Trap’s Serial Killer Story Is More Surprising After I Figured This Out

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Trap (2024)

Director M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap was a twisty serial killer thriller, but the horror movie’s tense plot became much more surprising when I discovered a surprising element of its storytelling. Trap is the latest movie from divisive director M. Night Shyamalan. A psychological thriller set at a pop star’s concert, Trap stars Josh Hartnett as Cooper, a charismatic suburban dad who secretly moonlights as a sadistic serial killer dubbed “The Butcher.” Although the Butcher has gotten away with his heinous crimes for a long time, the police have finally gotten a lead on his real identity and set up an elaborate trap.

Unfortunately for Cooper, that trap is the concert he is attending with his teenage daughter. As Hartnett’s quick-thinking villain realizes that he has been outsmarted, he starts an elaborate game of cat and mouse with the police surrounding the stadium. By Trap’s twist ending, the Butcher has gotten backstage, taken the pop star hostage, returned home to his family, and almost escaped justice. However, his wife manages to drug Cooper, allowing the police to take him into custody. Trap’s post-credits scene implies that the Butcher’s killing spree may not be over yet, but this isn’t the biggest surprise in the movie’s ending.

Trap’s Entire Serial Killer Story Happens Without Anyone Dying

Trap Has A Shockingly Low Body Count For A Horror Thriller

Cooper is last seen grinning to himself in the back of a police van as he uses a stolen bike spoke to pick the lock of his handcuffs. It seems clear that Hartnett’s character will use his cunning to evade the police once more, but this twist ending made Trap’s body count all the more surprising to me. I almost couldn’t believe that Trap is a serial killer thriller with no onscreen character deaths. Cooper pushes a concert attendee down the stairs and burns another with fryer oil to cause a distraction, but these characters don’t die onscreen.

No one actually dies during Trap’s story, not even Hartnett’s villain. That is pretty unusual for a movie about a serial killer, as I’m used to the horror subgenre boasting pretty impressive body counts. Some of Trap’s mixed reviews did cite the movie’s bloodlessness as an issue, but it is a typically subversive decision from a director whose output is defined by side-stepping audience expectations. For better or worse, M. Night Shyamalan always has a few tricks up his sleeve. As such, I really shouldn’t be shocked that he managed to make a serial killer movie where no one dies.

The Lack Of Death In Trap Subverted Genre & Shyamalan Expectations

Horror Movies And Shyamalan’s Earlier Efforts Usually Include Deaths

Horror movies in general, serial killer thrillers specifically, and Shyamalan’s earlier movies in particular all often involve death. Several of my favorite Shyamalan movies, like Signs and The Sixth Sense, center on themes of life and death. Thus, Trap truly subverts audience expectations when no one dies after foreshadowing Raven, Cooper, and Rachel’s potential deaths. Since serial killer thrillers like The Silence of the Lambs, Se7en, and even 2024’s sleeper hit Longlegs usually involve copious carnage, it is a genuine surprise that Trap dodges this expectation. Shyamalan’s thriller may not be perfect, but Trap does catch viewers by surprise.

Trap

Release Date

August 2, 2024

Studio(s)

Blinding Edge Pictures , New Line Cinema

Cast

Josh Hartnett , Hayley Mills , Marnie McPhail , Vanessa Smythe , Saleka Shyamalan , Malik Jubal , Jonathan Langdon , Peter D’Souza , Ty Pravong , Kaitlyn Dallan