M. Night Shyamalan Pitched TRAP as "SILENCE OF THE LAMBS at a Taylor Swift Concert"
A new trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s new thriller Trap dropped recently, and this looks like it’s going to be a great movie!
The film sees a dad named Cooper (Josh Hartnett) take his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) go to a big pop concert by Lady Raven (Saleka). While there, Cooper learns that the concept is a trap for a serial killer known as “The Butcher,” who is actually Cooper.
When he finds this out, he becomes unhinged and start lashing out in various ways during the concert. Now, the director reveals his initial pitch for the film, “What if The Silence of the Lambs happened at a Taylor Swift concert?”
During an interview with Shyamalan, he told Empire that the movie was also inspired in part by the real ‘Operation Flagship’, which was a 1985 plot in which several fugitives were offered free NFL tickets, and the chance to win an all-expenses-paid Super Bowl trip. Except, 100-odd hopefuls attended and discovered that it was a sting operation.
Shyamalan said: “It was hilarious. The cops were literally cheerleaders and mascots. These guys were dancing as they came in. And they were all caught. It was so twisted and funny.”
He went on to talk about directing the film, saying: “I directed an entire concert! And it wasn’t just a thing in the background. It’s equally important. There is no pretend concert going on. I love the idea of cinema as windows within windows.
“One of the reasons to come see the movie at the movie theatre is because there’s literally a real concert that you can see nowhere except in that movie.”
The filmmaker went on to talk about original storytelling in film saying: “I really do believe in the original movie. I want the industry to move towards more original storytelling.
“I think audiences would really like it. Look, I know there’s safety in IP. But it’s really important that we come to the movies and see something we’ve never seen before. I’ll keep fighting for that.”
While Shyamalan is a hit-and-miss filmmaker, I do appreciate his love of storytelling and his desire to make original movies. It’s good that he’s still pushing for that, especially in a time where Hollywood is hyper-focused on remakes and sequels.
Trap will hit theaters on August 9, 2024.