Director M. Night Shyamalan’s new thriller, “Trap,” is filled with twists and turns, but its premise is grounded in a real-life sting operation that took place in the ’80s.
“Trap,” now playing in theaters, stars Josh Hartnett as Cooper, a middle-aged man who takes his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to a concert for her favorite pop star, Lady Raven (played by Shyamalan’s real-life daughter and musician Saleka Night Shyamalan).
The “twist” revealed in the trailers is that Hartnett’s seemingly mundane dad is secretly a serial killer known as “The Butcher” and the concert is actually an elaborate trap designed by the feds to catch him.
Josh Hartnett is explaining why he opted to be shirtless for that chilling scene near the end of Trap.
In one climactic scene, Cooper, who is on the run from the FBI after being exposed, confronts his wife (Alison Pill) while she’s home alone. She admits to tipping off authorities about attending the Lady Raven concert, where they staged a trap to catch him.
How Did Josh Hartnett Escape From His Early-2000s Leading Man ‘Trap’?
M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller Trap is about a sweetly uncool dad who’s actually a terrifying serial killer who wants desperately to escape from a sting operation that’s closing in on him, all while maintaining some kind of decency toward his 12-year-old daughter.
It requires a leading man, then, who can play a lot of different and seemingly contradictory notes. In the past, Shyamalan has gotten particularly good (and sometimes offbeat) performances from Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, James McAvoy, Dave Bautista, and Paul Giamatti. You would be forgiven for not immediately presuming that Josh Hartnett would be the next to join this list.
Josh Hartnett Is in His Dad Era
The actor, who has spent more than two decades in the movie business and now stars in the thriller “Trap,” discussed fatherhood, fame and his love of the French New Wave.
Josh Hartnett has never made a movie that his children can see. “I would love to,” he said. “I just haven’t been offered anything like that, honestly.”
He is especially reluctant for them to see “Trap” (in theaters), the M. Night Shyamalan film in which he stars as Cooper, a devoted father who is also a prolific serial killer nicknamed the Butcher. When Cooper takes his daughter to a pop concert — an event designed to ensnare the Butcher — those two identities intersect, with devastating consequences.
Even as he searches for an escape, Cooper spends much of the movie performing the role of a great dad. Is Cooper good in the part? “He’s a little over the top,” Hartnett said. “He’s gilding the lily a little bit.”
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