M. Night Shyamalan is back with another thriller as the director readies up for his latest release ‘Trap.’ The film centres on a father daughter duo who attend a concert but end up becoming a part of something way more sinister.
While the director talked about how the iconic movie ‘The Silence Of The Lambs’ served as an inspiration for his film, he also revealed that he used a Taylor Swift reference to pitch the idea for the film. Here’s how.
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Here’s How Taylor Swift Inspired M. Night Shyamalan’s Film ‘Trap’
Talking to Empire, M. Night Shyamalan talked about how the base of his idea for the film was a horror movie combined with a Taylor Swift concert. He had pitched the idea saying, “What if The Silence Of The Lambs happened at a Taylor Swift concert?”
‘Trap’ takes place at a concert, where the police plans to catch “The Butcher”, a serial killer. According to Shyamalan, the real-life Operation Flagship, a 1985 sting operation in which US Marshals used NFL tickets as a lure to track down criminals, also served as inspiration for some parts of his movie.
Josh Hartnett’s character Cooper and Ariel Donoghue’s character Riley go to a concert by the fictitious pop star Lady Raven. As Hartnett’s character discovers that the concert is actually a big cover-up by police in search of a serial killer known as the Butcher, it becomes clear that the event is not what it looks.
Cooper is told by a vendor in the trailer, “The entire concert is a scam. There’s no way to get out of here.” Inspired by a pop cultural event similar to Swift’s Eras Tour, Shyamalan’s film was envisioned as a “very scary and Hitchcockian”, one that revolved around a plan to capture someone inside.
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M. Night Shyamalan Talks About The Making Of ‘Trap’
M. Night Shyamalan talked about how he even directed the entire concert in 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,” he added. Shyamalan’s own daughter Saleka is the pop star in the film who has worked on the original score for the film and is also performing her original songs.
The film is set to release on August 2, 2024.
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