Trap (2024) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Cast: Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Night Shyamalan

Release Date: November 5, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 7/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

A father and teen daughter attend a pop concert, where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.

‘Trap’ joins a father named Cooper and his daughter Riley en route to a massive concert event featuring the global sensation Lady Raven. As they arrive at the show and settle in for a good time, Cooper soon discovers that the packed arena has an abundance of heavily armed police present everywhere he looks, a quantity that seems off even for an event of this magnitude. As the concert gets underway and Cooper heads out to buy a shirt for his daughter, he can’t resist asking a vendor about the situation only to discover that the concert is being used a trap to catch a deadly serial killer called “The Butcher” due to some sort of insider information that he will be attending the show. Unfortunately for Cooper, this isn’t the news he was hoping for and things quickly head in a dangerous direction while the concert continues amid the building chaos.

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan (Glass, The Sixth Sense) who does a capable job at the helm of ‘Trap’ guiding along the tense and often unique thriller with heart, style and plenty of tension. The film’s cast includes Josh Hartnett (Oppenheimer), Ariel Donoghue (TV’s Wolf Like Me), Saleka Night Shyamalan (in her acting debut), Hayley Mills (The Parent Trap) and Allison Pill (Vice) who each offer generally solid and fitting performances for the most part in their respective roles, although Hartnett repeatedly tends to steal the show throughout.

‘Trap’ is a largely entertaining and tense film that takes a unique concept and then runs with it at full steam, with much of the film initially taking place at a massive and jam-packed arena and revolving around a huge concert event, yet one that is in fact also a giant trap intended to lure in a serial killer who the authorities are convinced will be in attendance; the only complication being that they have no idea who he is or what he looks like other than a collection of possible descriptions aligned with previous crime scenes. It’s a clever idea and it does a good job of switching things up and keeping things within the event moving at a fast speed with a tension laced atmosphere always permeating.

‘Trap’ is also a surprisingly straightforward film for M. Night Shyamalan who is often known for his huge twists and surprises, yet perhaps the biggest twist within is that little of what’s occurring is not what it appears to be and if anything it benefits from building on the story along the way and progressing throughout as opposed to one key moment altering everything we think we knew. It’s smart, tense and features a stellar performance from Josh Hartnett who is a joy to watch from start to finish and goes full in on the role in the best way possible, yet even so ‘Trap’ does sadly have its hiccups and weaker elements along the way, including much of what follows the concert setting.

Just when the viewer is understandably convinced that things are building to an explosive or unsettling conclusion it instead finds a way around that moment and continues on, perhaps unnecessarily at times and then continually keeps going for quite some time thereafter; resulting in what feels like a never ending conclusion which detracts from the smart, tight knit approach that the first hour or so managed to execute so beautifully. Fortunately the ongoing ending may be tiresome and seem never-ending at times, but it still has its enjoyable moments nonetheless and as a whole offers a quite decent cat and mouse thriller that’s certainly worth giving a chance. If you’re a fan of M. Night Shyamalan or Josh Hartnett or if you can’t help but be intrigued by the premise I would definitely encourage checking out ‘Trap’ whenever convenient.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Trap’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks magnificent as a whole and provides a beautifully sharp, filmic and richly detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any unexpected troubles to be uncovered along the way. Detail and clarity is fantastic and noticeable on everything from character faces and clothing to the expansive surroundings of the heavily populated concert venue to the smaller settings and vehicles. The Dolby Vision HDR nicely upgrades much of it as well by providing more crisp and lifelike colors on clothing, concert elements and much more which is all perfectly complemented by deep, clean black levels throughout. Overall, this is a spectacular Ultra High Definition presentation that shines at every turn and should thrill fans as well as newcomers.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is a treat in itself and it offers a clean, crisp and consistently immersive audio presentation throughout. It repeatedly utilizes all seven available channels in order to send music, cheering fans and crowd chatter, along with various other effects moving throughout and overtaking the various speakers, while still ensuring that all dialogue and other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously with one another remain clean and fully audible at all times. Overall, this is a great Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that never disappoints and repeatedly enhances the tension and fun throughout.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Trap’ features some brief, yet entertaining extras. Included on the release are a few ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the film (running approximately 6 minutes in length altogether), along with a couple of Behind the Scenes Featurettes including ‘Setting the Trap: A New M. Night Shyamalan Experience’ (running approximately 4 minutes) and ‘Saleka as Lady Raven’ (approximately 5 minutes). Also included is the ‘Extended Concert Scene: Where Did She Go’ (3 minutes).

*Please note: The above images were provided by Warner Bros. and are not reflective of the actual 4K Ultra HD release or its quality. A standard Blu-ray copy of the film was not included in the release that could be used for screenshots therefore the above publicity stills were utilized. They are all the property of Warner Bros. Discovery and any other respective owners.

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Film Rating: 7/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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‘Trap’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Blinding Edge Pictures & Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘Trap’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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