Went to watch the movie Trap with my movie buddy Chanel.
Trap (2024)
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan.
We barely watched the trailer and just went for it, because we caught the previous films 'Split' and 'Glass'. Till today I still think about some of the creepy scenes from 'Split'.
What's it about:
Trap is about a father, Cooper (Josh Hartnett), and his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) attending a mega concert. But a notorious serial killer is purported to be attending as well...
How can I talk about this movie without spoilers? I think it's difficult, so let me put up the sign:
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| SPOILERS EVERYWHERE! Do not continue reading if you do not want to be spoiled. |
The movie really kept me at the edge of the seat. The whole movie really makes you feel conflicted right at the get go.
When Cooper starts to exhibit paranoid behaviour, deep inside you, you already start to suspect he's the main villain. The toilet scene where he checks his phone? So creepy. And I'm not even counting when his mother appears.
We really want to root for him, especially because he seems like such a nice, caring dad. He's even awkwardly adorable when trying to use teen lingo. We want him to succeed, and he seems to be smart and alert. At first we give him the benefit of the doubt and wonder if he is just trying to keep his daughter safe when he realises the Butcher is coming...but then he pushes somebody off the stairs. With no hesitation nor guilt.
We start to realise something is wrong, but try to rationalise that. The loving dad can't be the evil serial killer... can he? We marvel at his cleverness but it's also difficult to reconcile being proud of his achievements because we know he has done some bad things. More conflicted feelings for our conscience.
Later on, the confrontation scene between his wife (Rachel, played by Alison Pill) reflects our thoughts during the show: she had a niggling suspicion that she could not ignore, as much as she wants to believe he is not a murderer. After all, who wants to admit that they had a major lapse in judgment and somehow married and had kids with a killer?
Fortunately, her sense of justice prevails. Or perhaps, self-preservation was the motivation? At that moment you also have the cold feeling: where when a person outwits a clever killer, who is more dangerous - the wife or the actual Butcher? (There are also fan theories of how the wife is actually the true killer.)
Who is scarier - a schemer, or someone who gives in to their impulses or voices in their head? To be honest, both are scary to me. The double identity is also something that creeps people out. Can you really know somebody? What happens when you trust someone completely but they are actually... something else?
Turns out gore isn't the true horror - it's the emotional and psychological messing around that really gets you.
The ending just adds to our fear that this isn't over. Would it ever be over? What a tense movie. 😂
Therein lies our fascination with killers. Why are there so many movies and books about killers? I think its the innate curiosity of what drives them to do such a heinous act that draws people's interests. My friend attended a Jack the Ripper tour where they walked you around London at night and used a projector for extra effect. The stories are so horrible but at the same time you kind of want to know all the details. D:
After the show I just had to Google and find out more about sociopaths and psychopaths.
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| from: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-sociopath-380184 |
I think Cooper is a clear cut Psychopath!
Yikes.
In conclusion:
Overall a gripping movie, though there seemed to be too many scenes of Lady Raven's performances (probably to boost her actual career off-screen). She was very brave to help catch the killer, but why? What's her motivation? She could have just ran away and called the cops. She was somewhat very invested in this and I would have loved to see more development to the character.
More thoughts:
I have not recovered from the onslaught of superhero movies, so any other genre of movies are a welcome change for me. Anything in excess is truly painful. Everything in moderation is really the best.
Recently I finally allowed myself to listen to I'm Yours by Jason Mraz. It came out in 2008 and absolutely dominated the radio play. You could not escape the song. Well, it looks like I needed only about fifteen years to rest from it and now I can finally listen to it and embrace it without feeling horror. 😂 It has such a good message though.
That's all, folks! Hope you got to watch something interesting recently! Movies are not what they used to be...
Love,
Skye
