Trap is unrealistic, lacking in thrills, and a stunning example of just how masterful the writer-director’s twistless storytelling can be.
Photo: Sabrina Lantos/Warner Bros./Everett Collection
You could make the case that Trap is unrealistic and lacking in thrills. But why would you want to? M. Night Shyamalan’s latest is about a police dragnet to ensnare a serial killer (Josh Hartnett’s Cooper Adams, a.k.a. the Butcher) in much the same way that The Sixth Sense (1999) was a nuanced portrait of a child psychologist, The Village (2004) was a picture of life in an agricultural commune, and his 2023 hit Knock at the Cabin was an account of missionary work — which is to say that, as in all of Shyamalan’s movies, to greater…