Written by Sean Laketior
He’s back in action! After starring in the hit movie Oppenheimer as Ernest Lawrence,
Josh Hartnett plays the lead role in a new thriller Trap set to release in theaters on August 2nd, 2024. As someone known for always being caught in the middle of it all, it’s no surprise that Hartnett chose to participate in this horror film based on cunning plot twists.Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan who has created iconic films such as Signs, Split, and The Sixth Sense, this cinematic experience is sure to be unique. In an interview with the Empire Magazine, Shyamalan pitches the idea of Trap as the question “What if The Silence of the Lambs happened at a Taylor Swift concert?”
The film places the viewer in a seemingly normal concert hall where Cooper (played by Hartnett) brings his daughter Riley (played by Ariel Donoghue) to see her favorite singer. As Cooper walks out of the main concert, he notices police officers around every corner of the building, and it is revealed to Cooper by an officer that the whole concert is a trap for “the Butcher”, a rampant serial killer.
Hearing this news, Cooper starts to cause extreme mayhem, claiming that “I feel out of control”. From stealing from the police to leading the kitchen to explode, Cooper does anything to escape the concert hall without getting caught by the police or his daughter, who increasingly raises her concern.
By the end of the trailer, Cooper states that he’s unable to control himself, suggesting that this might be an alternate persona within him who receives pleasure from gruesome deaths.
Is Cooper the killer?
From the trailer alone, it seems reasonable to assume that Cooper is the serial killer. Seen pushing people down the stairs and impulsively setting off fire alarms, the chaos Hartnett creates upon hearing the basis of the concert supports this conclusion.
With his new role, Josh Hartnett expresses excitement for the release of the movie. Interviewed by IndieWire, he explains “But I try to make all of my roles pivots. If you’re playing the same thing again and again, it gets boring to the audience.” This may be alluding to new narratives and themes we might not usually expect from Hartnett.
M. Night Shyamalan’s love for plot twists may also be a deciding factor in this question. Being known for making his films unpredictable and arguably risky, the extent to labeling Cooper as the confirmed serial killer is still up in the air.