M. Night Shyamalan's Divisive $82 Million Hit Is Now Streaming & It Deserves More Love (2024)

M. Night Shyamalan's divisive $82 million hit Trap is now streaming on Max, and the 2024 film really deserves more love. Like many of Shyamalan's more recent films, Trap has divided audiences, with one sect of his fanbase claiming that it is just another one of the director's lesser films while the other sect claims that it is his best in years. The conversation around Trap has been the most interesting part of the film's release, and now that Shyamalan's new thriller has made it onto Max, an all-new group of viewers can join the discussion.

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Director M. Night Shyamalan started his career as one of Hollywood's brightest upcoming filmmakers, with early films like The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable cementing him as one of the greats. However, later films like The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth made many audience members sour on his films, greatly harming his reputation. 2016's Split was Shyamalan's most critically acclaimed film in years, leading to what some have seen as a resurgence with more recent movies like Glass, Old, Knock at the Cabin, and most significantly, 2024's Trap.

For Fans Of...

  • M. Night Shyamalan movies like The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Split.
  • Crime thrillers like Escape from Alcatraz, The Fugitive, and Catch Me If You Can.
  • Serial killer movies like Zodiac, American Psycho, and The Silence of the Lambs.

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Did You Know: Trap's pop star Lady Raven is played by M. Night Shyamalan's daughter, Saleka Night Shyamalan.

Trap Is Now Streaming On Max - Why You Should Watch It

Shyamalan's Latest Thriller Has Finally Released

M. Night Shyamalan's Divisive $82 Million Hit Is Now Streaming & It Deserves More Love (1)

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6.7/10

Trap

Not Yet Rated

Thriller

Mystery

Trap is a film by writer-director M. Night Shyamalan under his Blinding Edge Pictures label. The film is part of a deal struck with Warner Bros for him to direct and produce several films under their banner.

Director
M. Night Shyamalan

Release Date
August 2, 2024

Studio(s)
Blinding Edge Pictures , New Line Cinema

Distributor(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures , New Line Cinema
Writers
M. Night Shyamalan
Cast
Josh Hartnett , Hayley Mills , Marnie McPhail , Vanessa Smythe , Saleka Shyamalan , Malik Jubal , Jonathan Langdon , Peter D'Souza , Ty Pravong , Kaitlyn Dallan
Main Genre
Thriller

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Now that Trap has been released on Max, there is no better time to watch M. Night Shyamalan's latest film. The movie follows Josh Hartnett as Cooper Abbott, a serial killer who goes to a Lady Raven concert with his daughter. Once there, Cooper realizes that the entire concert has been overrun by law enforcement, with them baiting Cooper to the event in order to capture him before he leaves. The incredibly tense thriller spends most of its time following Cooper's attempts to escape the concert venue unnoticed, leading to some incredibly unique storylines and setpieces.

Trap is a wholly unique film, with it truly not feeling like anything else. The performances from Josh Hartness and the rest of Trap's cast are incredibly over-the-top, with this being one of the best aspects of the film. The strange, stilted, and stylistic dialogue lends itself to creating a surreal and campy story that entirely hinges on how fun the premise is. Luckily, the premise of Trap is incredibly fun, with the idea of a concert being utilized in order to catch a serial killer acting as a killer hook that can appeal to almost any audience member.

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3:10

Related

3 Movies To Watch If You Liked M. Night Shyamalan's Trap

If you liked M. Night Shyamalan's Trap, you'll surely enjoy these three films.

Trap is undeniably an M. Night Shyamalan movie, with the director's fingerprints being all over the film. Trap leans into many of the tropes that are present throughout M. Night Shyamalan's filmography, with the film being unapologetically his. Rather than trying to hide Shyamalan's influence on the film, as movies like After Earth did, Trap leans into it, with it being the movie's biggest strength. This can even be seen in the casting of Saleka, M. Night Shyamalan's daughter, as Lady Raven, with the film featuring a lot of incredible original songs that feel like they could be real-life pop hits.

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"Despite being flawed, though, Trap is thrilling at times and a ridiculous display of human behavior at others. Don’t expect any deeper meanings or hidden messages buried throughout this script. Shyamalan’s latest project is about as straightforward as it gets. Of course, this is a positive, as viewers can center all their attention on Josh Hartnett. His performance here is another great turn in his late career. It’s not exactly a knock out of the park, but there’s plenty in Shyamalan’s thriller that will hold audiences until the end of summer." - Patrice Witherspoon, Screen Rant's Trap Review

Trap Is Much Better Than Its Mixed Reviews Suggest

Especially For Shyamalan Fans

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Trap was plagued by mixed reviews when the film started its theatrical run, but the movie is much better than these reviews suggest. Like many of M. Night Shyamalan's other films, Trap is an acquired taste. While the movie's style and writing is odder than what many viewers not familiar with the director might expect, longtime Shyamalan fans will absolutely love Trap. The film is one of the most Shyamalan M. Night Shyamalan movies yet, and even if that doesn't appeal to someone now, it may after they see Trap and the director's other films.

2:21

Related

The latest thriller from M. Night Shyamalan features a slow burn cat-and-mouse game with the traditional twist ending to go with twists along the way.

On top of that, Trap's performances are incredibly good, with Josh Hartnett's being one of the best of 2024. There is a lot to love in the film, and while it may not be for everyone, viewers should definitely check out Trap if it appeals to them.

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Key Stats

Trap

Box Office

$82.7 million

Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score

57%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score

65%

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M. Night Shyamalan's Divisive $82 Million Hit Is Now Streaming & It Deserves More Love (2024)
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