Trap is partly a thriller and partly a father-daughter story directed by Shyamalan that prominently features his actual singer-songwriter daughter. I think he made the film as a gift for her, since it doubles as a concert movie in a way. It's a fun story that Shyamalan keeps on the lighter side, despite the darker subject matter it gets into.

It's also kind of unstable and the plot stretches its believability to the breaking point later on. Part of the cause for that is Shyamalan's desire to give his daughter more time on camera, seemingly. The second half of Trap feels wobbly at times in a way most of his scripts do not.

What makes Trap stronger for me in a way its basic entertainment value and plot might not always be is the amount of self-awareness Shyamalan shows as a director, combined with a lot of humorous commentary on the filmmaking process and how human beings socialize (or think they socialize) with each other in modern society. It's funny and sometimes disturbing how many people are easily taken in by social niceties, huh? Even the kind that are superficial and inauthentic.

Since this is a Shyamalan movie, his warmth and earnestness counteract the uglier cynicism some of these lines of thinking can lead into. Goodness is a sincere, brave, and authentic soul, even when it resides in those who are seemingly simple, weak, or beneath notice. Not that it cannot also be found in those who seem remarkable on occasion, which is one of the more idealistic notions Trap entertains.