Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Trap viewers complain of one major ‘plot hole’ in new twist-filled M Night Shyamalan thriller

The ‘Sixth Sense’ director is known for his big reveals

Louis Chilton
Saturday 17 August 2024 10:04 BST
Comments
Trap trailer

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Cinemagoers have complained of an apparent “plot hole” in Trap, the latest film from director M Night Shyamalan.

The movie, released in UK cinemas last week, follows a serial killer known as “The Butcher” (Josh Hartnett), who is ensnared in a police sting operation while taking his daughter to an arena concert of a Taylor Swift-esque pop star.

Shyamalan’s own daughter, musician Saleka Shyamalan, portrays the pop idol in the film, known as Lady Raven.

Like much of Shyamalan’s ouevre, Trap has garnered mixed responses from audiences and critics. Positive reviews have praised the film’s originality, humour and premise, while criticisms have focused primarily on the dialogue and plot contrivances.

On social media, many viewers have claimed to have noticed “holes” in the logic of the film, with one particularly common complaint emerging about the nature of the Lady Raven concert.

Some spoilers for Trap follow... you have been warned!

In the film, the concert is seen to be taking place during the day, with the lighting only transitioning to night in the final scenes, long after the Lady Raven gig is over.

However, as many viewers have pointed out, arena gigs are never staged in the middle of the afternoon.

“I think the wildest thing about Trap is we’re supposed to believe that lady’s concert started at like 2 in the afternoon??” one baffled viewer wrote on X/Twitter.

Josh Hartnett in ‘Trap’
Josh Hartnett in ‘Trap’ (© 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

“No popstar in the world would have an arena show in the afternoon,” another noted on Reddit.

Others pointed out the apparent lack of security given to Lady Raven in the aftermath of her show, with one person describing the bodyguard situation as another “plot hole” in Shyamalan’s latest film.

Apple TV+ logo

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free
Apple TV+ logo

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free

Elsewhere, Hartnett recently revealed that he had taken inspiration from “psychopaths” in show business for his performance.

“There are a lot of CEOs, politicians, people in our business… a lot of people who are at the top,” Hartnett told Entertainment Weekly.

“They don’t mind stepping over people or doing horrible things to get where they’re going, and not having any empathy is a pretty big sign of being a psychopath.

“Whether or not you’re murdering people, I’ve met people like this, you know what I mean?”

Trap is out in cinemas now.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in