‘Trap' First Reactions Are Positive: Shyamalan's Best Since ‘The Village'?

It was already reported that M Night Shyamalan’s “Trap” was not being screened for critics in NY, LA and other cities. However, the lucky few who managed to get into its NYC premiere have chimed in with their thoughts on the film, and it seems fairly positive, so far.

Obviously, take these early reactions with a major grain of salt. Early social media reactions can be very misleading. There’s always a reason why a studio, in this case Universal, wouldn’t want to screen a film to critics. With that said …

Physical Media has labeled “Trap: to be an “absolute banger” while also pointing out Shyamalan’s excellent direction and star Josh Hartnett’s “killer” performance.

Meanwhile, Screen Rant’s Joseph Deckelmeier highlights the filmmaker’s knack for building great suspense. He also praises Josh Hartnett’s acting as “captivating” and his ability to “bring humanity to a dark character.”

The Hollywood Handle‘s Chris Gallardo also rated “Trap” highly, describing it as a “return to form” for Shyamalan. He, too, doubled down on Hartnett as a “standout.”

Meanwhile, veteran critic Edward Douglas” generally liked” the film. Josh Hartnett gives a “goofy” performance that Douglas says is superior to Cage in “Longlegs”.

The Film Stage’s Nick Newman stated that “even at a pace too long it's [Shyamalan’s] best-engineered work since... let's say... The Village”.

This past May, “Trap” tested to a general audience in Burbank, and I had heard decent reactions coming out of that screening. It’s a mostly straightforward cat and mouse thriller, highly influenced by Hitchcock, but hampered by some pacing issues. Hartnett is said to be quite good in the lead role, in a darkly humorous performance.

Described as a “thriller,” “Trap” stars Harnett as a dad taking his teenage daughter to a pop concert. Leaving his seat for the bathroom, Hartnett’s character notices a heavy police presence around the venue and finds out that the concert is a sting operation to catch a serial killer on the loose and intel suggests that the suspect might be at the concert. PLOT TWIST, it turns out, Hartnett is the killer.

Speaking of, what’s been Shyamalan’s last great film? I honestly can’t remember. He’s had a few “good” films, but for greatness we might have to go back two decades to the days of “The Sixth Sense,” or even “Unbreakable.” His last five releases have been “The Visit,” “Split,” “Glass,” “Old” and last year’s “Knock at the Cabin.”