If a new M. Night Shyamalan movie is coming out, you know we’d like to talk about some spoilers. so let’s do this trapstarring Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, and Saraika Shyamalan.
although trap There are a lot of twists and turns in the film, but it doesn’t really have those shocking Shyamalan twists. Or… is it? For our money, the biggest reveal in the film isn’t that Cooper (Harnett) and Riley (Donoghue) escape from the concert in Mrs. Raven’s (Shyamalan) limousine. That’s not even what happened when they got back to her house. At that moment, Cooper escapes again, returning to learn that it was his wife (Alison Pill) who placed the Crow Lady’s ticket receipt in one of his hideouts. Despite everything she’s said in a few scenes before, she actually does have a gut feeling that her husband is the butcher, and with the help of law enforcement, she’s bound to find out the truth.
But is this a Shyamalan twist? It’s certainly unexpected and satisfying, turning a fun cat-and-mouse thriller on its head with a strong message about female intuition. In a way, this also turns the movie on its head, because we know that Riley’s mom and Cooper’s wife are indirectly responsible for everything that happens in the movie. And don’t forget, the fact that Peele is in the movie didn’t appear in the trailer at all, as it would have revealed someone else dropped out of the concert. So on those basis, maybe this is Shyamalan’s twist, just to a lesser degree. Either way, it’s an interesting, surprising reveal.
The film ends with Cooper being captured, hugging his son and getting into an armored vehicle. We then realize he stole a spoke from his son’s bike and will attempt another escape at some point. It’s an interesting, open-ended note that could keep the movie going, but I’m not sure it works. The entire film is a tightrope act for the audience. Do we want to see him arrested or do we want to see him escape? In the end, you’d hope Shyamalan would be on one side or the other. Instead, by continuing the situation and leaving us to interpret whether he will run away again, the film loses some of its potential impact. I didn’t like that moment.
However, I absolutely loved the ending credits of this movie. We return to the supplier (Jonathan Langdon), who first told Cooper about the trap. He also gave him the password, had his badge stolen, and basically screwed everything up. He is watching TV and hears that The Butcher has been captured, and we see him realize that Cooper is The Butcher and he helps The Butcher escape. He was shocked.
That moment, while secondary to the plot, was great and made you feel something by the end. Plus, this wasn’t even in Shyamalan’s original plans. “That wasn’t in the script,” he told io9. “I said, ‘Wow, you know what? I’m just going to shoot. I was like, ‘Go ahead, let’s get ready. It’ll only take an hour or two and I’ll shoot, let’s get started.
So, these are our thoughts on all the big themes at the end trap. And you?
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