‘Trap’ eyes an August release, and M. Night Shyamalan looks to have something special here

Few names in the realm of cinema are as particularly evocative as M. Night Shyamalan; a filmmaker that’s given us such gifts as The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, but who maybe played with his reputation as “the twist guy” a bit too recklessly, hence the many issues (mostly script-related) that have plagued his productions since.

Knock at the Cabin was only a marginal improvement of sorts over his previous couple of films, but now with Trap, his latest upcoming feature whose trailer made itself known to the world not too long ago, he has a chance to step back into his strength in a big way here. Given that it’s an original script from the filmmaker (his most dire works have all been adaptations, while plenty of his best ones were dreamed up by him), and also one seemingly devoid of any sci-fi or fantasy elements, this just might be the new adventure that Shyamalan needed to get back on track.

What is Trap about?

Trap tells the story of The Butcher, a serial killer who chains up his victims before hacking away at them with a sharp cleaver, and also a corny, loving father to his tween daughter, whom he’s brought to see her idol, Lady Raven, at a live concert. When he notices a suspiciously large police presence at the event, he learns that they’ve followed a lead that The Butcher (i.e. him) is at the Lady Raven concert, and have the building surrounded in hopes of catching him.

Our Shyamalan senses tell us that the daughter may have a bit of knowledge that she doesn’t want certain people to know. Whether “certain people” could mean her dad or the police is another question entirely, and also hinges on this hunch being correct, which we won’t know for sure until we see the film.

Who stars in Trap?

Josh Hartnett stars in Trap as The Butcher, while Ariel Donoghue, Hayley Mills, Allison Pill, Marnie McPhail, and Vanessa Smythe also star. Saleka Shyamalan, the daughter of M. Night, portrays Lady Raven.

M. Night directs his own script while also serving as one of three producers, alongside Marc Bienstock and Ashwin Rajan.

When does Trap release?

Trap is set to hit theaters on August 9 later this year, meaning we’ve got a summer full of Shyamalan ahead of us thanks to The Watchers—the directorial debut of Ishana Night Shyamalan, another of M. Night’s daughters—releasing in June.