M. Night Shyamalan’s new thriller “Trap” finds itself in an unenviable position. It’s releasing at a time that immediately puts it against box office juggernauts like the immensely fun disaster romp “Twisters” and the MCU’s fan-pandering cash cow “Deadpool & Wolverine”. But hopefully Shyamalan’s latest can find an audience because it offers more fresh and fun entertainment from a filmmaker who plays with big original ideas during a time when Hollywood seems short on them.

Shyamalan’s filmography is littered with several big hits and a handful of misses. But the writer-director nearly always offers something distinctly his own. Not every movie of his lands, but when they do (and they often do, to various degrees) he leaves you feeling as if you’ve been treated to something unlike anything else showing at your local multiplex. “Trap” continues that trend while at the same time falling somewhere between the filmmaker’s greater and lesser movies.

The film stars Josh Hartnett whose big screen resurgence really kicked into gear last year with Guy Ritchie’s rambunctious “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre” and of course Christopher Nolan’s Academy Award winning epic “Oppenheimer”. To no surprise, “Trap” is a much different movie but Hartnett is equally good in it. He plays Cooper, a seemingly ordinary dad who surprises his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) with concert tickets to see her favorite pop superstar, Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan). We’re talking legitimate ‘Father of the Year’ stuff, right?

Set in Philadelphia, the story picks up with Cooper and Riley on their way to the arena. As they ride, Cooper enjoys his daughter’s Swiftie-like enthusiasm which only intensifies once they arrive and find their seats. Before long 30,000 screaming girls and their chaperone parents are greeted by Lady Raven and the massive stage show begins.

But in one of the film’s wackier yet enjoyable turns, the entire concert is revealed to be a trap set by police to apprehend a brutal serial killer known as the Butcher. Local law enforcement and federal agents by the hundreds converge on the arena and begin setting up a perimeter. Led by a seasoned profiler, Dr. Grant (Hayley Mills), the authorities cover every exit and start scoping the crowd for their suspect. And to make things crazier, we learn in the first 15 minutes or so that Cooper is the Butcher. Scratch that ‘Father of the Year’ bid.

From there a big chunk of the story focuses on the crazy chess match between Cooper and the cops. They don’t know The Butcher’s real identity but they know he’s at the concert. Cooper discovers their trap and has to find a way to escape without being exposed. And all while hiding it from his daughter. It leads to several moments of real tension, some unexpected dark humor, and other scenes that are utterly preposterous.

The cat-and-mouse game in the arena is the movie at its most diverting. But it’s somewhat shortchanged by Shyamalan’s heavy promotion of his daughter’s music (Saleka composed 14 original songs for the movie). The concert setting is brilliantly captured and strikingly authentic. And Saleka is certainly a talented musician. But Shyamalan’s focus on her ‘show within the show’ eats up time that could have went towards making things more thrilling and plausible. And later, both Saleka and the movie struggles once he thrusts her into an acting role.

I’m betting most of the criticisms with revolve around the movie’s final 30 minutes. No spoilers here, but Shyamalan overextends his story into some surprisingly conventional directions. And as a thriller, the further it goes the less effective it becomes. To its credit, “Trap” has an undeniably delightful Hitchcockian flavor and Josh Hartnett is lights-out fantastic in the film’s maniacal lead role. It’s the scattershot script that holds the film back.

“Trap” doesn’t fall among Shyamalan’s best works largely because its story hinges on too many glaring conveniences, contrivances, and confounding character actions. At the same time, maybe it unfair to expect each of his movies to be another “Signs”, “The Sixth Sense”, or “Split”. “Trap” is best received as a straight popcorn movie – one full of big ideas that it can’t quite see through to the end. That proved to be more than enough to hold my attention, even if it left me wanting something more. “Trap” opens today exclusively in theaters.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS