Trap

I am a big fan of M. Night Shyamalan and the premise for his latest movie Trap looked intriguing so I was really excited to see it last night.  Unfortunately, it was one of my biggest disappointments of the year.  Cooper Adams (Josh Hartnett) takes his teenage daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to see her favorite pop star Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan) in concert as a reward for a good report card.  He soon notices an elevated police presence at the venue and eventually learns (because he can roam at will despite all of the police and because a lowly vendor knows the entire plan) that an FBI manhunt, led by renowned profiler Dr. Josephine Grant (Hayley Mills), is being conducted to find the serial killer known as "The Butcher" because a torn receipt for the concert was discovered at one of his known lairs.  It turns out that Cooper is "The Butcher" (this is not a spoiler because it is inexplicably revealed in the trailer) and he must now find a way to escape from the arena.  I actually enjoyed the first two acts during the concert at the arena because, while it is incredibly far-fetched with obvious plot contrivances and cringe-worthy dialogue, it is very suspenseful with a campy performance from Hartnett that is fun to watch as well as a believable one from Saleka who wrote and performed all of the songs.  Once the action leaves the arena, however, it becomes even more far-fetched (to the point of incredulity) and Saleka is completely out of her depth once she stops singing (I think we all know how she got such a prominent role).  The requisite plot twist is underwhelming and my attention started to wane after I mistakenly thought it was over several times.  The real trap is having to sit through this movie!