Twist master M. Night Shyamalan is back in the limelight with an all-new tense thriller, simply titled Trap. The writer and director behind The Sixth Sense has been experiencing quite a resurgence recently, with several decently successful films in recent years, such as Old and Knock at the Cabin. It’s clear that audiences are still finding things to love in the auteur filmmaker’s works, as both Split and Glass have become surprise Netflix hits years after they were released.
Trap starts off as simply as it possibly could, with a father (Josh Hartnett) taking his daughter (Ariel Donoghue) to see a concert with her favorite musician. On the outside, they look like a father-daughter duo that could not be more normal. However, things take an interesting turn when dozens of police officers surround the concert venue, following a tip that a ruthless serial killer known as “The Butcher” may be among the concert’s attendees.
What follows is a tense mystery filled with lies, secrets, and deceptions, with this father and daughter being at the center. The answer to this mystery may appear clear, but given that this is a Shyamalan film, there are bound to be a few twists and surprises along the way. To find out more about M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thrill ride as well as its cast, trailer, release date, and more, here is everything we know so far about Trap.
Trap
- Release Date
- August 2, 2024
- Director
- M. Night Shyamalan
- Cast
- Josh Hartnett , Hayley Mills , Marnie McPhail , Ariel Donoghue
- Writers
- M. Night Shyamalan
- Studio(s)
- Blinding Edge Pictures , New Line Cinema
- Distributor(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures , New Line Cinema
Does ‘Trap’ Have a Release Date?
M. Night Shyamalan’s epic plan will be coming together when Trap debuts on Friday, August 9, 2024. Trap will mark the second project of the summer movie season from Warner Bros. and Shyamalan’s Blinding Edge Productions label, after The Watchers, which is directed by the filmmaker’s daughter Ishana Night Shyamalan.
Where Can You Watch ‘Trap’?
As with all of M. Night Shyamalan’s other feature films, Trap will need to be experienced exclusively in theaters come this August. Where many other filmmakers have made the jump over to streaming, Shyalaman has consistently stuck with theatrical releases, which makes sense given how well-known he’s become for making high-grossing movies off of very low budgets. Split in particular cost a mere $9 million to make, and it made just about $270 million in profit. In Shymalan’s entire 30-plus year directorial career, his films have grossed over $3 billion at the box office, and his films’ collective budgets amount to less than $750 million.
Trap will have some stiff competition on its August 9 release date, as it will open up directly against Hunter Schafer‘s body horror film Cuckoo and Eli Roth‘s video game adaptation Borderlands. The week after that, the horror sphere will become even more competitive with the release of Alien: Romulus. No plans for a streaming release of Trap have been announced at this time, but since the film is a Warner Bros. Discovery production, the film will likely be coming to Max at a later date.
Does ‘Trap’ Have a Trailer?
Warner Brothers dropped the first trailer for Trap on April 18, just about a week after the film showed off some footage behind closed doors at Cinemacon. The trailer begins with a father taking his daughter to a concert being held by her favorite musician, Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan). Things are going smoothly until the father starts to notice an unusually large police presence outside the venue. He learns from a vendor that the police are putting a trap together to find and arrest the serial killer called The Butcher, who they believe to be attending the event. This is bad news for our main character, as we soon learn that he currently has a potential victim trapped in his very own basement.
Who Stars in ‘Trap’?
The cast of Trap is led by Josh Hartnett, who plays the film’s loving father by day and potential serial killer by night. Hartnett, having previously starred in Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down, has been on the cusp of a career resurgence after being a part of Oppenheimer‘s ensemble cast. Hartnett will also be joined by Wolf Like Me star Ariel Donoghue, Dream Scenario star Marnie McPhail, Pollyanna star Hayley Mills, and Star Trek: Picard star Alison Pill. Trap will also serve as the feature acting debut for musician and M. Night Shyamalan’s eldest daughter, Saleka Shyamalan.
What Is ‘Trap’ About?
The official synopsis of Trap reads as follows:
A father and teen daughter attend a pop concert, where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.
Who Is Making ‘Trap’?
Trap is written, directed, and produced by veteran thriller filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, who has been both widely praised and widely critiqued for his unique screenwriting and directorial style. Shyamalan made a significant name for himself as an up-and-coming filmmaker with three critically acclaimed films, including The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs. The next few films in his catalog weren’t as well received, with films like The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth not being nearly as popular. Thankfully Shyamalan is back in the limelight in a positive way, with movies like the wildly successful Split being credited.
The rest of the crew for Trap includes:
- Cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Call Me by Your Name)
- Production Designer Debbie de Villa (The Hating Game)
- Editor Noëmi Preiswerk (Servant)
- Composer Herdĭs Stefănsdŏttir (Knock at the Cabin)
- Music Supervisor Susan Jacobs (Old)
- Costume Designer Caroline Duncan (The Affair)
- Casting Director Douglas Aibel (Asteroid City)
Other M. Night Shyamalan Movies You Can Watch Right Now
‘The Visit’ (2015)
Many understandably credit Split as M. Night Shyamalan’s true return to form, but we’d argue his true bounce-back period began with The Visit. A totally different kind of movie for Shyamalan, partly because it’s a found footage horror film, The Visit follows two kids going to stay with their mother’s estranged parents. They seem eccentric yet harmless at first, but the more time the kids spend with them, the more it appears they are not in their right mind. The Visitis available to stream on Max.
‘Split’ (2016)
By far among M. Night Shyamalan’s best and most successful films is Split. The tense, claustrophobic thriller not only features one of the best performances of James McAvoy‘s career but also boasts a stellar breakout role for Anya Taylor-Joy. The film sees three girls abducted by a man with twenty-three distinct personalities, three of whom appear to be preparing the young woman as sacrifices for a twenty-fourth personality called “The Beast”. Split is available to stream on Netflix.
‘Knock at the Cabin’ (2023)
M. Night Shyamalan’s latest work, Knock at the Cabin, was released only a year ago and has already been placed among Shyamalan’s stronger films. The film shows two parents, Eric (Jonathan Groff) and Andrew (Ben Aldridge), going on vacation with their daughter, Wen (Kristen Cui). Their vacation getaway is interrupted by four mysterious individuals armed with weapons, who reluctantly tell their hostages that they must sacrifice a member of their family to prevent the end of the world. Knock at the Cabin is available to stream on Prime Video.
