Trap 2024

The curtain rises on “The Butcher,” a tale of deceit and murder, as Cooper Adams (Josh Hartnett) accompanies his teenage daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to a concert featuring the enigmatic Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan). As they navigate the evening’s festivities, Riley’s struggles with her peers at school come into sharp focus, particularly her tumultuous relationship with Jody (Harley Ruznisky). The air is electric as Lady Raven takes the stage, sending the crowd - including Riley and her fellow concertgoers - into a frenzy.

Meanwhile, Cooper slips away to tend to his personal needs, using the opportunity to surreptitiously monitor his captive, Spencer Gordon (Mark Barcolcol), through a camera app. His attempt at discretion is short-lived, as he runs into Jody’s mother (Marnie McPhail) backstage, who is eager to mediate the conflict between her daughter and Riley. Cooper’s efforts to placate her are successful, but his unease is palpable as he rejoins Riley.

As the concert hits its stride, a sudden influx of police officers descends upon the venue, prompting Cooper to seek out the truth behind their presence. A chance encounter with Jamie (Jonathan Langdon), a vendor selling concert merchandise, provides the catalyst for this inquiry. Jamie’s cryptic warning about the notorious serial killer known as “The Butcher” being in attendance sets off alarm bells for Cooper, who is, in fact, the very individual he fears.

As the evening wears on, Cooper concocts a plan to create a diversion, using his supposed inebriation as cover to push a drunk woman down the stairs. This ruse allows him to momentarily escape detection and regroup with Riley. As Lady Raven takes the stage once more, this time joined by Parker Wayne (Russ Vitale), Cooper can’t help but feel an air of unease as he notes Parker’s sudden appearance from beneath the floorboards.

Seizing the opportunity to distract his daughter, Cooper suggests they sneak in to investigate the mysterious subterranean space. Riley is skeptical, but Cooper presses on, using Jamie’s ID card to gain access to a storage room. As they rummage through the shelves, Cooper engages Jamie in conversation about true crime stories, all while secretly pilfering his identification.

The stage is now set for a tense and thrilling game of cat and mouse, as Cooper must use his wits to evade capture and conceal his true identity from those around him.

As Cooper navigates the maze of security measures, he seizes an opportunity to infiltrate the break room where police officers are being briefed on their hunt for The Butcher. Utilizing his cunning guile, he commandeers a police radio and eavesdrops on Dr. Josephine Grant (Hayley Mills), the FBI’s top profiler, as she meticulously outlines every possible escape route The Butcher might exploit. With this valuable intel in hand, Cooper makes a hasty exit, only to encounter Jody’s mother once more - her hostility toward him escalating when he attempts to sidestep conversation. In an effort to deflect her ire, Cooper agrees to take Riley and Jody out for pizza, thereby allowing her mother to disperse.

Armed with knowledge of the police’s expectations, Cooper assumes the role of a lowly arena employee, engineering a diversion by carelessly disposing of two glass oil bottles into a sizzling fryer. Unbeknownst to him, an unsuspecting employee stumbles upon the area just as the bottles explosively shatter, covering her in scalding oil and inflicting severe burns. With chaos ensuing below, Cooper ascends to the rooftop, where he encounters two SWAT officers. Employing his pilfered identification (plucked from Spencer’s belongings) and a vital codeword (“Hamilton”), which every employee is supposed to know, Cooper successfully deceives the law enforcement officials.

Returning to the main event, Cooper learns that Lady Raven has a penchant for selecting a random audience member to be crowned the “Dreamer Girl,” who will subsequently dance to her song of the same name. Cooper engages in conversation with a spotter (M. Night Shyamalan), who also happens to be Lady Raven’s uncle. Cooper fabricates a heartfelt tale about Riley’s recent recovery from leukemia, which so moves the man that he decides to use his influence to facilitate Riley’s selection as the Dreamer Girl. As they are escorted backstage, Cooper remains vigilant for any signs of Grant and her cohorts. When the time arrives for Lady Raven to perform, both Jody and her mother are incensed by Riley’s unexpected elevation.

Following the song, Lady Raven shares the stage with fellow artist The Thinker (Scott Mescudi), while Cooper discreetly assists a fainting fan and guides her into the medical tent, all the while maintaining watchful eyes out for Grant and the officers.

As the tour manager ushers Cooper and Riley backstage to meet Lady Raven, an ominous undertone settles over the duo. Meanwhile, Cooper’s ears perk up as he catches snippets of a radio transmission instructing officers to scrutinize every male attendee before departing. His expression morphs from curiosity to alarm, and he quickly steers a private conversation with Lady Raven, revealing his true identity as The Butcher. With calculated calmness, he shares Spencer’s location on his phone, warning that if she alerts the authorities to his presence, he’ll ensure the room is suffocated by carbon monoxide. Cooper implores her to permit them to exit with her in her limousine, knowing it won’t be subject to the same scrutiny.

As they glide through the city in Lady Raven’s sleek vehicle, she extends an invitation for Cooper and Riley to drop off at their home, prompting Riley’s enthusiastic agreement. Cooper, however, remains skeptical, sensing ulterior motives at play. They arrive at his residence, where he is reunited with his wife, Rachel (Alison Pill), and young son/brother, Logan (Lochlan Miller). Lady Raven joins them for dinner, effortlessly blending into the family dynamic.

As they dine, Lady Raven’s conversation turns to The Butcher, revealing a deep understanding of his psyche. She delves into the intricacies of his possible obsessive-compulsive disorder, the fake homes he uses as crime scenes, and the unresolved issues stemming from his mother (a recurring theme throughout the film, with Cooper’s hallucinations of her serving as a haunting reminder). Lady Raven also broaches the topic of the police being tipped off to his appearance at the concert due to a ticket receipt found in one of his fabricated houses. As tensions simmer beneath the surface, Cooper struggles to intervene and extract them from the situation, but Lady Raven has other plans.

She proposes playing a melody on the piano, with Riley sitting beside her. As they harmonize, Lady Raven subtly takes possession of Cooper’s phone, her eyes locked onto its screen. The moment she disappears into the bathroom with the device, Cooper’s composure begins to fray.

As Lady Raven’s fingers danced across the camera app, a desperate attempt to connect with Spencer unfolded on her digital canvas. The livestreaming maverick leveraged her vast following, broadcasting her anguish and determination to unravel the mystery of Spencer’s disappearance. A fan’s keen observation about a distinctive landmark - a weathered lion statue adjacent to a blue-door abode - sparked Raven’s resolve, prompting her to dispatch an urgent message to her driver and the authorities. Meanwhile, Rachel’s skepticism was piqued by Raven’s revelations, but it wasn’t until Cooper burst into the scene, his wife and children nowhere to be found, that the gravity of the situation became apparent.

As Cooper prepared to take Raven into custody, a surprising turn of events transpired. Raven’s words dripped with maternal warmth as she addressed Cooper, a tactic that, while unsuccessful in fooling him, managed to elicit an admission: Cooper had always intended to commit one final heist before taking his own life. This candid confession paved the way for Cooper to open the garage door, revealing Rachel and their children waiting outside, flanked by the authorities.

As Raven stepped out of her vehicle, a sea of police and SWAT personnel converged on the property. Cooper seized the opportunity to slip away, disappearing through an exit that led into the neighboring yard. Donning a SWAT uniform, he commandeered Raven’s limousine, cuffing her to the door before making his escape.

As they drove into town, Raven employed her cunning charm to attract a throng of fans surrounding the limo. She then exploited the opportunity to pry open the handcuffs and break free. Just as Cooper was about to make his getaway, the authorities intervened, disabling the tires and shooting out the door - only to find the discarded SWAT uniform, leaving Cooper’s whereabouts unknown once more.

Lady Raven was escorted to Spencer’s location, where she warmly greeted and thanked the fan who had played a crucial role in her efforts. With Spencer safe and grateful in her presence, Lady Raven’s digital crusade had ultimately led to a poignant reunion.

As Rachel remains ensconced in her domestic sanctuary, awaiting the return of her children from her sister’s haven, an unexpected visitor arrives to seal her fate. Cooper, having reevaluated his precarious situation, now seeks to rectify the oversight that allowed him to evade detection at the concert - by eliminating the one individual who unwittingly foiled his plan. Rachel, however, has been privy to Cooper’s suspicious behavior, which she initially attributed to infidelity. The catalyst for her epiphany came when she noticed an unusual scent on him, reminiscent of hospital disinfectants rather than firefighting equipment. Her investigation led her to one of the abandoned buildings, where she discreetly deposited a ticket receipt before alerting the authorities. Cooper’s plan is to eliminate Rachel, but she decides to sweeten his fate with a homemade pie, celebrating Riley’s recent milestone. As he indulges in the treat, Rachel subtly adulterates it with a sedative, rendering him increasingly disoriented and susceptible to vivid hallucinations. The officers’ timely arrival finds Cooper struggling to maintain consciousness, eventually succumbing to repeated Taser strikes.

As Cooper is hauled away by law enforcement, Riley and Logan return home, their reunion marked by an emotional farewell as they bid Cooper adieu. In a poignant moment, he pauses to prop up Riley’s childhood bicycle, leaving behind a telltale sign of his true intentions. The camera pans out, revealing the missing spoke on the bike, which Cooper had covertly removed and now uses to manipulate the locks on his handcuffs, plotting another daring escape with an insidious grin.

In a separate narrative thread, Jamie sits at home, captivated by the news reports announcing The Butcher’s capture. Upon discovering that the perpetrator is none other than Cooper, Jamie’s composure falters, and she succumbs to sheer panic.