‘Superbly devious’: Josh Hartnett is goofy and sinister in trashy serial killer thriller

Josh Hartnett flips between goofy and sinister as a serial killer dad in Sixth Sense director M. Night Shyamalan’s latest trashy, twisty-turny thriller, Trap.

With a pulpy pleasure from a twist-loving veteran to the return of the always solid Matt Damon, there’s some top viewing options on the big and small screen this week

TRAP (M)

Josh Hartnett and Ariel Donoghue in the twisty thriller Trap.

Director: M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense)

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Hayley Mills, Alison Pill

Rating: ★★★

Attending a show that is all for show

A pulpy popcorn thriller that punches above its weight is nothing to be looked down upon, even when its kooky collection of twists, turns and backflips all but urge you to write the whole thing off.

However high a pile of junk Trap proves to be, there can be no denying it has been precision-stacked to keep you intrigued, disturbed and entertained.

All of this is pretty good going for a movie that unconventionally places a big reveal concerning its chief protagonist so early on in proceedings. (Spoiler alerts? Trap just can’t be bothered with ’em. Even its trailer wastes no time letting its biggest cat out of the bag.)

So isn’t long before we have learned a shocking thing or two (or three) about a seemingly sedate suburban family man named Cooper (Josh Hartnett).

To the naked eye, Cooper fits the perfect profile of a dorky dad treating his teenage daughter to a reward for doing so well at school.

Riley (Ariel Donoghue) is understandably blown away to be attending a sellout stadium show by her favourite musical artist, Lady Raven. So much so that she doesn’t always notice that her father keeps ducking off to, ummm, attend to some business elsewhere in the venue.

The movie doesn’t conjure any air of mystery regarding these sudden absences. On his way into the gig, Cooper has gleaned that the entire show is being staged by the FBI as an elaborate ploy to ensnare a notorious serial killer known as The Butcher.

Josh Hartnett as serial killer The Butcher in Trap.

Naturally, Cooper would like to know a little more about what America’s foremost criminal investigatory body is up to. After all, he is The Butcher.

While that is indeed one heck of a hey-just-wait-a-minute gearshift to be revving up Trap’s storytelling engine, the movie is not about to waste any time letting you question the loopy logic of its premise.

Instead, courtesy of a superbly devious performance from Hartnett – who can switch between Cooper’s goofy and sinister modes with deranged glee – the movie’s simple cat-and-mouse set-up sinks its claws into you and just doesn’t let go.

Veteran filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan is clearly having as much fun as Hartnett is here, manipulating the viewer to continually grapple with the same paradox repeatedly: just as there are moments where you weirdly find yourself hoping Cooper doesn’t get caught, you also don’t want to see this fiendish psychopath getting away with his multitude of murders.

Trap is in cinemas August 8

THE INSTIGATORS (M)

Matt Damon and Casey Affleck as low-rent thieves The Instigators.

Rating: ★★★½

Streaming on Apple TV+ from August 9

There hasn’t been a lot of Matt Damon in movies recently, so it is good to be reminded he can still carry a motion picture as effortlessly and convincingly as ever. Which is not to say this high-spirited heist flick is placing Damon or his equally accomplished co-star Casey Affleck under any adverse pressure to deliver.

They play a pair of amateur crooks who make the mistake of accepting a job that might have been better handled by true professionals. After their haphazardly planned robbery of a Boston cash-grab masquerading as a sophisticated election-night soiree goes horribly wrong, Rory (Damon) and Cobby (Affleck) find themselves chased by the kind of heavies you just don’t want chasing you.

This is a straightforward, bickering-buddies action affair that is too old-school for words, but one that never lets its energy levels lag for a nanosecond. Damon’s former Bourne Identity director Doug Liman handles the set-piece sequences with amusing aplomb, never allowing the high stakes in play to get in the road of a good time. Solid stuff all round. Co-stars Ving Rhames, Ron Perlman, Michael Stuhlbarg.

THE PRESIDENT’ WIFE (M)

Catherine Deneuve as Bernadette Chirac in The President's Wife.

Rating: ★★★

Selected cinemas

This French comedy curio isn’t so much based on a true story as it is bounced off one. Not that you’ll be caring one way or the other, when offered the chance to experience once more the undiminished charisma of Catherine Deneuve. The legendary star plays Bernadette Chirac, wife of the one and only Jacques Chirac (Michel Vuillermoz), a crafty politician who took the French Presidency in the mid-1990s.

A serial womaniser and a bit of a grump, Jacques was less than inclined to take Bernadette along for the ride in the manner she surely deserved. Blessed with her own very potent political acumen, Bernadette embarked upon a crusade to go after a role in the Chirac administration that went far beyond the mere trophy-wife status her husband had in mind. Though this movie arguably works better if the viewer comes armed with solid knowledge of the French political landscape of the era, Deneuve’s great presence (and surprising flair for comedy, a genre she has rarely tried) saves the day in fine style. A classy crowd-pleaser in all the departments that matter.

Originally published as ‘Superbly devious’: Josh Hartnett is goofy and sinister in trashy serial killer thriller