Includes MAJOR SPOILERS for Trap!
Summary
- Cooper’s complex double life intersects at a Lady Raven concert, resulting in a police trap.
- The film delves into Cooper’s psyche and family dynamics, leaving much for audiences to interpret.
- Uncertainty surrounds Cooper’s fate and past kills, hinting at a potential sequel or deeper narrative.
M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap leaves audiences with mysteries and unanswered questions about the film’s events. As indicated by the film’s marketing, the psychological thriller sees a man named Cooper who lives a double life as a family man and a serial killer. The police get wind of the fact that he’s going to be attending a concert for a pop singer named Lady Raven, so they set a trap for him, which he falls for when he attends with his daughter. Shyamalan’s marquee plot twists come into play as events barrel toward Trap’s ending, but some matters are left ambiguous.
The Trap cast is filled out by star Josh Hartnett, who plays Cooper; Saleka Shyamalan, who plays Lady Raven; and Ariel Donoghue, who plays Riley. While these three take up the majority of the screen time, other supporting players factor into events, with some creating more questions than answers regarding their importance to the film. Cooper’s psychological examination is also a central element in Trap, with a good amount left for audiences to discern from the film’s minimal exposition.
8 Did Cooper Plan To Kill Jody’s Mom?
Cooper Has Complicated Feelings Toward Jody’s Mom
Jody’s mom, played by Marnie McPhail, is one of the film’s red herrings. She shows up early in the process and distracts Cooper while he starts to consider potential escape routes. From what audiences are told, Riley has been having a conflict with a friend named Jody from school, who’s also at the concert. Jody’s mom wants to rectify this conflict and pressures Cooper to do so while attending the Lady Raven event. This event is built to appear like it will be a major factor in the film’s outcome, but it’s left in the second act with nothing more to consider.
Something audiences know about Cooper is that he’s an impeccable liar, able to come up with quick solutions and emulate friendly behavior on the spot. He uses this at various moments around the stadium when interacting with various employees, tricking them into believing he’s safe. However, it looks like he struggles to lie in front of Jody’s mom, showing some clear disdain for her and Riley’s situation at school. At times, it almost seems like he has the intention of killing Jody’s mother, and it could’ve been in his future plans.
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7 Did Cooper Escape At The End?
Cooper Picked The Lock On His Handcuffs
Custom Image by Yailin Chacon
Trap’s third act becomes a cat-and-mouse game between Cooper and the police. On multiple occasions, they believe they have him surrounded at his house, in Lady Raven’s limousine, and at the very end when he’s been handcuffed. Yet, the film’s closing shot sees him picking the lock, implying that he’ll escape again. The thematic value here is slightly confusing, but it does leave some ambiguity of whether he was actually apprehended or whether he’s still on the run, leaving the potential open for a sequel.
The Trap post-credits scene shows Cooper’s identity publicized on the news, which could suggest that he’s been fully captured. Regardless, he could escape again, and a Trap sequel would have heightened stakes with his identity now being well known. It looks like there’s more story to tell regarding Cooper’s double lives and the relationship he has left over with Riley and his son, Logan. This ambiguity seems quite redundant, given how many times he’s already escaped captivity unless it is meant to be a cliffhanger for a future film.
6 What Was The Deal With The Thinker?
Kid Cuddi’s Cameo Adds Some Confusion
Cooper describes his second persona, the Butcher, as an impulse he gets. He has the sudden desire to kill, which he claims occurs when he sees someone who thinks they have it together. He has this impulse when he watches Lady Raven backstage and later tells her he wants to kill her. However, the impulse comes right when Kid Cudi makes his cameo as The Thinker, another fictional musical artist who shows up at Lady Raven’s concert to perform with her. He appears to be another red herring in the story.
Cooper might be considering that if Lady Raven associates with The Thinker, she isn’t quite as good and well-meaning as she wants her fans to believe.
The Thinker’s importance is momentarily exaggerated upon his arrival, especially when audiences see Cooper having his murderous impulse. It’s possible that The Thinker’s behind-the-scenes rudeness implies a shallowness to Lady Raven’s stage persona. Cooper might be considering that if Lady Raven associates with The Thinker, she isn’t quite as good and well-meaning as she wants her fans to believe. But the meaning of this scene isn’t entirely clear.
5 Did Cooper Kill His Own Mom?
Cooper Could Be Seeing His Mother Because He Murdered Her
Cooper’s mother appears in brief hallucinations throughout the film, and it’s later revealed that she is a significant reason for his twisted mental behavior. Dr. Grant, the criminal profiler who hunts Cooper, carefully notes that his mother is a likely weakness to all involved, and Lady Raven even uses this to try and manipulate him in the third act. Even though he’s clearly affected by it and has a serious emotional reaction to reminders of his mother, he doesn’t end up falling for the trick.
While something about the relationship between Cooper and his mother is undoubtedly a contributing factor to his murderous ways, the exact context of their relationship is never revealed. This begs a theory regarding the fate of his mother. If he’s seeing hallucinations of her, it’s very possible that she’s dead, which could mean that he killed her. It’s a common psychological thriller/horror trope for someone to see visions of a person they’ve previously killed.
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4 What Was Cooper’s Involvement With Riley’s School Situation?
Cooper Doesn’t Want Riley’s Friendship Troubles To Be Solved, Despite What He Claims
As previously mentioned, Cooper appears to have strong feelings regarding Riley’s situation with Jody and the other girls at school. When Jody’s mother attempts to apologize for whatever has transpired and tries to mend the gap, Cooper looks to be personally invested in making sure this doesn’t happen. He directly condemns Jody’s mother, saying the situation was hard to see as Riley’s father, even after she tries to extend an olive branch.
If Cooper cares about Riley, he’d probably want to help her solve the situation with her friends. Maybe he doesn’t want Riley to have friends, so she’ll feel more dependent on him.
Not to mention, when Jody’s mother offers for Cooper and Riley to come find her and Jody at the concert, he agrees to do it. Then, when he’s back with Riley, he suggests that they should stay where they are and avoid Jody for the day. If Cooper cares about Riley, he’d probably want to help her solve the situation with her friends. Maybe he doesn’t want Riley to have friends, so she’ll feel more dependent on him. This would align with some narcissistic personality traits and raise questions about his genuine care for his family.
3 How Does Cooper Differentiate His Lives Psychologically?
Cooper May Not Actually Love His Family
Regarding Cooper’s care for his family, he’s clearly capable of putting on a show and presenting himself as a caring father and husband. But the important questions here concern whether he can genuinely care for them or if it’s all for show. When confronting his wife, Rachel, he claims that he’s angry toward her for ridding him of the option of seeing Riley and Logan grow up, which expands on the narcissistic element. Rather than taking responsibility for his actions and the fact that he’s killing people, he blames Rachel for catching him in the act.
He may think he has genuine emotions for his family, but he could see them as projections of himself.
Cooper claims that he carefully differentiates his double lives, but the film indicates that his true feelings are for his serial killer persona. He may think he has genuine emotions for his family, but he could see them as projections of himself. His children are like positive reflections of him that allow him to cope with his behavior. There’s no real answer to these questions, but it’s an engaging mystery that’s worth mulling over after the film is over.
2 How Many People Has Cooper Really Killed?
The Police Have Found 12 Bodies, But There Could Be More
Jamie, the man who works at the shirt vendor, claims that the Butcher’s body count is up to twelve. However, these are only the kills that have been firmly documented by the police and can be directly tied to one person. It’s definitely possible that Cooper has murdered before and that some weren’t directly tied to him. Especially considering the possibility that Cooper has killed his own mother, it’s likely that she wouldn’t be included as one of the twelve, as it would directly link one of the murders to him.
Serial killers tend to leave patterns, and the manner of their murders can be used as a psychological basis for their motivations. Therefore, it would be out of character for there to be too much variation in those he’s killed. For the most part, his murders seem to be impersonal, but he reveals to Rachel that he plans on killing her out of anger. If he’s killed before in a personal manner, it would likely utilize different methods that the police wouldn’t associate with the Butcher.
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1 How Would The Police Know Cooper Was The Butcher If He Was Caught?
Could Cooper Have Gotten Out Of The Police Examination By Lying?
Cooper is at risk of being captured by the police at the Lady Raven concert throughout the film. The police are manhandling random suspects in hopes of gathering information and eliminating potential suspects, and they’re planning to search every adult male upon their exit from the stadium. They’ve been trained by Dr. Grant to conduct these searches in some psychological manner, which could indicate who the Butcher is, but there’s still no proof they would actually be able to identify him.
The only evidence Cooper carries that he’s the Butcher is behind a locked app on his cellphone, which he’d likely keep well-guarded. He’s an exceptional liar, so it’s possible he could play the role of the caring father and escape the concert just by going through the police search and answering their questions well. The only giveaway would be his tattoo, but it’s hard to believe he wouldn’t have prepared alibis for his murders. The police examination in Trap might not actually have worked.
Trap 
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Trap is a film by writer-director M. Night Shyamalan under his Blinding Edge Pictures label. The film is part of a deal struck with Warner Bros for him to direct and produce several films under their banner.
Director M. Night Shyamalan Release Date August 2, 2024 Studio(s) Blinding Edge Pictures , New Line Cinema Cast Josh Hartnett , Hayley Mills , Marnie McPhail , Vanessa Smythe , Saleka Shyamalan , Malik Jubal , Jonathan Langdon , Peter D’Souza , Ty Pravong , Kaitlyn Dallan