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After the first announcement almost a year earlier by Warner Brothers, Trap by M. Night Shyamalan has finally received a first trailer. It takes viewers through a whirlwind of emotions within the two-and-a-half minutes of footage. Set in the signature tonality of the Oscar-nominated director and a fresh premise that has not been explored before, this aims to deliver a "new experience."
The film stars Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills, and Marnie McPhail in the primary roles. It follows a father and daughter at a pop concert, where the father discovers that the police are setting a trap for a vicious killer. Things in the trailers soon start to hint that there is something more offsetting than what initially appeared.
The trailer was shown during the Warner Brothers CinemaCon presentation earlier this month. The film will release in theatres on August 9, 2024.
Trap trailer gives an uncomfortable glimpse at a realistic horror scenario
M. Night Shyamalan is best known for his work in the horror and thriller genres. Trap is no different, but it promises an experience that most Shyamalan fans will not expect from him.
This mystery pairs exceptionally well with the premise and trailer, which sees Josh Hartnett's character taking his daughter to a famous pop concert, only to realize that there is something off about the setting.
As the trailer progresses, we see Hartnett's character enquiring about the extremely strong security and offsetting appeal of the place. He soon learns that the concert is a trap by the police to apprehend a killer known as the Butcher.
As the trailer progresses, it is heavily hinted that Hartnett's character may be the criminal the police are after, complicating the story further. Several scenes, such as Hartnett's character looking at footage of a trapped man, seem to hint that he may be the Butcher. However, the trailer intentionally left things blurry.
The official logline for the film reads,
"Trap follows a father and teen daughter attending a pop concert, where they realize they're at the center of a dark and sinister event."
The director also previously emphasized that the stand-out aspect of this movie would be telling the story from an unexpected viewpoint, which would be fresh in the world of M. Night Shyamalan.
His idea for this movie is also derived heavily from the present culture of concerts and rising pop stars. The director previously spoke about the film to Indiwire, where he elaborated on the inspiration for the film.
"Sometimes, culture moves in your direction, and sometimes it doesn't...In this case, the culture of concerts is crazy now. Taylor [Swift] and Beyoncé — it's just such a thing in culture. And I do think gathering together is so precious to us now. Maybe we took it for granted before our phones and COVID and all that stuff. It's wonderful that the culture moved toward this idea."
Shyamalan's previous movies have also often drawn from cultural references without outright referring to them. However, it seems that Trap will divert from usual tropes in more than one way.
Catch the movie in the theatres starting from August 9, 2024. Stay tuned for more updates.
