Ever since the mid-2000s, when his credibility somersaulted off a cliff, M. Night Shyamalan has settled into something of a B-movie career. Credit to him for knowing his lane, and for remaining an auteur in the meantime, but I feel like this course-correction has resulted in some people giving him way too much slack in the effort department.
Trap has the usual Shyamalan trappings (no pun intended) of alien performances and dialogue that makes you question whether the man has ever had a normal conversation in his entire life, but we like those qualities. They're what make him Shyamalan. What I don't like is how lazy his writing has gotten. This script feels like a first draft, switching from one protagonist to the next seemingly at random, and ultimately playing out as though he had no idea where any of it actually leads. Plus, all the police stuff is downright idiotic.
Unlike the worst that this director has to offer, though, the movie's not gratingly smug or self-serious. The first half is actually pretty funny, and funny in a way that feels a lot more intentional than, say, The Happening. I think a lot of that has to do with Hartnett's performance. The more this guy tries to be on-the-level, the more he comes off like a serial killer.
Grade: B-
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