Spoilers ahead for M. Night Shyamalan‘s Trap.
The summer movie season offered a slew of exciting horror flicks, including the latest M. Night Shyamalan movie: Trap. He’s a director that’s given us some of the best horror movies, including his big debut The Sixth Sense (which is streaming with a Max subscription). Hear me out: I finally watched Trap, and it proves Shyamalan doesn’t need big twists.
M. Night Shyamalan’s movie twists are synonymous with his work throughout the years, although their effectiveness depend on each project. When the trailer for Trap revealed that Josh Hartnett‘s Cooper was actually a serial killer known as “The Butcher”, fans worried that the big twist was spoiled. While there were still some unexpected plot points, the movie didn’t really have a mind-blowing final twist. And to put it frankly, it simply didn’t need it.
Because the trailers set up at Cooper was The Butcher, some fans thought that perhaps Shyamalan was going go turn this story on its head. Fans debated if Josh Hartnett’s protagonist was innocent all along, with the real Butcher putting him in an impossible position. Alas, that wasn’t the case, and the narrative was much more straight forward than twisty movies like The Village.
As previously mentioned, there were still surprising moments in Trap. For one, the character Lady Raven became a much bigger presence, with the pop star going toe to toe with Cooper throughout the movie’s runtime. I thought she was merely going to be singing in the concert scenes, and didn’t expect her to be the movie’s hero.
Perhaps the biggest twist in the entire movie came during its third act. Here, it was revealed that Cooper’s wife Rachel (played by the fantastic Allison Pill) actually worked with the feds to arrange the titular trap for him at the concert. But that surprise still worked within the rules established for Trap by M. Night Shyamalan. So I wouldn’t consider it to be on the same level as twists from projects like Signs, The Happening, or Split.
Shyamalan is a visionary filmmaker who has never really been far from theaters since becoming a name with The Sixth Sense. And while he’s synonymous with his mind-blowing movie twists, Trap shows that he truly doesn’t need them. His latest movie effectively built tension, and keeps audience on their toes thanks its mix of horror and dark humor. Who needs crazy Shyamalan-ian twists anyway?
It should be interesting to see what comes next for M. Night Shyalaman, and whether or not he returns to bringing wild twists to theaters. For now, check the 2025 movie release dates. As for his latest movie Trap, it’s available for rent and purchase on digital right now… sans twist.
