaker, and for his fans, Trap is another expression of his talent. Because without a doubt, this director ranks with some of the greatest culturally influential filmmakers in history. This was seen in his works such as Tales from the Crypt, Lady in the Lake, Glad, and The Village.
Read now: Behind the scenes with cinematographer Wimpy Ackerman
