Why So Blu?

Trap (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

M. Night Shyamalan has attempted since his earlier films to create stories that we haven’t seen before.Even if the premise is like something we’ve seen, the film is almost always unique. This includes films that aren’t necessarily that great, and some really incredible films.  Where does Trap lie in his filmography? How unique is the setup of a serial killer seeking escape in the middle of a huge concert? Find out now, and don’t forget to check out recent reviews for The Sixth Sense and Signs too!

 

Film:

Firefighter Cooper (Josh Hartnett) is taking his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to see her favorite singer Lady Raven in concert.  The film opens with them riding to the venue, Riley thoroughly ecstatic to go see her idol.  Cooper is just as excited and proud of his kid, who has brought home an excellent report card.  Cooper is a grounded family man, and you can tell by how protective and sincere he is with his daughter.  Once the pair arrive at their seats, the show slowly begins.  Once Lady Raven graces the stage, the whole building goes into high gear, screaming intensely.

While waiting at the merch booth for a T-shirt, Cooper learns that there is a large police and security presence at the show. Lady Raven and her team have teamed up with the FBI to find a serial killer, known only as The Butcher, who they’ve learned has purchased tickets to the show.  This immediately triggers Cooper. Why you ask? Because Cooper is The Butcher.  This may seem like a spoiler, but it isn’t. As Cooper learns more within the venue, he must find ways to fool the authorities, keep Riley from finding out his secret and find out just how to escape the Trap that has been set for him.

As we learn, there are more females and children at the show than men, and each man must answer questions before being cleared to leave.  As Cooper goes to greater lengths to escape those after him, he somehow finds a way to get Riley on-stage with Lady Raven.  From there it’s anyone’s guess as to what methods Cooper will take to get out of the arena.

Trap continues a Shyamalan trend of a big buildup and an early/mid movie reveal about the main character.  Nothing new here.  The premise of Trap is what makes the film intriguing.  A serial killer who’s also a family man? We haven’t seen that before.  A thriller with a cat-and-mouse formula at a concert? Also, something we haven’t seen.  So, originality, this film has quite a bit of.  But these original spins don’t shake off a semi-flawed storyline.

It’s completely believable that Cooper could be a serial murderer.  He has the outside appearance on lock.  He is amiable, smiles big and loves his kids.  But he’s also got his next victim locked up somewhere.  He can switch as needed from kind to menacing as needed and does not lose his cool until late into the proceedings.  This is all good stuff, with Josh Hartnett seeming to really enjoy being this complicated killer.  Then we have Riley, the daughter. She obviously has had a good home life and is enjoying herself. When she finally figures out what is happening, she almost evaporates from the film.  We also have a whole plot device involving the singer, Lady Raven who is played by Saleka Night Shyamalan, who is a talented singer/songwriter.  It’s kind of disappointing to think that she might not have gotten this shot if she wasn’t the director’s kid.  She has some talent, but her plot point feels forced because of who made the film.  I don’t mean to drag Saleka, but I’d have liked better for her.

We are also dragged away from the concert venue maybe too soon, because the last 45 minutes of the film seem to drag, looking for more depth but coming up on the shallow side.  The most random addition to the film is Hayley Mills as a forensic FBI agent.  I’m not the only one who hasn’t seen much of her since my days watching The Parent Trap am I? At 78, people may not even recognize her, and she’s here mostly as a shadowy agent who speaks over a walkie talkie.  I wonder what made her want to do this part so badly. Stylistically, the film looks great. Cinematography is nice and the styling of the concert venue is dense and dark.  The look is given plenty of care, which makes it easy to look at, but style does not make the film great somehow.

Trap has a genuinely interesting premise that it somehow begins to squander before it can reach its potential. I do wonder about a few things.  One, why the big push to go for another PG-13 rating? I think if there were some boundaries pushed, the story could’ve had more breathing room and tension.  Two, the film is not meant to be scary but is meant to keep you on edge, which is struggles to do.  Three, even with a decent villain such as Cooper is, I found myself hoping he’d be caught somewhere just so the confrontation could move the action along.  As it stands, I will say Cooper is elusive, so the film drags a bit.  Finally, I wonder if the film could’ve been better if the pacing wasn’t so up and down.  I found myself wanting the story to keep moving along smoothly, but some moments stopped the films momentum.  In the end, I felt like some good ideas were hung up next to some dead ends and head-scratching secondary plot issues.  In my opinion, this is not topflight M. Night Shyamalan, but it could’ve been worse.

See my colleague Aaron Neuwirth’s Review HERE

Video:

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Layers: BD-66

HDR: Dolby Vision

Clarity/Detail: Trap was captured on film and its 4K Digital Intermediate helps to make the film shine in 4K. The film takes place a lot of the time in dim hallways and a dark concert venue with some bright lighting design coming through from time to time. Textures on clothing or on faces look very nice and even though there’s lots of time in the dark, we don’t lose any image detail.

Depth: The overall look of the film is one of focused sharpness.  There is a nice emphasis on bringing shots out with clarity and range, so even the tiniest of details can show up in the frame.

Black Levels: Inky blacks and zero crush come with this transfer. Shadow detail looks nice as well.

Color Reproduction: Colors pop during the concert scenes.  The costuming, the lighting and more make the color spectrum widen.  Scenes outside of the concert show a more reserved color palette but looks accurate, nonetheless.

Flesh Tones: Skin tone comes through with accuracy and good clarity.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean

Audio:

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, English Descriptive Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Audio, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles:  English SDH, French, Spanish

Dynamics: Atmos mixing puts you right in the Tanaka Arena for the Lady Raven concert.  The film does not have a ton of dynamic atmospherics, but the concert soundstage is big and wide.  Crowd noise and echo dominate, and bass delivers when music is being played.

Height: Height speakers are used for the concert sequences, with music, crowds and echoes coming out on top.

Low-Frequency Extension: Bass notes from Lady Raven’s jams permeate the subwoofer as well as a few tense moments involving the banging of a door.

Surround Sound Presentation: Surrounds contribute to the ambience inside the concert and in the halls of the arena too.  There is a slight echo going on everywhere in the cavernous arena, and those moments sound full thanks to the rear channels.

Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue is nice and cleanly listenable throughout.

Extras:

Extras for Trap are minute.  There is a 4-ish minute Shyamalan interview and a short piece on Saleka.  Deleted scenes and an extended musical sequence round out the bonuses. The film comes to 4K in a single-disc edition with a digital code and slipcover.

• Setting the Trap: A New M. Night Shayamalan Experience
• Saleka as Lady Raven
• Deleted Scenes
  • Cooper Gets Stopped by SWAT
  • Riley Shows Lady Raven Her Room
  • Cooper Takes a Hostage and Slips Away
• Extended Concert Scene: Where Did She Go

Summary:

I didn’t dislike Trap but I also admittedly didn’t love the movie.  I had to suspend disbelief a little more than I’d like to, and some of the turns we take are dead ends.  I did like seeing Josh Hartnett have fun being the bad guy, and Saleka will hopefully make more music after this, as I found her songs to be interesting even in passing.  The direction by M. Night Shyamalan remains trusty and engaging, but the film overall comes up short.  Worth a watch, but maybe not a blind buy.

Order Your Copy of Trap HERE