Director M. Night Shyamalan Talks 'Trap' Trailer

Moviefone speaks with M. Night Shyamalan about 'Trap' Trailer. "The idea was, how can we do diegetic music in a thriller that's not fluff." the director said.

Scheduled to open in theaters on August 9th is the new thriller from acclaimed filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan (‘The Sixth Sense,’ ‘Unbreakable’) entitled ‘Trap’. The new movie stars Josh Hartnett (‘Oppenheimer’), Hayley Mills (‘The Parent Trap’), and M. Night’s real-life daughter, singer Saleka Shyamalan.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of attending an event called “Summer of Shyamalan,” which included a screening of the new trailer from ‘Trap’ that dropped today and you can watch above. As well as screening 10 minutes of footage from the new movie by M. Night Shyamalan’s other daughter, filmmaker Ishana Night Shyamalan, entitled ‘The Watchers.’

Trap

"30,000 fans. 300 cops. 1 serial killer. No escape."

PG-131 hr 45 minAug 2nd, 2024

Showtimes & Tickets

Watch Trap Online

M. Night Shyamalan Introduces the ‘Trap’ Trailer

Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan of 'Trap' attends the "Summer of Shyamalan" event at Soho House on April 16, 2024 in West Hollywood, California. Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Warner Bros.

Before we screened the new trailer, the director explained the genesis of the project and developing it with his daughter, Saleka Shyamalan.

So, ‘Trap’ was this kind of very interesting genesis of each time out, I'm trying to do something, I think that fusion of genres a little bit. So just for me, it's exciting. For 30 years I've been making movies now and the idea of that. You've got the comic that's distinct and unique. I know sometimes the system doesn't like that, that it's completely original, completely different. But I think more and more that's becoming a signature beacon that kind of pops out to the audience, and they're so savvy, they can feel that. In this case, my oldest daughter, Saleka is an amazing musician that's classically trained, a pianist and was going to go do that for her life and go to conservatory. Then she started to write and sing. Then she started touring and she signed to Columbia Records. We would follow her around the country and be backstage at Radio City Music Hall or wherever it was and got to see that life a bit. We started talking about the idea of the experience of seeing a concert and the experience of seeing a movie as these kinds of beautiful last experiences that we do together. We started talking and I said, "What if we did one together?" This is going to sound crazy after you see the trailer but, we're huge fans of ‘Purple Rain.’ So, I was like, it's a narrative structure, a diegetic where the song is part of the story and fusing these two worlds together. It doesn't happen very often, if ever, as opposed to the U2 song playing over a montage or something like that. But the characters are experiencing that thing. So, me and her started talking about, "Hey, we should think of something because this is one house where you could write the album and we can make the movie." So, one day I got this idea and I said, "Oh my gosh, I got this idea to do this, it takes place at a concert." Then I thought for a bit, I didn't know exactly the point of view of how to do it. Then one day I was like, "What if I did it from that angle?" I told her and she was like, "Oh my God, let's do this." So, this is two years later and here is that experiment.

What does the trailer reveal about the plot of ‘Trap?’

Josh Hartnett in 'Trap'. Photo: Warner Bros.

The trailer reveals that ‘Trap’ is about a father, played by Josh Hartnett, who takes his daughter to a famous pop singer’s stadium concert. The musician is portrayed by Saleka Shyamalan and is clearly a Taylor Swift level performer.

Hartnett’s character soon discovers that the entire concert is really a trap set by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to capture a notorious serial killer. Shyamalan is best known for the surprising twists in his movies, and ‘Trap’ is no exception as the end of the trailer leads one to believe that Hartnett is really playing the killer who has been trapped.

But we’ll have to wait and see what other twists and turns Shyamalan has in store for us when ‘Trap’ hits theaters on August 9th.

M. Night Shyamalan Explains ‘Trap’

'Trap' director M. Night Shyamalan at CinemaCon 2024. Photo: Warner Bros.

Moviefone had a chance to speak with M. Night Shyamalan after the screening to talk about his work on ‘Trap.’

Moviefone: Can you talk about coming up with the concept for ‘Trap’ and what were the themes you wanted to explore with this movie?

M. Night Shyamalan: The idea was, how can we do diegetic music in a thriller that's not fluff, that it's really conveying the circumstances and the tone of the piece and is tied to characters very deeply. So, that thought pattern, because of the arenas and these concert venues that I've seen Saleka in and playing. I was like, "Wow, we should set it in there. It could be a larger version of one of my movies, like a house." A lot of times, I have characters just trapped in a house. So, this is a larger version of that. So, having that conversation and talking with Saleka about that character and, as a real character, why do they sing what they sing? What did these songs mean to her fans?

MF: At this point in your career, audiences expect a certain kind of movie from you as a director, something in the horror genre. But ‘Trap’ seems more like a suspenseful thriller. Can you talk about the genre and subverting expectations with this film?

MNS: I love ‘Shadow of a Doubt.’ I have that poster up in the house and it has a wicked tone about it. The uncle that's so sweet and it turns out he's not so sweet. The young woman who's his niece and all that stuff, that's named after him/ and all of that. The humor of that movie. So, Hitchcock will forever be the teacher. Somewhere deep in my childhood the DNA is built in there about these archetypes of the bad guy you love.

Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan of 'Trap' and writer/director Ishana Shyamalan of 'The Watchers' attend the "Summer of Shyamalan" event at Soho House on April 16, 2024 in West Hollywood, California.

(L to R) Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan of 'Trap' and writer/director Ishana Shyamalan of 'The Watchers' attend the "Summer of Shyamalan" event at Soho House on April 16, 2024 in West Hollywood, California. Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Warner Bros.